India played host to a bevy of world leaders during the G20 summit in what increasingly appears to be an “all pomp and no substance” exercise, especially when it comes to reiterating the global commitment to sustainability goals. While India can take diplomatic pride for pushing through an unscathed declaration, there is a big question of how much of it is real.
While it isn’t uncommon to observe a disparity between impassioned rhetoric and practical actions at such multilateral events, that it comes at a time when the ice caps are melting at a frenetic pace needs to worry us all. Recent reports of 10,000 young emperor penguin chicks dying because the waters rose before their waterproof coats could is a stern warning to humanity that if we don’t mend our ways, we won’t have a planet to call our own.
Ironically, this year’s G20 theme is “One Earth, One Family, One Future” but the actions that political and economic considerations seem to be at variance from sustainable action. And India’s role could be perceived as a bigger irony, given that it spent a whopping ₹4,000 crore on beautifying the national capital without any sustainable goals.
As many as 45 demolition drives left 300K people homeless between April and July this year with the tag of “illegal encroachments” being used to justify the means as well as the end. Then there was the canine cleansing around the airport that left many bewildered, given that these dogs acted as scavengers of the nearby localities where traditional ones such as vultures and crows aren’t allowed given the “danger” they pose to the aircraft.
And if you thought these were stray incidents, check this out: the British prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife were hosted by the Akshardham Temple on the banks of the Yamuna River. How many of us remember that the said structure was slapped with a fine by the National Green Tribunal back in 2015 for breaking ecological norms.
The location of the said structure lay bang in the middle of the river’s floodplains, one which the government was attempting to reconstruct to stop regular flooding of the national highway during Delhi monsoons. The tribunal’s bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar had noted that the temple’s expanded part (constructed without approvals) fell in the floodplain area. They had leveled a fine of five per cent of the total cost incurred in the expansion of the complex. Of course, four years later, the same NGT clarified that the temple wasn’t on the floodplain, in spite of the fact that residents of the area confirm waterlogging each year post monsoons.
If these are indeed stray instances, the biggest irony of them all is India’s move towards becoming Bharat, which could cost more than ₹14,000 crore, per estimates made by Darren Oliver, a South African intellectual property lawyer. Though different spokespersons at different times assured that such a change isn’t on, even its contemplation seems daft at this time.
Especially since India’s sustainability progress, per the UN guidelines set in 2015, appears dismal by all counts. A report in The Lancet notes that India lags others in more than 50% of all indicators under the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which is just seven years away from its deadline. We are off target in 19 out of 33 indicators, says the study.
That’s not all, researchers say that four critical areas of poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellness, and gender equality are areas where India’s performance has been below par. A study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says India’s rise as a global power would hinge squarely on addressing these social factors.
They also emphasize the crucial necessity for a frank and transparent assessment of existing government initiatives, whether they have direct or indirect ties to these pivotal goals. If this ain’t a cry for help, what would be and who is responsible for taking corrective action? What was that old adage about “Rome burning and Nero Fiddling”?
Just to end this post on a somber note, India currently ranks 112 amongst 166 countries on the SDG index!
(Image source: Le Monde)
