Climate change is a global phenomenon and its impact is also phenomenal. All countries around the world have studied this phenomenon scientifically and understood its impact on humans, animals and plants. Climate change is essentially the result of human beings treating nature with scant care and foresight and destroying ecology and environment for personal aggrandizement. Rough treatment of water bodies, wanton deforestation, urbanization and destruction of pastures and meadows, melting of glaciers, floods, unusual rains or draughts etc. all are the symptoms of climate change. Word countries have reacted to it befittingly and before everything else awareness among the people has been created so that with their cooperation any schemes and projects aimed at controlling degradation of environment have been turned into success.
The Central Government through Ministry of Environment and Forests has responded to this phenomenon though belatedly. On June 30, 2008, Union Government released country’s first National Action Plan on Climate Change outlining the existing and future policies and programs to address climate related mitigation and adaptation measures. Accordingly, all the States were directed to come up with their own State Action Plan on Climate Change. J&K was also asked to be in the loop especially because nestled in the lap of the Himalayan Mountains the entire state is easily and frequently vulnerable to climate change effect. It was expected that the State Government would give more than necessary attention to this plan particularly when in the year 2014 the state was afflicted with great disaster owing to unexpected floods in the rivers and streams. After much dilly-dallying for six long years, the State Climate Change Action Plan was prepared in 2014 and submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. In August 2015, the Union Government established National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC) to assist the States for the implementation of the Action Plan. The Union Government had left the choice of framing the Action Plan to the States who would frame these according to the needs of each State. It also promised to fund the same without any need for the States to contribute their share as is generally the case with the centrally sponsored schemes.
Notwithstanding all this, the overall attitude of the State Government and its departments has not betrayed any sign of seriousness and urgency in the matter. Almost all key departments like Power Development, Science and Technology, Tourism, Health and Medical Education, Disaster Management, Agriculture Production etc were required to immediately prepare concept notes as per the 11 missions identified under the State Action Plan on Climate Change so as to pave the way for grant of funds under NAFCC. Only one department, namely the Agriculture Department prepared concept note and Detailed Project Report worth Rs 22.52 crore which was cleared under NAFCC and accordingly first installment of Rs 2.86 crore was released during 2016-17 financial. The irony is that even this amount has not been expended because the department has not been able to produce Utilization Certificate which is mandatory for the centre to release next installments. In other words even this one DPR has become meaningless. We have learnt that the Departments are not considering the project anything beyond trash. This is a tragic state of affairs. It shows that the departmental heads are not at all conscious of the dangers of climate change. That is the reason why they are taking the entire project so leisurely. Almost the same is the impression about J&K State Council for Climate Change.
This regressive attitude of the State authorities towards an important project has deprived us of enormous funds that would have poured in under the Climate Change Action Plan. Even the Cell created by the Forest Ministry in the Secretariat to coordinate efforts by various departments and the Union Ministry has not become functional in the light of the departments showing no interest in preparing the Action Plan. We are surprised if any department needed consultation and guidance in preparing the Action Plan it could have sent its reprehensive to study how other states have implemented the plan and how far could we take the cue from that. It is not too late even now if the Government is seriously interested to see the plan underway.
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