FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL WITNESS THE MODI GOVERNMENT’S DESTRUCTIVE POLICIES TOWARDS NATURE:ARA MP

FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL WITNESS THE MODI GOVERNMENT’S DESTRUCTIVE POLICIES TOWARDS NATURE:ARA MP

3-JAN-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------A march was organized today by CPI(ML), AISA, and RYA from the CPI(ML) district office in Shri Tola to save water, forests, land, and the environment. The march proceeded through Purvi Gumti and Nawada, reaching the railway premises where it transformed into a public meeting. The meeting was conducted by Roshan Kushwaha, Joint Secretary of AISA Bhojpur district.

Addressing the gathering, CPI(ML) Central Committee member and Arrah Lok Sabha MP Sudama Prasad said that there is no Plan B to save nature and our water, forests, and land. We have only one world. From the suffocating air of Delhi to the destruction of forests in Chhattisgarh and Great Nicobar, and the continuous disasters unfolding in the Himalayas—we are witnesses to the Modi government's destructive policies against our future and the future of coming generations.

On one hand, the Modi government is telling lie after lie, and on the other hand, its corporate friends—under the full protection of the government's so-called 'ease of doing business' policy—are ruthlessly destroying our air, drinking water, forests, mountains, and nature. When the whole world is concerned about the climate crisis and its impact on the poor and vulnerable people, this government is shamelessly moving forward on the path of environmental destruction.

Addressing the meeting, CPI(ML) Central Committee member Raju Yadav said that the Modi government has arbitrarily and deceitfully changed the definition of the world's oldest mountain range, the Aravallis, to open them up for mining. Now they are trying to sell this destruction to the public in the name of 'sustainable mining'. After this new definition, more than ninety percent of the Aravallis are under threat from the mining mafia.

The Aravalli range, stretching for approximately 670 kilometers, starts from Delhi and passes through southern Haryana and Rajasthan to Ahmedabad. These hills are like the 'lungs' for the entire region. Without the Aravalli range, Delhi and the surrounding areas could face severe desertification. For centuries, these hills have served as a natural shield against the dust and hot winds of the Thar Desert. Their rocky ridges and slopes slow down the speed of desert winds, hold the soil together, prevent dust storms, regulate moisture, and allow rainwater to seep into underground aquifers. They are nature's own water and climate regulators, but today they are in danger of being lost forever.

This threat is not limited to the Aravalli range alone, but is part of a larger conspiracy of plunder, exploitation, and environmental destruction spreading across the country.

Addressing the gathering, Shivprakash Ranjan, State Secretary of the Revolutionary Youth Association and former MLA of Agiaon, said that in Uttarakhand, the Modi government deliberately divided the 900-kilometer Char Dham road project into 53 sections of less than 100 kilometers each, in order to avoid the comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) required for large projects. This also gave a free hand to unscientific and reckless construction in the fragile Himalayan region.

Today, the deadly consequences are evident—landslides, floods, and the tragedy of land subsidence in Joshimath. Glaciers are melting rapidly, rivers are overflowing, and local communities are losing lives, property, and livelihoods every year.

Addressing the gathering, Qayamuddin Ansari, State Secretary of the Insaf Manch and former candidate for the Ara Assembly constituency, said that under the name of Great Nicobar Swap, or compensatory afforestation, the government destroyed 130 square kilometers of natural tropical forest on the Great Nicobar Island for a mega development project. As so-called compensation, afforestation was shown in the Aravalli range of Haryana—which is about 2,400 kilometers away from Nicobar and located in a completely different ecosystem and climate. This blatant environmental fraud is now being presented under the name of the ‘Aravalli Green Wall Project’.

Hasdeo Arand in Chhattisgarh, one of India's densest forests, is being targeted for the benefit of the Modi government's corporate friend, Adani. Millions of trees are being cut down, thousands of acres of forest are being destroyed, and all of this is happening in violation of the PESA Act, the Forest Conservation Act, and the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. A large number of tribals are facing forced eviction and displacement at the hands of corporate bulldozers.

Projects like Clean Yamuna and Clean Ganga have already exposed the corruption and insensitivity of this government. After spending thousands of crores of rupees, our rivers are more polluted than ever before.

Today, our natural resources are being handed over to the same profiteering corporations that fund the ruling party in the name of donations. The government hides the facts, manipulates environmental laws, weakens institutions like the National Green Tribunal, and attacks the livelihoods of tribals and fishermen. Under this corporate plunder, the environmental destruction of the forests of Saranda, Hazaribagh, and Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand, and the coal mining areas around Dhanbad, continues.

Student organization AISA Bhojpur District Secretary Vikash Kumar said that

The government is snatching away our rights to education, employment, health, pension, social security, food, work, and information, and is attacking democracy, the constitution, and the right to vote.

Now our air, water, forests, seas, and skies are also under attack by the government. We must unite and oppose this wave of destruction.

We appeal to all patriotic citizens and organizations to raise their voices and protect the Aravalli, the Himalayas, Great Nicobar, and Hasdeo Arand. In the Save Environment March, CPI(ML) state committee member and Ara city secretary Sudhir Singh, Ara Mufassil secretary Vijay Ojha, AISA state secretary Comrade Shabir Kumar, RYA district president Niranjan Kesari, office secretary Dilraj Pritam, AISA district joint secretary Jayshankar Prasad, Upadhyay Sumit Kumar, Sahil Arora, Insaf Manch district secretary Gandhi Ji, Akhilesh Gupta, Harinarayan Gupta, Bablu Gupta, Appu Yadav, Parmatma Yadav, Balmukund Chaudhary, Deepak Kumar, Ahmed Ji, Dhananjay Kumar, Ritesh Paswan, Harinath Ram, and dozens of CPI(ML), AISA, and RYA workers participated.