(IN) How India's Wildlife Protection Act originated

[Guest guest]

Again thanks to Yana Banerjee - Bey for organising this important interview.

Much appreciated Yana.

 

FIRST STIRRINGS | MK Ranjitsinh

MAN OF THE FOREST

*Rivetting accounts of how India’s wildlife protection Act came about and

the night of the Bhopal gas leak, among other recollections

 

MY grandfather* ruled the princely state of Wankaner in Gujarat. The merger

of the princely states took place in 1948 but the titles were recognized

till 1972. My grandfather lived till 1954. My father, Pratapsinhji, as the

heir apparent and helped my grandfather in looking after the state. My

father died in 2006 at 100 years of age.

I was born in 1938 and schooled at Rajkumar College, Rajkot, where my father

and grandfather had also studied. Then I went to St Stephen’s College,

Delhi, for History (Hons) and MA in history. In 1960, I appeared for the IAS

examination and was selected in 1961. I joined the IAS because

administration was something I was relatively familiar with due to my

background. I felt I was not suited to business or industry and I was not

inclined to join the Army. My parents and grandfather said I must work and I

felt the same way. In the administrative service, I found an opportunity to

serve the nation.

I am from Gujarat but I opted for Madhya Pradesh. I wanted to serve outside

Gujarat and Rajasthan where I have relatives in every district. And

undivided Madhya Pradesh had the maximum extent of forest. I was deeply

interested in forests and wildlife.

I had two maternal uncles, one in the ICS and the other in the IAS. They

belonged to Central Provinces, later Madhya Pradesh. The one in the ICS, Dr

Nagendra Singh, who died in 1989 as Chief Justice of the International Court

of Justice at the Hague, used to be Collector of Mandla. I went there as a

boy and decided that I would join the ICS and become Collector of Mandla. I

did that, though I joined the IAS.

 

*I was deeply involved with the protection and improvement of Kanha and the

saving of the highly endangered Barasingha. That particular sub-species is

now found only in Kanha. It was a hands-on job.

 

*DP Misra was Chief Minister of MP and RC Noronha was Chief Secretary. I

joined them in 1962. I was Assistant Collector under training at Sagar for

two years. In 1964, I was given independent charge of a sub-division,

Bahrampur. Then I went to the Secretariat in Bhopal as Under Secretary, Home

at the time of the 1964 war. In 1965, I was promoted to Collector and posted

at Dhar. In 1967, I was posted at Mandla. The Mandla posting was the only

one I ever asked for in my entire career.

My interest in forests and wildlife probably sprang from my upbringing and

my family. I had exposure to these things as a child. As a Collector, my

work had something or the other to do with forests and wildlife.

Mandla included Kanha, one of India’s greatest national parks. I was deeply

involved with the protection and improvement of Kanha and the saving of the

highly endangered Barasingha. That particular sub-species is now found only

in Kanha. It was a hands-on job. I was Collector at Mandla from 1967 to ’70

and then for a year I was Deputy Secretary, Finance in the Madhya Pradesh

government. The Secretary was RN Malhotra, who later became Governor of the

Reserve Bank of India. In 1971, I came to Delhi on deputation from Madhya

Pradesh. It was my first posting in the Ministry of Agriculture. At the

time, the Forest Department was under this Ministry. Mrs Indira Gandhi

called a meeting to elicit suggestions regarding wildlife conservation. I

was the youngest person present.

I made a couple of suggestions. One, that we needed a wildlife Act for the

whole country, a Central Act; second, we should have a Central scheme for

providing financial assistance to our national parks and sanctuaries. This

was then a state subject. Later, under Emergency, Mrs Gandhi amended the

Constitution and made forest and wildlife a concurrent subject. So when I

suggested a Central Act, the question arose as to how this could be done

when it was not even a concurrent subject. I said that, under the

Constitution, the state and the Centre could legislate on a state subject if

the states consented. Mrs Gandhi wrote to the Chief Ministers, asking them

to empower the Centre. Eighteen states consented to including wildlife on

the Concurrent List.

A week after the meeting, in September 1971, Mrs Gandhi wrote to the

Agriculture Minister, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, that I should be put in charge

of wildlife. She also directed that the Central wildlife Act be prepared.

Idrafted it in seven months. It also went to the Law Ministry for their

inputs. Mrs Gandhi did not allow any wastage of time in Parliament. It was

introduced and passed straightaway.

I suggested a Central Act because there were various Acts that were weak.

Hunting permits were allowed under the Indian Forest Act. There was no real

legislation for establishing parks and sanctuaries. There was nothing about

management, nothing about trade and taxes. Each state had different taxes

and they were archaic and not comprehensive.

In 1972, the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed. On April 1, 1973,

I launched Project Tiger in Corbett National Park. Kailash Sankhala was its

first Director while I became the first Director of Wildlife Preservation.

I remained with the Agriculture Ministry till 1975. In August that year, I

joined the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). I went first to

Nairobi, headquarters of UNEP. That year, UNEP opened an Asia-Pacific

regional office in Bangkok. I was transferred there as Senior Regional

Adviser, Nature Conservation.

On January 1, 1981, I returned to India and was Secretary for Forest,

Tourism and Sports in Madhya Pradesh till 1983.

IN 1983, I became Commissioner, Bhopal. I was the first government servant

to enter the Union Carbide factory on December 3, 1984. None of us knew that

there was something lethal there. I knew the factory produced pesticide but

not that it produced Methyl Isocyanides (MIC). The factory was allowed to

come up at the edge of the town. The town grew around it and then the

factory was very much in Bhopal city. There had been leaks in the past which

were hushed up. Some questions had been raised but nothing concrete was

done. Then the holocaust happened.

I had come home for dinner when I was informed by the Police Control Room.

The Deputy Commissioner was not there, so I took charge of the Control Room.

The SP, Swaraj Puri, was also there but the Collector came later. There was

no driver so I drove my official car and informed the Chief Minister, Home

Minister and Chief Secretary, Brahm Swarup, who was my neighbour.

I went first to the Control Room and then to the factory in the early

morning. It was still dark. I had informed the Manager of what was happening

in his factory but he reached before me. It was amazing. The political

ramifications came later. Some people were truly heroes while there were

others who did not live up to expectations. Some ran away from the

administration. In the case of those who did such good work, I feel the

service they rendered has not been fully appreciated. I wanted to recommend

a lot of people for awards. Some did receive awards, some didn’t.

When I reached, people were running away. They wanted me to give them a

lift. They said, “Why are you going that way. Take us this way instead.”

There were broken spectacles and chappals, and it was a winter night. The

gas had settled on the ground and also been absorbed into the water of both

the lakes. It killed the vegetation. So you can imagine what it did to our

lungs.

I’m also affected by it but I’m in Category C. The A category ones died, the

B category ones were seriously affected and did not recover. The C category

ones were also seriously affected but recovered. I have been awarded

compensation. I was the one person whom they did not take advantage of.

Five months earlier, I had undergone a check-up and the hospital had

complimented me on my above-average lung capacity. I still have those

medical test reports. After the incident, the question of taking leave did

not arise. But in March 1985, when I was feeling better, I went back to the

hospital. My lung capacity had reduced by 23 per cent. The doctors said,

“You should normally lose 1 per cent at your age.” This was a benchmark and

I gave it to the government but I don’t think they used it with enough force

on behalf of all the victims. If this is the condition of a C category

person, then what must it be for those in B category? The climate changed

that night. It became warm and there was not a single vulture in the sky.

The entire two days were like this. We didn’t wear sweaters. All these facts

were not included in the assessment.

I continued there until July 1985. I started supply of free milk and

medicines, and began rehabilitation. I was assisted by Bimal Julka, now

Resident Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh. The government posted just one man

to help me deal with this crisis. Thousands of people died. Rajiv Gandhi

came and I accompanied him on a tour of the place. One person died before

him.

My eyes and chest have been affected and I used to get out of breath very

easily. Till now, there is no sign of cancer. There is no way to tell how

much it might have shortened my life.

In 1985, I came to Delhi as Joint Secretary in charge of wildlife and had my

second stint as Director, Wildlife Preservation. I became Additional

Secretary in the Ministry of Environment in 1989 and remained there till

1992. Then I went back to Madhya Pradesh for two years as Chairman, Narmada

Valley Development Authority. I returned to Delhi as Director General,

Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART). In

1996, I retired at the age of 58. I continue my involvement with wildlife as

Chairman, Wildlife Trust of India.

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