Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
TO THE RESPONSE
“When I traveled around Tamil Nadu, I realized that the landscape was changing so rapidly that it
would turn into a desert much before the projection of 2025. I saw thousands of palm trees with
their crowns having fallen off. Palm trees can survive even in a desert but in Tamil Nadu they
were losing their crowns because of the exorbitant exploitation of ground water. In Coimbatore
city, about 15 years ago, one had to just dig 125-150 feet to find water for a well, and now one has
to go 1400-1500 feet down to find water. Earlier the rain water was scarce, now it’s in excess and
so the degeneration was happening rapidly. Then as part of global warming system the southern
peninsula is seeing a very excessive level of rainfall…. without vegetation, excessive rain can
accelerate the desertification process because the top soil runs off.” 5 ~ Sadhguru
Speaking about conceptual underpinnings about the project, Ethirajulu, the concept
designer for Greenhands had this to say, “We have become an energy intensive
civilization. On keen observation, we can find that what we eat is not food, but fossil fuels.
The food that we eat has become poisonous, the air that we breathe is getting poisoned,
and it is the same with everything that we intake. By simple, logical deduction we can
conclude that man and the world has to go extinct. Man is the problem. I was into the
design of structural systems. For me, a solution is built into the problem itself. If man is
the problem, then man is the solution. Man’s extinction is one solution. The only other
solution that exists is that man has to do something about the troubles he has created for
himself.” When Greenhands assessed the spread of forest cover in TN, they found that it
was only 17.5%, based on the data available with the forest department, while the national
and global benchmark was 33%.
Greenhands team assessed how much trees needs to be planted to increase the green cover
in TN by another 10%. Thus, the 114 million (11.4 crore) number was born. The belief was
that the remaining 5-6% would be done by the self-propagation capability of trees. In an
interview, Sadhguru said, “Actual statistics and practical logistics may come in the way,
but the rationale is very simple - with the right kind of focus and motivation, the gap
between what is needed and what is possible could be very small” Greenhands believed
that if every individual of TN can raise two saplings, which will not bring any major
financial burden on the individual or the state, 6 the target of 114 million can be surpassed.
“Each and everyone had felt in the Isha Yoga classes that we are the parents of the entire
world and the divine manifests in each and everything surrounding us,” remarked Boris
Bhim A (Bhim), a part-time volunteer with Greenhands. Citing the role of Greenhands,
Bhim continued, “I could feel that I am responsible for every thing happening around
me”.
5 http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=sadhguru-Dec2007
6 The estimated population of Tamilnadu, as of March 2008, was 6.64 crore (66.4 million).
Annexures
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