Six years ago, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change devised a regulation that would protect wetlands. Under the 2010 rule, states were required to identify all of their wetlands within around a year. But not a single state complied.
Now, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will ensure the regulation is carried out, the bench decided in a recent order. States will have to prove they are identifying wetlands every month. The decision came after Pushp Jain, Director of the EIA Resource and Response Centre, brought the issue to the attention of the court.
Wetlands are loosely defined as bodies of water, from lakes to ponds to marshes. They play an important role not just for the birds and fish that inhabit them, but for humans too. They act as sponges, preventing flooding, and filtering water.
But wetlands across the country are rapidly being encroached upon. Cities like Chennai and Bangalore are partially built on what used to be wetlands. The severity of the Chennai floods in 2015 was attributed to destruction of the natural sponge.
And now the government is proposing a new rule that could make it easier for states to build on these crucial wetlands. The draft regulations would not require states to identify their wetlands within a given time period, and the Environment Ministry has also shortened the list of activities forbidden on wetlands. The identification of wetlands is part of the process to protect these spaces, since many unidentified water bodies would not fall under the 2010 regulations.
If passed, the proposed regulations could have a major impact on the environment, experts say. Until then, by order of the National Green Tribunal, states will have to comply with the 2010 rule.
Only about five percent of India is covered by wetlands, and any further destruction of these vital ecosystems could have devastating consequences.
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