THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 10 August 2020 (Balancing priorities: On development and environment (The Hindu))

Balancing priorities : On development and environment (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Governance 
Prelims level:National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping
Mains level: Important aspect of governance transparency and accountability

Context:

• This year, the annual floods that upendthe Brahmaputra Valley have been followed by intensespells along the Konkan coast and Mumbai, and now Kerala, which until the end of last month recorded a slight deficit. 
• The landslip in Idukki, that has so far claimed 43 lives and rendered several homeless, follows from a continuing spell of heavy rains in Kerala. 
• Most districts have received three or four times more rain than what is normal. 
• Last year too, neighbouring Wayanad saw multiple hamletswiped out and the year before, the devastating floods in the State forced a debate on the need for new models of development. 

Landslides:

• Landslips, or landslides, in the Western Ghats have a history. 
• Following the 2018 floods, data from the Geological Survey of India showed that Kerala had experienced 67 major landslide events and several minor ones from 1961-2013. 
• As part of a National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM) programme, the agency mapped several States in the Western Ghats, North-eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand to assess how vulnerabletheir districts were. 
• Nearly 13,000 square kilometres were mapped until 2018 and 6,000 were to be covered in 2019-20 in Kerala, according to the programme website. 
• Nearly 13 of the State’s 14 districts were proneto landslides. 
• What made Kerala particularly vulnerable was the high population density of over 800 per square kilometre as compared to other States that also faced high landslide risk.

Zoning laws:

• The objective of the NLSM maps is to help State and district authorities incorporatethe risk of landslides into zoning laws. 
• However, just as in the case of earthquake zonation maps, or for that matter, any exercise to scientifically ascertain the risk from natural hazards to a region, these laws are barely implemented in the right spirit. 
• And this is not unique to Kerala. The details might vary but it is now beyond contestation that India is living in a new climate normal. 
• Frequent high intensity bursts of rain will co-exist along with long dry spells. 
• It has emerged from studies of Kerala’s topography that quarryingand the unscientific cutting of slopes into hills aggravatesthe risk of soil erosion. 
• Operationalising the State’s disaster management apparatus and allocating funds for preparedness are key policy responses, but Kerala also must double down on enforcing regulations and observing zoning laws as well as ensuring that slopes carved into hilly terrain have adequate provisions for draining water. 
• A lack of compliance with such principles is often a key reason why natural hazards end up causing a significant number of avoidable casualties. 

Conclusion:

• There is a cost to pursuingdevelopment goals without paying attention to environmental constraints.
• Development goals must be pursued without breachingenvironment regulations.
• Forecasts of ‘good’ or ‘normal’ monsoons are often beguilingand beliethe ominous.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the World breastfeeding week, consider the following statements:
1. It aims to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which has huge health benefits.
2. It is jointly organized by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), WHO and UNICEF.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both 1 and 2
D.   None 

Answer: C

Mains Questions:
Q.1)What do you mean by the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping programme? What is the significance of it?