Weekly Current Affairs (15th to 21st August 2022) - 1 - UPSC PDF Download

Conserving India’s Coastal Ecosystems

Context: Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled a report in Parliament on whether steps taken by the Union Environment Ministry to conserve India’s coastal ecosystems have been successful.

• This latest report contains the observations from an audit of Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems from 2015-20.

Why did the CAG conduct this Audit?

• The CAG has a constitutional mandate to investigate and report on publicly funded programmes.
• The CAG conducted “pre-audit studies” and found that there were large-scale Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations in the coastal stretches.
  • Coastal land up to 500 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, lagoons, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations is called Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
• The media reported incidents of illegal construction activities (reducing beach space) and effluent discharged by local bodies, industries, and aquaculture farms that prompted a detailed investigation.

How is the Center Responsible for Conserving the Coastline?

About: The government has issued notifications under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, to regulate activities along India’s coasts particularly regarding construction. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ) 2019, implemented by the Ministry, classifies the coastal area into different zones to manage infrastructure activities and regulate them.
The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ are

• National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) at the Centre
• State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) in every coastal State and Union Territory and
• District Level Committees (DLCs) in every district that has a coastal stretch and where the CRZ notification is applicable.

Role of the Bodies

• These bodies examine if CRZ clearances granted by the government are as per procedure, if project developers once given the go-ahead are complying with conditions, and if the project development objectives under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) are successful.
• They also evaluate the measures taken up by the government towards achieving the targets under Sustainable Development Goals.

What did the Audit Find?

NCZMA as a Permanent Body

• The Environment Ministry hadn’t notified NCZMA as a permanent body and it was being reconstituted every few years.
• In the absence of defined membership, it was functioning as an ad-hoc body.

Role of Expert Appraisal Committees

• There were instances of the Expert Appraisal Committees not being present during project deliberations.
  • EAC is a committee of scientific experts and senior bureaucrats who evaluate the feasibility of an infrastructure project and its environmental consequences.
• There were also instances of the members of the EAC being fewer than half of the total strength during the deliberations.

SCZMAs not Constituted

• At state-level where the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs) take decisions, the central auditor observed the instances where SCZMA granted clearance on its own without recommending the projects to relevant authorities.
• Further, SCZMAs had recommended many projects without the submission of mandatory documents.

Approval of Projects despite Inadequacies

• There were instances of projects being approved despite inadequacies in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports.
  • These included non-accredited consultants preparing the EIA, using outdated data, not evaluating environmental impacts of the project, not appraising the disasters which the project area was prone to and so forth.

What Problems did the CAG find in the States?

• Tamil Nadu didn’t have a strategy in place to conserve the Gulf of Mannar Islands.
• In Goa, there was no system for monitoring coral reefs and no management plans to conserve turtle nesting sites.
• In Gujarat, instruments procured to study the physiochemical parameters of soil and water of the inertial area of the Gulf of Kutch weren’t used.
• Sea patrolling in Gahirmatha Sanctuary, in Kendrapara, Odisha did not happen.

What are the Indian Initiatives for Coastal Management?

National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management

• It aims to promote integrated and sustainable management of the coastal and marine areas in India for the benefit and wellbeing of the traditional coastal and island communities.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan

• It is a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in an attempt to achieve sustainability.

Coastal Regulation Zone

• The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification was issued in 1991 under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, by theMinistry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to regulate activities in coastal areas of India.

Way Forward

• These reports are placed before the Standing Committees of Parliament, which select those findings and recommendations that they judge to be the most critical to public interest and arrange hearings on them.
• In this case, the Environment Ministry is expected to explain omissions pointed out by the CAG and make amends.
• SCZMAs and NCZMAs may be made as permanent bodies with full time members to carry out all the mandated activities for protecting the coastal environment.

Manual Scavengers Enumeration Exercise

Context: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) is preparing to undertake a nationwide survey to enumerate all Sanitation workers engaged in cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.

What are the Key Points?

• The enumeration exercise is part of the National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme and will be conducted across 500 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) cities.
• It will merge with and replace the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), which was started in 2007.
• Programme Monitoring Units (PMUs) for the 500 AMRUT cities will be set up to carry out the exercise.
• Once this exercise is completed across the 500 cities, it will be expanded nationwide, making it easier to bring government benefits like upskilling and loan and capital subsidies to them.

What is the NAMASTE Scheme?

About: It was launched in July 2022.

• The NAMASTE scheme is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the MoSJ&E and aims to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices.

Objectives

• Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India.
• All sanitation work is performed by skilled workers.
• No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter.
• Sanitation workers are collectivised into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and are empowered to run sanitation enterprises.
• Strengthened supervisory and monitoring systems at National, State and Urban Local Body (ULB) levels to ensure enforcement and monitoring of safe sanitation work.
• Increased awareness among sanitation services seekers (individuals and institutions) to seek services from registered and skilled sanitation workers.

What is the Need for Enumeration Exercise?

• Manual Scavenging has led to at least 351 deaths since 2017.
• It is aimed at streamlining the process of rehabilitating sanitation workers.
• It will make it easier to bring government benefits like upskilling and loan and capital subsidies to them.
• To link listed sanitation workers to the Swaachha Udyami Yojana, through which the workers will be able to own sanitation machines themselves and the government will ensure that at the municipality level, the work keeps coming in.
  • Swaachha Udyami Yojana has twin objectives of cleanliness and providing livelihood to Safai Karamcharis and liberated Manual Scavengers to achieve the overall goal of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”.

What is Manual Scavenging?

• Manual scavenging is defined as “the removal of human excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters and sewers”.
• India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).
  • The Act bans the use of any individual manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner human excreta till its disposal.
  • The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice.

Why is Manual Scavenging Still Prevalent?

Indifferent Attitude

• A number of independent surveys have talked about the continued reluctance on the part of state governments to admit that the practice prevails under their watch.

Issues due to Outsourcing

• Many times, local bodies outsource sewer cleaning tasks to private contractors. However, many of them fly-by-night operators, do not maintain proper roles of sanitation workers.
• In case after case of workers being asphyxiated to death, these contractors have denied any association with the deceased.

Social Issue

• The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides.
• It is linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are expected to perform this job.
• In 1993, India banned the employment of people as manual scavengers (The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993), however, the stigma and discrimination associated with it still linger on.
  • This makes it difficult for liberated manual scavengers to secure alternative livelihoods.

Lack of Enforcement and Unskilled Laboureers:

• The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India.

What are the Steps taken to tackle the Menace of Manual Scavenging?

• The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020:
  • It proposes to completely mechanise sewer cleaning, introduce ways for ‘on-site’ protection and provide compensation to manual scavengers in case of sewer deaths.
  • It will be an amendment to The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
  • It is still awaiting cabinet approval.
• The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013:
  • Superseding the 1993 Act, the 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual excrement cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits.
• The Building and Maintenance of Insanitary Latrines Act of 2013:
  • It outlaws construction or maintenance of unsanitary toilets, and the hiring of anybody for their manual scavenging, as well as of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
  • It also provides a constitutional responsibility to provide alternative jobs and other assistance to manual scavenging communities, as reparation for historical injustice and indignity.
• Prevention of Atrocities Act:
  • In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers, more than 90% people employed as manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste. This became an important landmark to free manual scavengers from designated traditional occupations.
• Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
  • It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on World Toilet Day (19th November) in 2020.
  • The Government launched this “challenge” for all states to make sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021 — if any human needs to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, proper gear and oxygen tanks, etc., are to be provided.
• ‘Swachhta Abhiyan App’:
  • It has been developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers so that the insanitary latrines can be replaced with sanitary latrines and rehabilitate all the manual scavengers to provide dignity of life to them.
• SC Judgment: In 2014, a Supreme Court order made it mandatory for the government to identify all those who died in sewage work since 1993 and provide Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation to their families.

Way Forward

• With Swachh Bharat Mission identified as a top priority area by the 15th Finance Commission and funds available for smart cities and urban development providing for a strong case to address the problem of manual scavenging.
• To address the social sanction behind manual scavenging, it is required first to acknowledge and then understand how and why manual scavenging continues to be embedded in the caste system.
• The state and society need to take active interest in the issue and look into all possible options to accurately assess and subsequently eradicate this practice.

Chinese Vessel in Sri Lanka

Context: Recently, China’s satellite tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 has arrived at Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota Port, despite India and the U.S. voicing concern with Colombo over the military ship’s visit.

What do we know about Yuan Wang 5 & Hambantota Port?

• Yuan Wang 5:
  • It is a third-generation vessel of the Yuan Wang series that entered service in 2007.
  • This series of ships include "space tracking ships involved in supporting the manned space programme".
  • It has the ability to track satellites and intercontinental missiles.
• Hambantota Port:
  • Hambantota International Port Group is a Public Private Partnership and a Strategic Development Project between the Government of Sri Lanka and China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort).
  • This port was given to China by Sri Lanka on a 99-year lease after Sri Lanka failed to repay Chinese loans.
    • It is seen as a case of Chinese "debt trap" Diplomacy.

Why is China’s Presence in Sri Lanka a Concern for India?

Recently, China's presence in Sri Lanka has increased on a large scale.

• China is the largest bilateral creditor to Sri Lanka.
• Its loans to the Sri Lankan public sector amount to 15% of the central government’s external debt.
• Sri Lanka heavily relies on Chinese credit to address its foreign debt burden.
• China extended about USD 2.8 billion to Sri Lanka soon after the pandemic hit but has not stepped in much in 2022, even as the island’s economy collapsed rapidly.
• China has invested about USD 12 billion in Sri Lanka’s infrastructure projects between 2006-19.
• China enjoys friendlier waters in South Asia and the Indian Ocean than it does in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
• China faces opposition from Taiwan, territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East Asia, and myriad frictions with the US and Australia.

India’s Concern due to China’s Presence:

• Sri Lanka has decided to establish a Special Economic Zone around the Colombo port city and a new economic commission, to be funded by China.
  • The Colombo port handles 60% of India’s trans-shipment cargo.
• Leasing of Hambantota and the Colombo Port City project makes it almost certain for the Chinese navy to have a permanent presence in the Indian Ocean which will be worrisome for India’s national security.
  • This Chinese strategy to encircle India is referred to as the Strings of Pearls Strategy.
• Other South Asian nations like Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives have also been turning to China to finance large-scale infrastructure projects.

What should be India’s Approach Moving Forward?

• Preserving Strategic Interests:
  • Nurturing the Neighbourhood First policy with Sri Lanka is important for India to preserve its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean region.
• Taking Advantage of Regional Platforms:
  • Platforms like the BIMSTEC, SAARC, SAGAR and the IORA could be leveraged to foster cooperation in fields like technology-driven agriculture, marine sector development, IT & communication infrastructure etc.
• Restraining Chinese Expansion:
  • India will need to continue to work on the Kankesanturai port in Jaffna and the oil tank farm project in Trincomalee to ensure that China does not make any further inroads in Sri Lanka.
  • Both countries can also cooperate on enhancing private sector investments to create economic resilience.
• Leveraging India’s Soft Power:
  • In the technology sector, India can create job opportunities in Sri Lanka by expanding the presence of its IT companies.
• These organizations can create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and boost the island nation’s service economy.

Period Poverty

Context: Scotland has become the first nation in the world to legally protect the right to access free period products and have made period products free for all by passing the Period Products Act.

• Period poverty is when those on low incomes can't afford, or access, suitable period products.

What do we know about the Development in Scotland?

About:

• Under the Period Products Act, schools, colleges and universities as well as local government bodies must make a range of period products available for free in their bathrooms.
• Every council in Scotland is required with local communities to determine the best access point for menstrual products.

Accessibility:

• A mobile phone app (PickUpMyPeriod) also helps people find the nearest place — such as the local library or community center — where they can pick up period products.
• The period products would be available at libraries, swimming pools, public gyms, community buildings, town halls, pharmacies & doctor’s offices.

What has been the state of Menstrual Hygiene in India?

• According to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study conducted in 2011:
  • Only 13% of girls in India are aware of menstruation before menarche.
  • 60% of girls missed school on account of menstruation.
  • 79% faced low confidence due to menstruation and 44% were embarrassed and humiliated over restrictions.
  • Thereby, Menstruation adversely impacts women's education, equality, maternal and child health.
• National Family Health Survey 5:
  • Women aged 15-24 years using period products:
  • Seventeen states and Union Territories (UTs) had 90% or more of their women using period products.
  • In Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the fraction was 99%.
  • Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar – had 70% or fewer of their women using period products.
  • Bihar was the only state to report a figure lower than 60%.
• Top three states that reported an increase in the percentage of women using period products from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5:
  • Bihar: 90%
  • Odisha: 72%
  • Madhya Pradesh: 61%

What Initiatives has the Indian Government taken for Menstrual Hygiene?

• Shuchi Scheme:
  • Shuchi Scheme aims aimed at instilling awareness about menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls.
  • It was started in 2013-14 initially as a Centrally-sponsored one.
  • However, the Centre asked States to take over the scheme from 2015-16.
• Menstrual Hygiene Scheme:
  • Menstrual Hygiene Scheme focuses on promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls (10-19 years) in rural areas of selected districts in 2011.
• SABLA programme:
  • It was implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • It focuses on nutrition, health, hygiene and reproductive and sexual health (linked to rural mother and childcare centres).
• National Rural Livelihood Mission:
  • It supports self-help groups and small manufacturers to produce sanitary pads.
• Swachh Bharat Mission and Swachh Bharat: Swachh Vidyalaya (SB:SV):
  • Menstrual hygiene management is also an integral part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Guidelines for Gender Issues in Sanitation (2017):
  • These have been evolved by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to ensure gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with respect to sanitation.
  • Safe and effective menstrual hygiene management is a trigger for better and stronger development for adolescent girls and women.
• The National Guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management:
  • It was released by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2015.
  • It seeks to address every component of menstrual hygiene ranging from, raising awareness, addressing behaviour change, creating a demand for better hygiene products, capacity building etc.

Way Forward

• The Government of India should also consider the approach as of Scotland’s and make the period products available or at reasonable concession/discount.
• The government can also promote small-scale sanitary pad manufacturing units to make low-cost pads more easily available, it will also help in generating income for women.
• The government needs to provide, efforts directed at awareness and education about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, and access to safe products, and responsive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.
• However, menstrual health cannot be achieved only through governmental efforts without addressing it as a social issue, requiring interventions at societal, community and familial level.