Form Olive Green to Green: The Indian“Ecological Army
Thousands of kilometers of India’s land border
traverse though diverse terrain, from flat salt marshes of Rann of Kutch and
arid Thar desert in west to rugged intimidating terrain of Karakoram and
Himalayas in North and North East and deltaic plain in East. During peace time
these areas are patrolled by the various para-military forces, namely Border
Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo Tibetan Border Police, etc. In the
event of any enemy hostile action coming from across the border, the Indian
army takes over. The Indian army is committed to defend our mother land from
any external aggression and safeguard national security and unity. The brave
solders of Indian army have taken part in major operations in India and
abroad. History is replete with
reference to Indian Army action like Operation Polo and Vijay, which led to
incorporation of Princely state of Hyderabad into Indian Union in 1948 and
freedom of Goa, Daman and Diu from the Portuguese occupation in in 1961,
respectively. Many such operations have strengthened the Indian Union and also secured
our country from recurrent terrorist attacks. However, Indian army is not
always about fighting with guns and weapons. There is humanitarian side to it
also, which emanates through its involvement of peace keeping operations, both
national & international. The active involvement of Indian army during
natural disaster in Uttarakhand, Visakhapatnam and Kerala has helped in rescue
and provide relief to thousands of devastated citizens. In a truly unique role,
the Indian Army also plays a crucial role in ensuring environmental security,
through restoration of our degraded fragile ecosystems.
With gradual deterioration of the natural environment,
the role of military services in conservation and protection of the fragile
environment and reduction of military’s environmental foot print has been
acknowledged by the United Nations. The military bases are located in some of
the inaccessible regions, like the Siachen, where the presence of army caused
some pollution, waste dumping and melting of glacier. Concerned with the
degradation of the environment, the army has planned to airlift the garbage from
the area and use bio-digesters. In the mainland, almost all military campuses are
responsible for maintenance of greenery in the campus and serve as biodiversity
refuge. Throughout India, the Army is engaged in activities related to
safeguarding and conservation of the natural environment. Towards this,
Eco-Task Force (ETF) has a major role to play and has been instrumental in
greening of 72,741 hectares of degraded land in India and effectively contributing
to the wellbeing of the people.
ETF traces back its origin to the 1980’s, when
Mussourie hills lying in the lap of Shiwalik range, were ravaged by illegal,
unorganized limestone mining and deforestation, thereby losing its natural
splendor. Alarmed by the pressing environmental conditions, Noble peace prize
winner and ‘Father of green revolution’ Norman
Borlaug proposed to the then prime minister of India, Smt Indira Gandhi to
involve military to restore the ecological balance in the region. Thus, Territorial
Army was raised to fulfil the task of restoration of the region. The retired ‘trained and disciplined’ men
from the region were employed to undertake the task. Thenceforth, the
ecological unit of the Territorial Army, called the Ecological Task Force (ETF)
was institutionalised in 1982 as India’s as well as world’s foremost ecological
unit.
An
ETF unit at a particular location has a head quarter and one or more company
headed by an officer. There are ten such ETF units devoted to dual purpose of
ecological restoration and resettlement of ex-servicemen. They are operating in
Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Assam and Uttar Pradesh. They are funded by the respective state government or
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
ETF
works in synergy with the Forest Department. They are given training on
forestry and nursery management by the forest department and experts in the
field. The forest department also supplies saplings and suggests suitable
native trees for plantation in the region. Once ETF is given charge of
ecological restoration, they take over the plantation area and put up all round
bush wood fence to restrict the movement of the locals and livestock. They
prepare fire linesto stop the spread of wildfire and also put up watch and ward
posts to deter any intruder in the project area. They also raise awareness among
the local communities about the forest and the need to conserve them. Plantation
is mainly carried out in monsoon season. Before that soil is tested and
treated, weeds are cleared, pits are dug for plantation. The joint evaluation
of the plantation is carried out by the ETF and Forest department.
The
success stories are woven everywhere, through various activities like afforestation with survival
rate of 75 to 80%, soil conservation, water harvesting, pasture development,
wasteland development, protecting and conserving wildlife. Some of them are worth mentioning. The
rampant and illegal quartzite mining of the Asola and Bhatti took a heavy toll
of the ecology of once densely forested region of Delhi ridge. This area was
handed over to ETF in 2001and under their stewardship the whole area was
restored through planting of various native species and creation of water bodies.
Apart from the various environmental benefits (increased rainfall, pollution
reduction, water recharge, carbon sequestration), this area has become
repository of diverse flora and fauna, thereby becoming a Biodiversity hotspot.
Presence of ETF has also reduced illegal mining and encroachment of the fragile
Delhi ridge.
In more recent project, in 2017, ETF is instrumental
in providing livelihood to local residents in remotely located Malari
region of Niti Valley in Uttarakhand. There, ETF engaged
local villagers in plantation of high quality Walnut and Chilgoza saplings and
made them sole beneficiaries of the fruit borne by the saplings, there by reducing
migration of villagers.
The
path to success is not smooth. The force faces various arduous challenges, especially
forest fires and excessive heat during summers in arid areas. Other challenges
are infertile soil, low water table, illegal cutting of trees and illegal
encroachment. Often the project areas are very large and the manpower is not
commensurate with the requirement of the project area.ETF tries to overcome
those challenges through ingenious ways, like working in the early hours of day
and evening to avoid scorching sun. Even after fruitfully executing its task, ETF
faces barrage of criticism, for the high cost of deploying army for greening
projects. But the contribution of the ETF in greening of harsh savaged landscape
is irrefutable and well appreciated.
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