On 30 December, Prakash Javadekar kickstarted a press conference with a two-volume, 604-page tome in his hands. It was the 2019 edition of the biennial India State of Forest Report, or ISFR, and it brought good tidings. 2019 had otherwise been a year of critical opprobrium for the newly inducted environment minister.
He had promised to fast-track environmental clearances, backed the controversial felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony and proclaimed there’s no link between pollution and shorter lifespans (which saw a sharp response from the World Health Organization).
The 2019 forest report, then, was a bright spot to be …
Roshni is a features writer and former editor of The Morning Context's Chaos team. Her career spans The Ken, Reuters, the Hindustan Times and DNA. She is a recipient of the UNFPA Laadli award and was shortlisted for the RedInk Awards 2016 for her story on Mumbai’s leprosy colonies. Her far-flung ideas would sometimes drive our editor-in-chief Ashish up the wall, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way (even if he didn’t admit it).
roshni@mailtmc.com