Property rights

Sir ? The report, ?7 days for ex-judge to leave the house? (March 10), is shocking. It is well known that Jyoti Basu had allotted plots under the discretionary quota to various politicians, bureaucrats and others close to him. The apex court, having taken cognizance of the public interest litigation against Bhagabati Prosad Banerjee, should have taken similar action against the beneficiaries of other ?illegal? allotments instead of singling Banerjee out. This would have stopped such controversial allotments in Bengal and in other states as well.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Unnatural trend

Sir ? Article 253 of the Constitution of India empowers parliament to make any law for implementing any treaty, agreement or convention or any decision made at any international conference, association or other body. Further, Article 73 gives the Union government the executive power to exercise such rights, authority and jurisdiction as are exercisable by the government of India by virtue of any treaty or agreement. Moreover, the Seventh Schedule gives exclusive right to the Central government to make any law on any subject related to the United Nations. Under the aegis of the UN, an international convention on wetlands was held in 1971 at Ramsar in Iran, and India participated in it. In 1982, some wetlands of India were designated as Ramsar sites, which included the East Calcutta Wetlands in 2002.

The West Bengal government has no competence to pass the East Calcutta Wetlands (Conservation and Management) bill 2006 in the state legislature. In West Bengal, 54 natural wet sites (2.92 lakh hectares) and 9 man-made sites (52.6 thousand hectares) satisfy the Ramsar definition of wetlands. The parliament should bring out a comprehensive legislation, first to protect them and then to preserve them permanently.

Yours faithfully,
Sivabrata Chatterjee, Calcutta

Sir ? As Sukanta Chaudhuri pointed out in ?Nature laid waste? (March 2), the East Calcutta wetlands are an invaluable asset to our city, besides being an ecological marvel. The amendments made in the East Calcutta Wetlands bill is no guarantee that the city?s wetlands are now safe. As citizens we must remain alert to the threats to its existence in the name of ?development?. The promoter-politician nexus should not be allowed to get away with such heinous and destructive activities.

Yours faithfully,
Kakoli Bhattacharya, Calcutta

Sir ??Nature laid waste? should serve as an eye-opener ? unless, of course, one prefers to keep one?s eyes closed ? not only for our reformist politicians and foolish officials, but also for those visionaries who want to protect the much talked about and world famous East Calcutta wetlands. The land is rapidly vanishing in the name of making a ?necessary? extension of Calcutta (as if there are no other lands for the purpose) and the so-called uplift of the economy of West Bengal.

As Chaudhuri pointed out, the encroachment is not merely on the land, but also on the livelihood of a large population which depends on the wetlands for their survival. It is impossible that the city will ever come up with an artificial system for waste management, and given the rate at which Calcutta is growing, it is unthinkable that any such system, even if devised, will be able to live up to the demands of the city and its expanding population. We need more genuine and committed eco-activism, something which is almost entirely absent in this city, to make people aware of the hazards of our vanishing wetlands.

Yours faithfully,
Pijush Banerjee, Calcutta