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27 May 2023 : The Hindu Editorial Analysis

Editorial 1: A fountainhead of the people’s hopes and aspirations

Introduction

  • In its 75th year of Independence, India is set to witness a historic moment with the inauguration of the new Parliament House on May 28. After using a Parliament building that is nearly a century old and symbolised a colonial era, we finally have a new structure in independent India. It reflects the vision and aspirations of a country that has evolved significantly since 1947.

 

Features of new parliament building

  • The construction of the original parliament building was completed in 1927. The almost-a-century-old structure was increasingly being found to be inadequate to service the government's present-day requirements.
  •  Keeping this in mind, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed resolutions in 2020 to construct a new building for the Parliament.
  • The old building could seat 543 Members in the Lok Sabha and 250 in the Rajya Sabha. The new Parliament building will have space for 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 384 members in the Rajya Sabha.
  •  The new Parliament, constructed on the lines of the Central Vista buildings, is a triangular structure. It houses the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, the Central Lounge and offices of constitutional authorities.
  • The new Lok Sabha Chamber is designed in the likeness of India's National Bird, the Peacock. The new Rajya Sabha Chamber, on the other hand, bears similarities to the National Flower, the Lotus.
  •  The new building will have a Constitution Hall for the purpose of showcasing India's democratic heritage. Other upcoming structure include a library, a dining room and ample parking for the members.
  • The new building will feature rainwater harvesting and water recycling systems. Provision of 100% UPS power backup will be made throughout the building, the document states.
  • The designing of the new building was done by Ahmedabad-based HCP Design and Management Pvt Limited. Tata Projects won the contract to build the new Parliament building, a part of the Centre's Central Vista redevelopment plans.

 

Equipped for the needs of today

  • The new building is more spacious, energy-efficient, and accessible. It has the most updated technology, which makes it well-equipped for future needs as well.
  • In the new building, we will be able to accommodate various languages with state-of-the-art facilities for simultaneous interpretations as well as better features for audio-visual communication as compared to the existing Parliament.
  • Better gadgets, access to an e-library, and important reports will be easily accessible for members from their seats.
  • This will enhance the capacity of legislators and improve the efficiency of the Secretariats of Parliament.
  • The building has publicly accessible museum-grade galleries and a Constitution Hall that showcases India’s age-old history of democracy.

 

Significance

  • The inauguration of a new Parliament building presents an opportunity for us to seriously introspect on our parliamentary conduct to make Parliament more efficient and productive.
  • The trend of increasing disruptions and long periods of deadlock is antithetical to the demand for politics to respond to the complex governance challenges of our time.
  • One hopes that adequate functional space and modern facilities for the members will contribute to reducing friction and enabling serious discussions. In the coming years, as this complex expands, each member will have their own dedicated space for interacting with people from their constituencies.
  • A modern legislature is required to work in tune with the challenges of time. The country has already paid huge costs — social and economic — due to the absence of laws when needed the most.

 

Conclusion

  • The world is changing fast and is on the verge of a tectonic shift due to the emergence of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The new Parliament building should remind us to prepare and equip ourselves to face up the new challenges. As a fountainhead of the people’s hopes and aspirations, particularly those of the younger generations, it would work as a lighthouse to guide us in our ambitious journey to build ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.’

Editorial 2: Arikompan still comes for rice

Context

  • Rice eating rogue elephant, Arikomban, which was translocated from Chinnakanal to Periyar Tiger Reserve, has reportedly been spotted near Kumily Town.

 

Arikompan

  • Arikompan, derived from the Malayalam ari meaning rice and kompan meaning tusker, has developed both a personality and a reputation over the years, much like another elephants.
  • It raided homes and shops looking for food.
  • With both villagers and the forest staff fearful of the elephant’s unpredictable raids over the last 10 years, the State forest department filed an affidavit detailing the damage Arikompan had caused.
  • Based on this, the Kerala High Court, on April 13, ordered for a translocation of the animal first to Parambikulam and then to Periyar Tiger Reserve, after consulting an expert committee.
     

Human-Animal conflict

  • Human-animal conflict refers to situations where human activities, such as agriculture, infrastructure development, or resource extraction, come into conflict with wild animals, leading to negative outcomes for both humans and animals.

 

Implications

  • Economic Losses: Human-animal conflict can result in significant economic losses for people, especially farmers and livestock herders. Wild animals can destroy crops, damage infrastructure, and kill livestock, leading to financial hardship.
  • Threats to Human Safety: Wild animals can pose a threat to human safety, especially in areas where people and wildlife coexist. Attacks by large predators such as lions, tigers, and bears can result in serious injury or death.
  • Ecological Damage: Human-animal conflict can have a negative impact on the environment. For example, when humans kill predators, it can lead to an increase in prey populations, which can then cause ecological imbalances.
  • Conservation Challenges: Human-animal conflict can also pose a challenge to conservation efforts, as it can lead to negative perceptions of wildlife and make it difficult to implement conservation measures.
  • Psychological Impacts: Human-animal conflict can also have psychological impacts on people, especially those who have experienced attacks or property damage. It can lead to fear, anxiety, and trauma.

 

Reasons for the conflict

  • Urbanisation & Development
  • Lack of Protected areas
  • Population explosion
  • Deforestation
  • Agricultural expansion
  • Climate change
  • Invasive species
  • Increase in eco-tourism
  • Substantial increase in the population of prolific breeders like wild boars and peacocks.

 

Steps Taken by Government

  • Project Elephant: It was launched by the Government of India in the year 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
  • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: It lays down the rules and regulations for the conservation and protection of Animals in India.
  • Protected Areas and reserves: There are 106 National Parks, 567 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 105 existing Conservation Reserves.
  • Project Tiger: It was launched by the Government of India in  1973, initially, the Project started with 9 tiger reserves, at present there are 53 tiger reserves in India.
  • Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE): It was established by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at the tenth Conference of the Parties in 1997.
  • Operation Thunderbird: Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, coordinated Operation in India to fight against wildlife crime.
  • Plan Bee: It is adopted by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) which is a unique method to keep elephants away from railway tracks and plans are afoot to implement it all over the country to save the lives of elephants.

 

Ways to tackle

  • Awareness: The communication and interaction between the forest department and the locals has to be improved so that they can be sensitized about the issues and animals.
  • Wildlife corridors: Corridors allow animals to freely move from one habitat patch to another without crossing human-caused barriers which can put animals, and potentially humans, in danger.
  • Community Participation: Effective planning and implementation of such measures requires consideration of good principles in community led-conservation, in collaboration with the communities affected.
  • Increase in Protected areas: To conserve the animals and avoid any human-animal interaction more protected areas need to be developed by the Government.
  • Other measures: Includes barriers (fences, nets, trenches), guarding and early-warning systems, deterrents and repellents (sirens, lights, beehives), translocation (moving wildlife), compensation or insurance, providing risk-reducing alternatives, as well as managing tensions between stakeholders involved in these situations.