Environment Ministry seeks scientists to criticise Kerala government: Powertrip #65

As Kerala reels from the horrific Wayanad landslides, which have claimed over 300 lives, the Environment Ministry tried finding scientists to criticise the Kerala government. In this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, Nidheesh MK, and Pooja Prasanna, we reveal how the Press Information Bureau has approached various individuals to write articles criticising the Pinarayi government and provided them with a dossier of information. Our newsletter has details of what the ministry wanted. .Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.The desperate search for opinion pieces When Home Minister Amit Shah spoke in Parliament the day after the Wayanad landslides, it became clear that the Union government would adopt a confrontational stance toward the Kerala government. We have learned that the Ministry of Environment is urgently searching for scientists and researchers to write articles on how the Kerala government’s poor policies regarding quarrying have led to the landslide. We confirmed this with three individuals who received calls from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) seeking contacts of scientists, researchers or journalists willing to write such articles. A Word document was also circulated, containing links to past news stories about the problem of indiscriminate quarrying in Kerala, along with a few pointers. It is unclear whether the document was prepared by the ministry or the PIB (it is a plain word document). The document claims that the state government’s failure to stop quarrying was “the main reason for the Wayanad disaster”.It contained around seven news articles from various publications, including one published in TNM in 2019. It also included several points that writers were expected to highlight, such as issuing quarry permits without impact assessments, the high number of unpermitted quarries, and the association between landslides and quarries. Among the points listed was that Kerala had ignored recommendations for a Mining Policy and had increased quarry permits post the 2018 floods.One person who received the call said that if the Union government had specific and irrefutable data, they should release it instead of opting for a shadow war and planting the information. Another person noted that the insistence that quarrying was responsible for the current landslide lacked a scientific basis and that most scientists would likely refuse to write on the topic. And just as we were writing this, as if on cue, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav gave a statement to PTI that illegal quarrying was the reason for the landslide. Who didn’t deliver on policy?While the Union government engages in a shadow war, the Kerala government and the Congress are preparing for a fight regarding lack of implementation of policies. We have learned that the state government has asked experts to draft a report on how the Union government has been dragging its feet on preparing risk-reduction maps. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), landslide related risk-reduction maps are supposed to be prepared by the Mining Department. It is unclear whether such maps have been created, as none have been shared with the state.While a state government can create town planning advisories, maps, or restrictions using the powers vested with the collector or town planning authority, the NDMA has overriding powers. Even short-term restrictions have to be decided by the NDMA. The maps to enable this must come from the Mining Department, with the Union government acting as the nodal authority.Once the experts submit the report, Kerala will decide its next course of action, which may include moving the court to compel the Union government to conduct landslide-prone mapping.The CPI(M)-led state government will focus on what the Union government failed to do, while its nemesis within the state, the Congress, is preparing to question the state government on the lack of implementation of the open data policy or the Kerala Data Sharing and Access Policy (KDSAP). Although the KDSAP draft was finalised in 2017, Kerala has never notified it. Congress sources claim that the lack of an open data policy has led to abysmal risk-informed planning at the local level.Sources on the ground say that during the landslide rescue, the government shared a few maps with rescuers. These maps, which categorise vulnerable territories, were helpful to the rescuers. The Congress plans to question why the government has not utilised this data and implemented the open data policy..Will Annamalai continue as TN BJP president?While there is major buzz on social media that Annamalai has handed in his resignation as Tamil Nadu BJP President, no one in the BJP has confirmed it. However, multiple sources confirm that the party high command has not yet decided on relieving Annamalai from his duties, even temporarily.As we mentioned earlier, Annamalai has been selected for the United Kingdom Foreign Office’s Chevening Gurukul Fellowship for Leadership and Excellence programme. He needs to be in London for three months for the fellowship. Though he has asked national president JP Nadda to relieve him temporarily, Nadda has reportedly said that the clearance must come from his superiors, Modi and Shah..Zero HourA political story of public importance.‘Fear of Hasina gone’: How the student agitation has shaken up Bangladesh’s authoritarianism.Scroll spoke to Ali Riaz, an expert on Bangladeshi politics, to understand the impact of the student protests..PowermovesTop 5 political stories.1. Kerala’s twin tunnel project with an eye on tourism draws flak after landslide in the area2. Wayanad's tragic landslides reveal gaps in weather prediction systems 3. Geological features and excessive rainfall caused Wayanad landslide 4. Satisfying the collective conscience of Hindu upper caste in the name of sub-classification of SC reservation 5. Opinion: SC order on sub-classification is historical but regressive about creamy layer