Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 27, 2013, 04.54AM IST 
NEW DELHI: The much awaited summary report of the United Nation's body on climate change will be released in Stockholm on Friday, answering a number of questions on the state of 'global warming' which will help policymakers across the world chart out their course of action before arriving at a new climate deal in Paris in 2015.
Has global temperatures increased due to climate change or has it actually cooled down as suggested by climate change sceptics? How much has it affected the sea level and is the Arctic ice pack shrinking? The summary report is likely to answer these questions.
Though two 'leaked' draft reports of this body -- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) -- in western media point at contradictory findings in terms of degrees on global warming issue, there is an unanimity that the assessment report will raise the "level of certainty" while concluding that humans are responsible for changes that warmed the ocean, melted snow and ice, raised global mean seal level and changed some climate extremes.
One of the leaked draft report of the IPCC - world's leading advisory body on climate change -- claimed that the "level of certainly" in the final report is likely to be increased from 90% in 2007 to 95% this year. The last report of the IPCC (which was its fourth report) had in 2007 said that it was almost 90% certain that the humans were responsible for global warming in the last over 50 years.
Some of the media reports, referring to the leaked draft of the IPCC, have mentioned that the UN body would project that the warming is likely to be above 1.5 degree Celcius and very likely to be below 6 degree Celcius. If it happens, then it will be rollback from the 2007 report which had put the low end of the warming range at 2 degree Celcius.
The fifth report (AR5) of the IPCC will come out in four parts. The first of these four parts report will be released on Friday. The remaining three parts will be released by October, 2014 with the second and third parts being expected to be come out in March and April next year, respectively.
The UN body comes out with its report on 'climate change' every five or six years. Its reports do not include its own research. Its job is, in fact, to collect and assess the most recent published research on climate change and come out with its final report which will serve as a guide to the policymakers..........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDkvMjcjQXIwMTkwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 24, 2013, 10.07PM IST
NEW DELHI: Almost one-fifth of the centrally-funded sewage treatment plants in the country are "non-operational", leaving millions of liters of untreated water either sink into the ground as a potential pollutant of ground water or is discharged into natural drainage system causing pollution in downstream areas.
Besides, performance of nearly another one-fifth of the total 152 such sewage treatment plants (STPs) is found to be "not satisfactory".
The finding is the part of a report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which conducted performance evaluation of these sewage treatments plants through constant monitoring over a period of time.
The Board, which made its report public on Tuesday, had conducted the evaluation of only those plants which are funded under the National River Conservation Plan of the ministry of environment and forest. This report has nothing to do with hundreds of other STPs, which are being ran by different state governments or other agencies.
The report says, "Out of the 152 STPs, nine plants are under construction, 30 are non-operational and performance of 28 plants are not satisfactory".
As against the collective sewage treatment capacity of 4716 million liters per day (MLD), these plants however actually treat only 3126 MLD of sewage. Plants located in different states work at different level of efficiency.
"Close examination of the data indicates that the percent capacity utilization is maximum in the states of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Goa," says the report.
The maximum sewage "treatment capacity", however, exists in Tamil Nadu (16.9%) followed by Uttar Pradesh (16.4%), Andhra Pradesh (15%) , Punjab (14%), West Bengal (10%), Haryana (7%), Maharashtra (6%), Gujarat (4.9%), Madhya Pradesh (3.6%), Bihar (3.4%) and Uttarakhand (1.1%).
The report noted that 80% of the water supplied for domestic use comes back as wastewater. Hundreds of STPs have been set up across the country over the years to treat the waste water so that the discharge cannot sink into the ground or discharged into rivers without being treated.
The year 2005-06 report of the CPCB on status of municipal waste water generated in 35 metropolitan cities shows that all these cities collectively generate 15,644 MLD of sewage. But, these cities have sewage treatment capacity of only 8040 (51% of the total swage) MLD.
Among the metropolitan cities, Delhi has the highest capacity of sewage treatment (2330 MLD) - 29% of the total treatment capacity of metropolitan cities. Mumbai has the second highest capacity (2130 MLD). Both Delhi and Mumbai together have 55% of treatment capacity of these 35 metropolitan cities.
Treatment capacity of only five cities -- Hyderabad, Vadodara, Chennai, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad -- meets the volume of sewage generation. Other 30 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Surat, Rajkot, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, Lucknow and Patna have treatment capacity lower than their sewage generation............................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA5LzI2I0FyMDEwMDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 24, 2013, 10.03PM IST
Even as India has consistently been producing foodgrains in good quantity and increasing share of agriculture in its export basket (10.22% in 2008-09 to 13.8% in 2012-13), agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is a worried man. He is worried about the country's future, wondering whether India will be able to meet food demand of growing population with the current level of farm productivity. He knows the solution, but resistance to his ideas troubles him. He thinks it's high time to accelerate pace of agricultural growth to meet "additional requirement" of foodgrains for proper implementation of the Food Security Act. He knows farm productivity can be increased by introducing genetically modified (GM) crops, besides simultaneously taking other steps. He even pleads for taking some bold steps to reap benefits of scientific research and suggests measures which can bring "food and nutritional" security. He shared his views and concerns during an interview to the TOI. Excerpts:
Q: Production of foodgrain has increased over the years (from 230.78 million tonnes in 2007-08 to 259.29 million tonnes in 2011-12). India also has buffer stock to meet demand in a bad crop year. Still, we have seen rise in price of foodgrain. What are the factors behind it?
A: It is due to the Minimum Support Price (MSP). We have increased MSP for various foodgrains so that farmers can get better price. In fact, the cost of cultivation has been increased due to high prices of diesel, fertilizers and other raw materials and high labour (minimum wages) cost. We have to factor in all these while deciding the MSP. If we don't increase it, farmers will shift to other (non-foodgrain) crops. It will further complicate the matter. You know MSP is the benchmark. Market price is always higher than the MSP. Farmers have benefited from it and therefore they stick to foodgrain cultivation.
Q: It is good that farmers are getting better price. But it, in a way, affects common consumers due to high market price. Can't we have a solution where all sections can benefit without facing the pinch of price rise?
A: Government procures substantial quantity of foodgrain at MSP and distributes it at cheaper rate through public distribution system across the country. Under Food Security Act, 82 crore people will now benefit from all these measures by getting foodgrain (rice, wheat and coarse grains) at cheap rates. Nowhere in the world is foodgrain available at such a cheap rate. Production of foodgrain has increased substantially in the past five-six years. We had 259.29 million tonnes of foodgrain production in 2011-12 which was the highest in 60 years. We have also become foodgrain exporter. In the year 2012-13, we exported agricultural produce worth Rs 2.32 lakh crore. We are, in fact, the largest exporter of rice and second largest exporter of cotton, sugar and wheat.
Q: Will the current level of production sustain the food requirement in future, taking into account our growing population and shrinking cultivable land?
A: Yes, this is a major concern. India accounts for only 2.4 % of the world's geographical area and 4% of its water resources, but supports about 17% of the world's population. We cannot expand land. That's why I have consistently been telling my colleagues (in the Cabinet) to think about it and take adequate measures. We have to increase productivity. We have to take four measures. First, we have to improve irrigation facility and bring more and more area under irrigation, taking into account the limited availability of water resources. And for this, we need more investment. Second, we have to lay emphasis on research so that our scientists can develop new varieties of seeds. Third, we have to ensure availability of fertilizers. Finally, we have to constantly offer better MSP to farmers. I firmly believe that if we follow these measures, our food security obligations can easily be sustainable.
Q: As far as better quality of seeds are concerned, Indian scientists and their counterparts in other countries have come out with many transgenic (genetically modified) varieties which can increase productivity. But there has been lot of resistance to it in India. What is your stand?
A: As far as GM crops are concerned, it should be the responsibility of any government to take maximum precaution to see its impact before releasing such seeds for commercial production. Take number of years of field trials to see whether these transgenic varieties have any bad impact on soil, water, other crops, human being, birds, animals and overall environment. One has to thoroughly check all these for years. And if we come to the conclusion after field trials that it does not affect human health and environment, then we don't have choice but we have to use GM seeds to increase productivity.
Q: All these happened in the case of Bt Brinjal. The crop had passed trials. But the government in February 2010 put an open-ended moratorium on its release. Why did government take that decision?
A: Look, agriculture ministry had never supported that decision. Certain decisions were taken by the Supreme Court when issues were raised before it. Secondly, it was the environment ministry which had taken the decision of putting a moratorium on it. Subsequently, field trials were stopped for other GM crops by different states. I had written to the prime minister expressing my views. I told him that it was quite unfortunate that our scientists are not even allowed to take field trials. It's really very strange. How will they know the impact of such crops on human health or environment unless they are allowed to go for field trials? They don't need thousands of acres of land for trials. They only need two-three or four-five acres of land for carrying out scientific trials. My plea is to allow our scientists, who have done tremendous work in this area like the best scientists in the world, to go for field trials to see the impact and usefulness of transgenic seed varieties they have developed. Don't let their work remain in the lab. Don't demoralize our scientists.
Q: Do you see prospects of any breakthrough after your persistent advocacy for using GM crops to increase agricultural productivity, of course after proper trial, in the country?
A: The major part is pending with the Supreme Court. The apex court had set up a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) which gave an adverse report. When we resisted, one more expert (an agriculture scientist) was included in the committee. I am told that expert (R S Paroda) has submitted a positive report in court. Let's see what the apex court thinks about all this. I wish learned people of our country discuss issues weighing all the arguments and take a decision which can benefit farmers, scientists and all other citizens while taking into account the country's food and nutritional security. I need to tell them that we have been importing edible oils from countries like the US, Brazil and Argentina. These are mostly soya bean and these are primarily GM. It's strange that certain organizations based in these countries are engaged in propaganda against transgenic crops whereas their own countries are growing such crops and exporting it to other parts of the world including India.
Q: Is there any plan to create special agricultural zone in the country like special economic zone? And, do you think the government should go for separate budget for agriculture as there has been demand for it from farmers' organizations?
A: We had discussed the concept of special agricultural zone in the past. You know land is a 'state' subject and it depends on agriculture land ceiling issues. So, it is not feasible. As far as separate budget for agriculture is concerned, I don't subscribe to such views. It's an impractical demand. There are so many sectors - industry, power, water etc - which contribute to agriculture sector directly and indirectly. Similarly, we can't say water in a particular dam should exclusively be used for irrigation or power from certain electricity generating plants should be used exclusively for agriculture. So, instead of going for a separate budget, I would rather prefer more money for investment in irrigation projects, research and providing better price to farmers for their agricultural produce........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA5LzI1I0FyMDEyMDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Vishwa Mohan & Diwakar,TNN | Sep 24, 2013, 04.11AM IST
BJP projecting Modi as its PM candidate would not hinder the party’s post-poll quest for numbers, Sharad Pawar feels.
NEW DELHI: Union agriculture minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Monday said the next government at the Centre will be formed by whichever of the two principal contestants -- Congress and BJP -- crosses the 180-seat mark in the 2014 polls.
In a conversation with TOI, Pawar, one of the most astute political minds, also said the controversy about its PM candidate Narendra Modi's personality will not be a deterrent for the BJP should it cross the threshold of 180 seats. He disputed the assessment of a groundswell for BJP at the grassroots and said regional satraps will hold the key to who gets the reins of the Centre next year.
"Any party which crosses 180-190 can form the government with the support of regional parties. It will have the opportunity to form the government," Pawar said.
Stressing that regional players will decide the make-up of the next coalition at the Centre, he said, "Essentially, the next government will be formed with the support of many state leaders like Trinamool, AIADMK or DMK, either of the two UP players -- Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati -- Navin Patnaik and Nitish Kumar. They will be a big factor."
Importantly, Pawar did not agree that BJP projecting Modi as its PM candidate would hinder the party's post-poll quest for numbers. "Frankly, this is not an issue. It would all depend on the figure," the veteran politician said when asked about the view that the main opposition would have less trouble meeting the shortfall had it persisted with L K Advani. The NCP boss pointed to the speculation about TDP's possible return to the NDA to back up his contention.
However, Pawar did not agree that there was a surge of support for Modi. "We have been holding regular meetings at ground level, at the level of panchayats and above. And l don't think that the situation is as bad for Congress and the UPA as a whole as is being reported. The ground reality is different from what is being projected," the agriculture minister said as he asserted that UPA could hold on to power.
He ruled out the replication of a United Front-type of experiment at the Centre where Congress between 1996 and 1998 supported a non-BJP coalition from outside. "I don't think that type of situation will be there. Frankly, you cannot think of a stable government which does not have a very strong core. A major party has to be there for ensuring stability. We have seen this with the Vajpayee government as well as the UPA which had big parties as their main constituent. On the other hand, we have also seen what happened to governments of Deve Gowda and Gujral saheb which did not have a solid core. If the Congress gets 170-180 seats, it can form the government with regional parties," the NCP boss said.
He parried a question on whether Congress will gain by projecting Rahul Gandhi as its PM candidate. "What is the point in discussing it when they have not taken the decision. We cannot react unless and until there is definite projection," Pawar said.
Asked about the tension between NCP and Congress over how to run their coalition in Maharashtra, Pawar dismissed the suggestion that he has been critical of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. He said that being a partner which has a stake in the government, the NCP has the "moral responsibility" to express concern when decision making gets stalled. "If things get delayed by two months, three months or even four months, it is understandable. But if they remain stuck for two, three or four years, then it becomes a cause for concern," he said.....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDkvMjQjQXIwMDEwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 24, 2013, 12.00AM IST
Sharad Pawar hinted that he would contest the next month's election for the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association. (TOI Photo)
NEW DELHI: Union agriculture minister and former ICC and BCCI president Sharad Pawar on Monday said the faith of cricket lovers has been shaken due to the spot-fixing incidents in the IPL matches and sought "ruthless action" against the guilty who brought a bad name to the game.
Although he expressed satisfaction that some action has been taken against certain players by imposing life ban on them, he, during a conversation with the TOI, stressed that there was a need to send strong message not only to the players but also to the cricket administrators. The minister, however, preferred not to take any name.
Pawar also hinted that he would contest the next month's election for the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), a post that he had held for a number of years before moving to the BCCI as its chief and eventually to the ICC.
But, he claimed, if he would contest, it would be for the sake of cricket as he wanted to do more for the cricket lovers by creating additional infrastructure.
The hint that he is throwing his hat in the MCA ring comes at a time when there has also been a strong buzz about the possibility of Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan as being one of the contestants. The name of yet another politician - BJP's Gopinath Munde - is also doing the rounds.
Although sources dismissed the possibility of Chavan as a possible candidate in the October election citing many rules of the MCA, Pawar preferred not to touch the issue.
Without going into who could be the contender for the post, Pawar said that the city during his tenure as the MCA president had seen lot of infrastructural development and therefore people wanted him to be there again.
"I was there for 10 years as a president. In my regime, we have constructed basic infrastructure at the Bandra Kurla club at the cost of nearly Rs 100 crore...Two major clubs had been set up with investment of about Rs 200 to 250 crore. The Wankhede stadium was totally renovated. We have constructed office for the MCA and BCCI", he said.
Pawar emphasized that many people have been telling him that Mumbai needs two-three more grounds. "After Wankhede, not a single thing was added. So, I am just thinking whether I should again serve the institutions which have given me tremendous support in the area of cricket", said Pawar.
While Pawar, always a man of few words, may not talk about it, the possible impact of his MCA foray on BCCI boardroom in these turbulent times can not be overstated. Pawar's return to cricket administration will not be music to present BCCI president N Srinivasan's camp.
Srinivasan has been waging a grim battle to survive in his chair and keep complete control of the board ever as the fallout of the IPL fixing scam threatens to singe him too. In this scenario, the resourceful and wily Pawar, who is not exactly enamoured of Srinivasan, can only make things more difficult for the latter......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDkvMjQjQXIwMjEwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 19, 2013, 05.00AM IST
NEW DELHI: The US and other developed nations may want India to toe their line in phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) - climate damaging refrigerant gas - but they won't find it easy to push New Delhi to junk its refusal to do so without viable alternatives.
India is banking on the support of three other powerful nations - Brazil, South Africa and China - for endorsement of its position that it will not phase out HFC without access to safe and economically viable alternatives.
The BASIC group of nations - comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China - on Monday signed a joint statement underlining their demand for alternatives. These countries also sought adequate financial support from developed countries for switching over to properly tested environment friendly technology.
The statement was signed by representatives of all four countries following a meeting at the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguacu. The Indian side was represented by Union environment secretary V Rajagopalan.
It was also stated in the joint statement that the HFC issue be dealt with at multilateral forum, based on the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol.
Officials here explained that BASIC's decision won't contradict what was decided in the recent G-20 summit. They said the G-20 took a balanced approach by incorporating concerns of both the developed and developing countries.
The grouping recognized the need for making "economically viable and technically feasible alternatives" available to developing countries while keeping HFC within the scope of UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol for accounting and reporting emissions.
India and other developing countries have started switching to HFC from the ozone-depleting hydrocholorofluorocarbons (HCFC) under provisions of the multilateral Montreal Protocol which is meant for complete phase-out of production and consumption of ozone depleting substances.
Although HFC is not considered an ozone depleting gas, it contributes to global warming.
The developed world wants India to move directly from HCFC to the new technology which may not contribute to global warming. They also want HFC to be brought under the purview of the Montreal Protocol.
The HFC is, however, listed as one of the greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol which is only binding on industrialized countries. The Montreal Protocol, on the other hand, is applied to all countries including India which signed it in June 1992.
The move of the BASIC nations assumes significance at a time when countries are gearing up to continue negotiations on reduction of global emissions in Warsaw in November. Representatives of all countries will gather in the Polish capital to discuss the deal which will finally be signed in 2015 and rolled out in 2020.
Noting that the HFC issue will be taken up at the Warsaw summit in a big way by developed countries, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Wednesday called for South Asian unity on the matter of climate change.
Briefing media persons, CSE director Sunita Narain said, "South Asia is extremely vulnerable. It needs to act urgently to negotiate a climate deal (in favour of the region)."....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDkvMTkjQXIwMTEwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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Good monsoon promises twin bonanza: Bumper Rabi crop harvest, spurt in hydel power supply
Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 18, 2013, 06.39AM IST
Most of the river basins — in both north and south India — recorded better storage position till August than the average of last 10 years.
NEW DELHI: Good monsoon, between June and August, has substantially increased the water storage position of several reservoirs and river basins across the country, raising hope for bumper harvest for 'rabi' (winter-sown) crops and spurt in hydro-power generation.
Water storage position data — released by the Central Water Commission (CWC) this month — shows that the country's 85 key reservoirs have collectively reported increase of around 35 billion cubic metre (BCM) over last year.
Similarly, most of the river basins — in both north and south India — recorded better storage position till August than the average of last 10 years. In fact, 32 out of 37 reservoirs have equal/better storage build-up this year as compared to last decade.
The CWC, which monitors water storage position in 85 medium and big reservoirs in the country, has passed on this information to the Crop Weather Watch Group, which comes under the agriculture ministry, for evolving suitable crop strategies for farmers in coming months. Thirty-seven out of the 85 reservoirs have significant hydro-power capacity.
CWC chairman Bibhas Kumar said, "It's certainly a happy situation. It will make water available to farmers for irrigation in most part of the country, making it possible to have good "Rabi' crops".
Kumar told TOI on Tuesday that the situation augurs well for hydro-power generation due to abundant availability of water in various reservoirs.
"The information is also regularly shared with various departments and ministries involved in water resource planning," he added.
Besides irrigation and hydro-power benefits, the good storage capacity will also improve the drinking water position in several parts of the country.
The last four years' records show that monsoon in 2013 has led to the maximum water storage capacity at 122.236 BCM.
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