New Delhi, From a few lines to several full pages two decades ago, the Lok Sabha election manifestos of the two primary national parties in India – BJP and Congress – reflect growing concerns over climate change and environmental degradation.
Although policy experts have welcomed the increased attention to these issues, they say that many of the promises have proved "symbolic" given the "contradictory" approaches adopted by governments on some matters, including forest and wildlife conservation.
Election manifestos represent the political positions of parties and are often discussed, debated and compared during elections. From international policy to jobs, health and education, they address a range of issues and help voters take effective decisions. The BJP, which released its 69-page election manifesto last Saturday, has laid out the vision for a "sustainable India It has devoted three pages to environment and climate issues under the "Modi's Guarantee" section, a significant increase from just one paragraph on "Environment" in 1999.Lok Sabha Elections.
The term "climate change" was also not included in the 1999 and 2004 manifestos of the BJP, currently the world's largest political party.
Congress has allocated two pages to issues related to environment, climate, disaster management and water and sanitation in its 2024 election manifesto. A review of its previous Lok Sabha election manifestos shows that the emphasis on issues of climate change and environmental sustainability Has been given.
A 2022 study by the Center for Policy Research noted that Congress has consistently emphasized climate change and environmental sustainability in the last three elections and discussed specific steps for environmental protection, such as a green budget and working on Creation of an independent authority for.
According to the study, while the BJP has devoted about 11 percent of its manifesto to environmental issues, left-leaning parties generally emphasize water conservation, and devote about 12 percent of their content to environmental protection and sustainability. Dedicates.Key commitments in the BJP's latest manifesto include achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, transition to non-fossil fuel energy sources, improving river health, achieving national air quality standards in 60 cities, expanding tree cover and reducing disaster risk. Involves promoting resilience.
Congress has proposed setting up a fund to achieve the green transition and net-zero targets.
However, experts have expressed concern about the lack of specific steps in its manifesto to tackle environmental challenges. "The (BJP) manifesto does not reflect those issues," said Debadityo Sinha, a senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Center for LIGA Policy. What ecologists are raising about environmental policies is where major reforms are needed."
Sinha expressed hope that the government will take steps to protect existing natural forests and wildlife habitats, strengthen environmental laws, enhance the capacity of officials and ensure greater participation of civil society in environmental decision-making.Environmental activist and water policy expert Himanshu Thakkar said that when it comes to transparency in such matters, the UP government has performed better than the NDA government. He said that the Congress government is responsive to the civil society, which is responsible for environmental protection and Is the biggest supporter of stability.
He claimed, "For example: The UPA listened to us and decided not to take up the Ken-Betav river interlinking project, which will completely destroy the Panna tiger reserve and large parts of the forests. The BJP government is the voice of dissent. Suppressing it."
The river-linking project aims to transfer excess water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to Betwa in Uttar Pradesh to irrigate the drought-hit Bundelkhand region.Both Ken and Betwa are tributaries of the Yamuna. Thakkar said, "The BJP government has not done anything remarkable on 'Namami Gange'; the Aravalis are in a disastrous state. If anything more is going to happen in the future than in the past, So it's not going to help."
Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmentalist who works for better air quality in India, said that although political parties have begun to acknowledge environmental issues, these concerns are often limited to the lower parts of their manifestos.
“It is important that environmental issues are not relegated to the bottom of the priority list, especially given the serious concerns of air pollution and the climate crisis.This is especially important as 83 of the world's 10 most polluted cities are in India. While their manifestos outline ambitious plans, the real test lies in implementation and governance, which requires strict enforcement of the laws," he said. Environmentalists and policy experts have criticized the amendments made to the Forest Conservation Act. Objections have been raised, due to which a large part of the forests has become unsafe.
They say the forest conservation rules introduced in 2022 have reduced the requirements for mandatory gram sabha consent before forest land is transferred for non-forest purposes.
“They (political parties) on one hand promise to increase tree cover and on the other hand destroy ancient forests like Hasdeo Aranya in Chhattisgarh for CoA mining.The central government has weakened environmental laws and regulations to help industries. This is contradictory,” said Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan. He said that parties make big promises and speak big words, but this is not reflected in their actions.
Experts say that despite gaining attention in elections, environmental issues remain secondary to livelihood concerns in the broader political discussion. One reason for this, they say, is that political and social movements in India are primarily based on livelihood issues. Focused on issues.
Although policy experts have welcomed the increased attention to these issues, they say that many of the promises have proved "symbolic" given the "contradictory" approaches adopted by governments on some matters, including forest and wildlife conservation.
Election manifestos represent the political positions of parties and are often discussed, debated and compared during elections. From international policy to jobs, health and education, they address a range of issues and help voters take effective decisions. The BJP, which released its 69-page election manifesto last Saturday, has laid out the vision for a "sustainable India It has devoted three pages to environment and climate issues under the "Modi's Guarantee" section, a significant increase from just one paragraph on "Environment" in 1999.Lok Sabha Elections.
The term "climate change" was also not included in the 1999 and 2004 manifestos of the BJP, currently the world's largest political party.
Congress has allocated two pages to issues related to environment, climate, disaster management and water and sanitation in its 2024 election manifesto. A review of its previous Lok Sabha election manifestos shows that the emphasis on issues of climate change and environmental sustainability Has been given.
A 2022 study by the Center for Policy Research noted that Congress has consistently emphasized climate change and environmental sustainability in the last three elections and discussed specific steps for environmental protection, such as a green budget and working on Creation of an independent authority for.
According to the study, while the BJP has devoted about 11 percent of its manifesto to environmental issues, left-leaning parties generally emphasize water conservation, and devote about 12 percent of their content to environmental protection and sustainability. Dedicates.Key commitments in the BJP's latest manifesto include achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, transition to non-fossil fuel energy sources, improving river health, achieving national air quality standards in 60 cities, expanding tree cover and reducing disaster risk. Involves promoting resilience.
Congress has proposed setting up a fund to achieve the green transition and net-zero targets.
However, experts have expressed concern about the lack of specific steps in its manifesto to tackle environmental challenges. "The (BJP) manifesto does not reflect those issues," said Debadityo Sinha, a senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Center for LIGA Policy. What ecologists are raising about environmental policies is where major reforms are needed."
Sinha expressed hope that the government will take steps to protect existing natural forests and wildlife habitats, strengthen environmental laws, enhance the capacity of officials and ensure greater participation of civil society in environmental decision-making.Environmental activist and water policy expert Himanshu Thakkar said that when it comes to transparency in such matters, the UP government has performed better than the NDA government. He said that the Congress government is responsive to the civil society, which is responsible for environmental protection and Is the biggest supporter of stability.
He claimed, "For example: The UPA listened to us and decided not to take up the Ken-Betav river interlinking project, which will completely destroy the Panna tiger reserve and large parts of the forests. The BJP government is the voice of dissent. Suppressing it."
The river-linking project aims to transfer excess water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to Betwa in Uttar Pradesh to irrigate the drought-hit Bundelkhand region.Both Ken and Betwa are tributaries of the Yamuna. Thakkar said, "The BJP government has not done anything remarkable on 'Namami Gange'; the Aravalis are in a disastrous state. If anything more is going to happen in the future than in the past, So it's not going to help."
Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmentalist who works for better air quality in India, said that although political parties have begun to acknowledge environmental issues, these concerns are often limited to the lower parts of their manifestos.
“It is important that environmental issues are not relegated to the bottom of the priority list, especially given the serious concerns of air pollution and the climate crisis.This is especially important as 83 of the world's 10 most polluted cities are in India. While their manifestos outline ambitious plans, the real test lies in implementation and governance, which requires strict enforcement of the laws," he said. Environmentalists and policy experts have criticized the amendments made to the Forest Conservation Act. Objections have been raised, due to which a large part of the forests has become unsafe.
They say the forest conservation rules introduced in 2022 have reduced the requirements for mandatory gram sabha consent before forest land is transferred for non-forest purposes.
“They (political parties) on one hand promise to increase tree cover and on the other hand destroy ancient forests like Hasdeo Aranya in Chhattisgarh for CoA mining.The central government has weakened environmental laws and regulations to help industries. This is contradictory,” said Alok Shukla, convenor of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan. He said that parties make big promises and speak big words, but this is not reflected in their actions.
Experts say that despite gaining attention in elections, environmental issues remain secondary to livelihood concerns in the broader political discussion. One reason for this, they say, is that political and social movements in India are primarily based on livelihood issues. Focused on issues.
