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Bengaluru: The Budget Session in the Rajya Sabha discussed the working of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Monday (March 9). The overall tone was one of support, and agreement, regarding the efforts put in by the Ministry to tackle issues including air pollution under the leadership of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. Most of the speakers chose to not raise crucial issues such as air pollution or developmental projects which are being opposed by indigenous communities.  

Of the 16 Members of Parliament who spoke during the discussion, 10 belonged to political parties that are part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). All nine, along with MPs affiliated with the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) (Andhra Pradesh), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) (Tamil Nadu), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Telangana) and nominated MP Ujjwal Deorao Nikam (who was nominated by the President into the Rajya Sabha) broadly supported the work of the Modi government and the Ministry in environmental protection for the past decade.

‘Only because of the Modi government’

We have environmental protection woven into our culture and religion, claimed Ghanshyam Tiwari, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Rajasthan, while adding that Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav was doing ‘everything possible’ to protect and conserve the environment.

He listed several ways that the Ministry, under the leadership of Modi and Yadav, was doing so. He gave figures of the budget for the Ministry under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2012-13 and contrasted this with the budget for the Ministry in the last financial year. He compared how the number of Ramsar wetlands in India went up from just 26 during the time of the UPA, to 98 at present under the Modi government. Indore and Udaipur have been pronounced as Ramsar wetland cities in a first, he said.

While there is talk about the air pollution in Delhi, the previous government did nothing to tackle this, Tiwari claimed. Now there are far more numbers of monitoring stations, he said. 

He also listed out other ‘achievements’ of the Ministry under the current government such as 25 lakh title deeds under the Forest Rights Act being awarded to tribal people and communities, the implementation of the Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam (One Tree in Your Mother’s Name) programme which has become a abhiyaan (campaign) now, tackling the issue of waste and enabling a circular economy, afforestation under CAMPA, how tiger numbers in India have increased with each census over the years, the Nagar Van Yojana that is greening cities, and the PM Kusum Yojana for farmers which gives them access to solar energy and the PM Ujjwal Yojana which ensures LPG to homes to reduce biomass burning. 

The latter two are “not just central schemes but jan andolans (peoples’ movements),” Tiwari claimed.

Same points, same numbers, same order

Many MPs – belonging to not just the BJP but other parties too – who spoke on the floor of the House on the issue had the same things to say in their speeches, and mostly, in the same order. 

Among them was Sumer Singh Solanki (BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh). According to him, the BJP as the leader is showing the way to the world in matters relating to the environment. Like Tiwari did, he too quoted from the latest India State of Forest Report to prove that forest and tree cover in India has increased over the years. He also cited the success of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), and that 103 cities had already achieved the target and limited their particulate matter (PM10) levels. 

India is taking “historic” steps to protect the environment, he claimed.

Others who presented the same points and even the same numbers included Medha Vishram Kulkarni (BJP, Maharashtra), Brij Lal (BJP, Uttar Pradesh), Ujjwal Deorao Nikam (Nominated MP), Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha (TDP, Andhra Pradesh), M. Dhanapal (AIADMK, Tamil Nadu), Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade (BJP, Maharashtra) and Maya Naroliya (BJP, Madhya Pradesh).

Some differing voices

Swati Maliwal, Member of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi-NCT, was the only one who raised the issue of bad air quality in the national capital. Air pollution in the city is costing lakhs of lives, and even health experts now recommend that people “leave Delhi” if they can, she said. The whole of 2025 did not witness even a single “good air” day, she pointed out. Funds, she said, was never an issue – only enforcement.

The government says one thing about stubble burning but satellite images show a different story, she said.

“Farmers are not enemies. They have no other alternative. There is a need to shut down the blame game,” she said.

She pointed out the high number of thermal power plants within a 300 km radius of Delhi, the issue of dust from construction sites adding to the pollution, and noted that “air purifiers and masks cannot be a new normal”. 

The Commission on Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) needs to be made an autonomous body to “remove it from bureaucratic clutches”, and it should be given a special budget of at least 10,000 crores, she said. 

‘Address structural deficits’

Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla of the YSRCP, Andhra Pradesh, said that the current government was “one of the best” and also had the “best leadership”, he listed several concerns and made many recommendations as well.

His party believes there are some structural deficits in the Ministry which need to be addressed, Alla said. The current budget of the Ministry (2026-27) is just Rs. 4,413 crores, less than 0.1% of the Union budget. 

“For a ministry tasked with India’s air, water, biodiversity, forests, climate change and waste management, this is very minuscule,” he said. This amount has to be increased to at least 0.5% of the union budget, Alla said; and this “radical capacity expansion” is possible by applying more earnestly the polluter pays system that India already has. This, as well as building market-based mechanism capabilities within the Ministry to manage sovereign green bonds, the green credit programme etc., can happen by working closely with the Finance Ministry, he said. 

The Central Pollution Control Board has around 500 full time employees for a nation of 1.4 billion people. Comparable agencies in developed nations have at least 10 to 30 times more capacity relative to the population, Alla said. Expand the budget for the CPCB five-fold, he said.

The Ministry operates in thematic silos: forest versus wildlife versus pollution versus climate change, Alla added. Working in silos needs to change and the Ministry requires a “structural transformation and restructuring”, he said.

“The Ministry was last conceptually restructured in 2014 when climate change was added to its name, but no comprehensive strategic review of its mandate, structure or capabilities has been conducted.”

There are also some bottlenecks – we have strong laws, but weak implementation. Enforcement is characterised by a dual structure paradox where policies are made by the center but implemented by states, he said.

“Recast the mandate – shift the MoEFCC from a purely regulatory and clearance-granting body to an economic enablement and resource security body,” Alla added.

“Finally, if we don’t act fast, we will lose heavily. Without transforming the Ministry…we will not be ready for the next 25 years. We will have unbreatheable air, undrinkable water and irreversible biodiversity loss…we cannot afford to give this to our children.”

If not, India will also lose out of global environment rankings and international credibility, Alla added. 

“This is not merely an environmental issue, it is a national security issue, an economic competitive issue and a generational justice issue.”

Many crucial issues not discussed

Most speakers, however, did not raise crucial issues such as the high levels of air pollution in not only the national capital but many cities and regions around the country. Instead, one of them (Kulkarni) even claimed that people can now breathe clean air because of Prime Minister Modi and his government.

Several of the ‘achievements’ of the current government that many speakers mentioned come with numerous concerns – facts that the MPs did not mention. For instance, the Modi government has rushed to delineate as many wetlands as possible as Ramsar sites, which give the wetlands international recognition. However, there is no effective change in governance or management of the wetlands even after they get Ramsar tag and past experience shows that none of the Ramsar wetlands had any additional protection from destruction, water experts have told The Wire previously.

While several BJP MPs proudly spoke about the rise in the number of title deeds given to tribal peoples and communities under the FRA and the benefits that tribal communities have accrued, they did not touch on how the voices of two indigenous tribal communities in the Great Nicobar Island – and one of them, the Shompen, are listed as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group – and their dissent against the projects coming up on the Island, have been blatantly ignored.

While many speakers lauded the NCAP for its success, a recent report showed how the programme is foundering for many reasons, as reported by The Wire.

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