Trouble in the Hills : on Western Ghats Ecology: The Hindu Editorial
There should be public consultation on expert reports on the Western Ghats ecology
The catastrophic (involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering) monsoon floods in Kerala and parts of Karnataka have revived (to give new strength or energy to) the debate on whether political expediency (the quality of being convenient and practical despite possibly being improper or immoral)trumped (surpassed by doing better) science. Seven years ago, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel issued recommendations for the preservation of the fragile western peninsular region. Madhav Gadgil, who chaired the Union Environment Ministry’s WGEEP, has said the recent havoc (widespread destruction) in Kerala is a consequence of short-sighted policymaking, and warned that Goa may also be in the line of nature’s fury (unrestrained or violent anger). The State governments that are mainly responsible for the Western Ghats — Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra — must go back to the drawing table with the reports of both the Gadgil Committee and the Kasturirangan Committee, which was set up to examine the WGEEP report. The task before them is to initiate correctives to environmental policy decisions. This is not going to be easy, given the need to balance human development pressures with stronger protection of the Western Ghats ecology. The issue of allowing extractive (of or involving extraction, especially the extensive extraction of natural resources without provision for their renewal) industries such as quarrying (cutting into rock or ground to obtain stone or other materials) and mining to operate is arguably the most contentious (controversial). A way out could be to create the regulatory framework that was proposed by the Gadgil panel, in the form of an apex Western Ghats Ecology Authority and the State-level units, under the Environment (Protection) Act, and to adopt the zoning system that it proposed. This can keep incompatible activities out of the Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs).
IMPORTANT WORDS FOR ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING
1. Catastrophic (Adjective) – Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering (प्रलयंकर)
Synonyms – Destructive, Calamitous, Cataclysmic, Disastrous, Fatal, Ruinous, Tragic, Cataclysmal
Antonyms -Advantageous, Blessed, Fortunate, Happy, Successful
2. Revive (Verb) – To give new strength or energy to (पुनर्जीवित करना)
Synonyms – Arouse, Encourage, Energize, Invigorate, Rejuvenate, Rekindle, Renew, Renovate, Repair, Restore, Resurrect, Resuscitate, Revitalize, Strengthen
Antonyms – Damage, Depress, Destroy, Discourage, Dissuade, Ruin, Weaken
3. Expediency (Noun) – The quality of being convenient and practical despite possibly being improper or immoral (योग्यता)
Synonyms – Appropriateness, Advantageousness , Convenience, Efficiency, Propriety, Suitability, Usefulness
Antonyms – Inappropriateness, Unsuitability, Uselessness
4. Trump (Verb) – To surpass something by saying or doing something better (पछाड़ देना)
Synonyms – Outmaneuver, Outdo, Overtake, Defeat, Exceed, Excel, Finesse, Outsmart, Surpass
Antonyms – Be Inferior, Fail, Fall behind, Lose
5. Havoc (Noun) – Widespread destruction (तबाही)
Synonyms – Calamity, Cataclysm, Catastrophe, Chaos, Devastation, Disruption, Mayhem, Damage, Desolation, Dilapidation, Bane
Antonyms – Blessing, Boon, Harmony
6. Fury (Noun) – Unrestrained or violent anger (प्रकोप)
Synonyms – Acrimony, Ferocity, Frenzy, Furor, Indignation, Intensity, Ire, rage, Acerbity, Asperity, Conniption, Fierceness
Antonyms – Calmness, Glee, Lethargy, Peacefulness, Inability, Incompetence, Kindness, Mildness, Powerlessness, Weakness
7. Extractive (Adjective) – Of or involving extraction, especially the extensive extraction of natural resources without provision for their renewal (सारत्व)
Synonyms – Culling, Deriving, Eliciting, Gleaning, Abridging, Abstracting, Condensing, Educing, Evolving, Excerpting
Antonyms – Enlarging, Expanding
8. Quarrying (Verb) – Cutting into rock or ground to obtain stone or other materials (उत्खनन)
Synonyms – Drilling, Boring, Burrowing, Digging, Hollowing, Pitting, Scooping, Tapping, Tunneling, Unearthing
9. Contentious (Adjective) – Controversial (विवादास्पद)
Synonyms – Quarrelsome, Antagonistic, Combative, Testy, Argumentative, Belligerent, Disagreeable, Factious, Perverse, Petulant, Querulous
Antonyms – Agreeable
