Is Maharashtra prepared to face climate change?

The decision by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to set up state climate change council in response to the alarming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may come as a wake-up call. But the government seems to have forgotten its previous decisions and the steps taken on mitigation measures.

The decision raises some serious questions over the existing work culture and responsibilities of the administration and the elected governments.

The issue of climate change has come to the fore with a recent statement by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner I S Chahal who said, by 2050 most of the part of South Mumbai will go underwater. It spurred a public debate over the effects of climate change and the future of the coastal parts. 

The state cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday, September 1, decided to set up a State climate change council that will work to reduce the impact of climate change. It will be headed by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and co-chaired by the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

But it’s quite surprising that the present government has not been briefed by the administration about a few decisions taken from 2009 onwards on the same issue. A comprehensive Government Resolution (GR) has been issued in 2017 that speaks about mitigation measures to be undertaken by the state departments.

But, the saddest part of our system is that the crucial issue took a backseat with the change in the government when the Shiv Sena-led MVA government came to power in 2019 dethroning the BJP-led government.

Frankly speaking, there is no shortage of decisions at the government level and almost every day umpteen number of decisions are made. It’s also a fact that most of the decisions just add the papers into the folders or files maintained as a record in government offices, with just a few in circulation for reference purposes. For every five years the state faces elections, a new government assumes power, and priority changes according to the whims and wishes of the new government and the minister who assumes charge of the concerned department. 

Generally, personal interests or issues of priority of the ruling dispensation decide the fate of a particular decision. And for bureaucracy, the wishes of the ministers come as the guidelines. A decision by the previous government, however important it might be, can take a backseat if it’s not desired by the new political masters.

While making the decision of the Climate Change Council the cabinet relied on the report on climate change submitted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to the United Nations. It was submitted to the Cabinet that the state should have a time-bound action plan for climate change and for this it should include all the ministers related to climate change.

Interestingly, the issue did not figure for the first time in the state cabinet meeting as it was deliberated upon in detail when the Congress-led government was in power. A close look would reveal that from 2009 onwards a few decisions were made but rarely any follow-up was taken leave alone the concrete steps.  

A high-level committee appointed in 2009

It was decided then that a High-Level Coordinating Committee, headed by the state chief secretary (CS) should periodically review climate change recommendations or policies, and provide guidance to the concerned departments. On one hand, the chief secretary is the head of the state administration, and under his chairmanship, there have been close to 200 different committees, high-powered groups, or empowered groups. Even if the CS decides to call meetings of each panel he heads, he cannot complete the exercise given the number of working days in a year.

Later in the year 2010, a vision document of the environment department was presented in the state cabinet meeting. Then it was deliberated that protection of the environment was a comprehensive subject and related to various departments. Hence a sub-committee with 8 ministers was formed to devise an action plan and its implementation.

Later in 2016, the issue of climate change re-appeared on the state radar. The CS-headed committee was remembered with its meeting held in 2015 and it was decided to restructure it with a steering committee.

Maharashtra Climate Change Adaptation Policy

In 2017, Maharashtra State Climate Change Adaptation Policy was formulated after 9 years to the instructions given by the central government that had asked for a National Climate Change Action Plan. The state government took the help of experts to work on the effects of climate change on agriculture, coastal areas, forests, health, water resources, biodiversity, etc. Concerned departments were directed to work on it with special instructions to the state finance department for providing required funds.

What happened next is the big question as no review has been taken at the government level. Now, the issue of climate change is revisited in a different format, it seems.

Air pollution and effects on life expectancy

Yet another report has caught everyone’s attention. According to it, air pollution has reduced the life expectancy of people in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh by 2.5 to 2.9 years.

The state government had in 2016 formed a committee under the chief secretary to oversee the implementation of various judgments and rulings issued by the courts of law and the National Green Tribunal on air pollution. For the outcome of the committee, no answer is required as the findings by the recent report are sufficient to expose it.