Assam govt napping over global warming

Guwahati, Jul 22 (UNI) Global warming may have emerged as a serious concern all over the world, with former US vice-president Al Gore even organising the Earth Concert to raise awareness on the issue, but the Assam government is oblivious of the threat staring at it on the face.

Assam, known for its lusty hills, broad rivers and green valleys, appears to have already fallen prey to the phenomenon of global warming, with average summer temperatures of the state shooting upwards from 32-33 degree Celsius to about 37 degree Celsius in a couple of years.

But the state government's lack of concern over global warming, not to mention of its apparent total unpreparedness to handle it, is evident from the response of the state Environment and Science department to a petition under the RTI Act on the government's steps to check the global phenomenon.

The petition seeking information regarding the action taken by the government and other agencies to check adverse effects of global warming in Assam has exposed the latter's total ignorance of the issue and its failed attempts to camouflage it.

The original responder, the state department of Environment and Science, had sought information from the state Pollution Control Board (PCB), the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) and Chief Conservator of Forests.

The responses of the respective parties had little information on the steps taken to check global warming in the state.

The ASTEC said it had not undertaken any study or survey to access the green house gas emission in the state, and had published a report 'State of Environment, Assam 2004' based on secondary information from different agencies.

The petitioner was provided with a copy of the report, which contained old and insufficient data regarding the steps for checking adverse effects of global warming in the state.

Moreover, the ASTEC also mentioned of a website ww.anvisassam.org that had more information on the subject. It claimed that the website was being regularly maintained by the ASTEC but even a cursory scroll through it revealed that the last time it was possibly updated was in 2003.

Only three newsletter were hoisted in the website, the latest being the April-June edition of 2003. The news clippings were equally old, with records of only the first seven months of 2003.

The Chief Conservator of Forests, in its response, could not provide with any information except its utter ignorance. It had not conducted any survey on the matter on its own and was even ignorant if any other agency was working on it in the state.

The state PCB, on the other hand, responded with a few frivolous steps it had taken in the case of global warming.

It said that industrial and vehicular emission was being monitored as also the level of pollution in ambient air, vehicular emission and monitoring of stack emission. The PCB also mentioned of undertaking mass awareness programmes at different levels, but no details were attached.

The state government's concerned departments' total lack of preparedness to check the threat of global warming could pose a serious problem for Assam.

UNI