The senior minister recently called for an overhaul of India’s environment laws. Has he finally dropped the facade?
I have lately taken an interest in hearing speeches made in Parliament. Not so much the ones delivered by opposition leaders or the prime minister, which are high on rhetoric and flourish but low on new information.
Instead, I like speeches by ministers. Many fumble like normal humans and read out pages marked with multicoloured Post-it notes. They speak about the performance and plans of their ministries. It is here that you get to hear what the government is actually doing and what it is hard-selling as actions to build a better India.
The recently concluded budget session did not …
Nihar Gokhale led the Chaos coverage at The Morning Context. Nihar wrote on the environment, the economy and resource conflicts in India. He has reported from across the country on everything from displacement, pollution and environmental violations to land regulation, corruption and human rights. He was earlier associate editor at Land Conflict Watch, and his work has appeared in Scroll, The Wire, IndiaSpend, The Caravan and Mongabay India.
Editor, Chaos
nihar@mailtmc.com
Delhi