Groundwater quality deteriorating in Tamil Nadu’s industrial areas: CSE - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Groundwater quality deteriorating in Tamil Nadu’s industrial areas: CSE.

The most serious pollution threat to groundwater was from calcium, chloride and iron, associated with sewage and pollution from tannery waste

Groundwater is becoming more polluted in Tamil Nadu’s industrial areas and Vellore is the state’s most polluted district in terms of river pollution, according to a new study by Delhi-based thinktank, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

CSE did an assessment of Tamil Nadu CEPI scores. CEPI (Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index) is a rational number to characterise the quality of the environment at a given location following the algorithm of source, pathway and receptor. An increase in CEPI score denotes adverse effects on the receiving environment.

Five industrial clusters in Tamil Nadu were found to have a water score of more than 50. Three of these — Vellore-North Arcot, Manali and Tiruppur — were ‘critically polluted’ and two — Cuddalore and Coimbatore — were ‘severely polluted’, according to the CEPI water score 2018.

A CEPI individual score of 60 and above denotes an industrial area to be a ‘critically polluted area’ and a score between 50-60 denotes it to be a ‘severely polluted area’.

The CEPI water score of Vellore-North Arcot was 65.25 in 2009. This increased to 75 in 2018. Manali had a CEPI water score of 59 in 2009, which increased to 72.25 in 2018. Tiruppur had a CEPI water score of 50.75 in 2009, which increased to 65 in 2018.

Vellore, the most polluted district in Tamil Nadu in terms of river pollution, was home to 240 tanneries, 17 red category industries and small-scale chemical industries, according to CSE.

Partially treated industrial effluents, combined with sewage and other wastes were being discharged directly into surface water according to the study, Assessment of groundwater quality in some towns of Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India.

This had caused severe groundwater pollution in the industrial belt. The most serious pollution threat to groundwater was from calcium, chloride and iron, that are associated with sewage and pollution from tannery waste.

CSE also found that five industrial clusters in Tamil Nadu had a land score of more than 50. For arriving at land score, ground water and soil quality was considered.

Four of the five clusters — Manali, Mettur, Tiruppur and Tuticorin — fell under the ‘critically polluted’ category and one industrial cluster (Erode) fell under the ‘severely polluted’ category with respect to groundwater and soil pollution.

The land score of the Manali industrial cluster was 58 in 2009. This increased to 71.75 in 2018. Tiruppur had a CEPI land score of 53 in 2009, which increased to 64 in 2018. Mettur had a land CEPI score of 46.5 in 2009, which increased to 69.38 in 2018. Erode had a CEPI score 43.5 in 2009, which increased to 52.75 in 2018.

The Manali industrial area was one of the most polluted areas identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). About 300 industries had come up in this area, including chemicals, plastics, petrochemicals, refineries and fertilisers.

Some well-known industries like Madras Fertilizers Ltd, Madras Petrochemicals Ltd and Madras Refineries Ltd had also flourished in the area during recent years.

The study Assessment of heavy metal contamination in soils around Manali industrial area showed heavy metal pollution in the area and found elevated concentrations of chromium (149.8–418.0 mg / kg), copper (22.4–372.0 mg / kg), nickel (11.8–78.8 mg / kg), zinc (63.5–213.6 mg / kg) and molybdenum (2.3–15.3mg / kg), that had resulted in ground water and pollution.

Manali was extremely contaminated due to several years of random dumping of hazardous waste and free discharge of effluents on land by industries. The high amount of toxic metals in the environment might have also caused an increase in their presence in groundwater as a result of leaching.

CEPI was a tool developed by the CPCB in 2009 to identify the problematic industrial areas in the country. In 2009, 88 industrial clusters were notified as polluted industrial areas. (Source: downtoearth)

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Groundwater quality deteriorating in Tamil Nadu’s industrial areas: CSE.

Did stratospheric warming lead to excessive rainfall in Tamil Nadu? - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Did stratospheric warming lead to excessive rainfall in Tamil Nadu?.

Each district witnessed a minimum excess precipitation of 400%, said IMD

The southern India received unusually heavy rainfall from January 1 to January 17. This winter rain may have been caused by sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) far away in the Arctic region, some scientists said.

Tamil Nadu received almost 10 times the rainfall that it receives in this period. All its 38 districts experienced large excess of rainfall — 60 per cent more than the normal for this time of the year. As a result, 25 lakh acres of crops across the state was submerged, said PR Pandian, president of The Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu.

Sixteen of the districts received 10 times (or more) the normal rainfall. The most excess was seen in Tiruppur district with almost 20 times the usual rainfall. Each district witnessed a minimum excess precipitation of 400 per cent, according to Indian Meterological Department.

The story was similar in Kerala and Karnataka with 19 and 12 times the normal rainfall for both states respectively for this time of the year.

All districts in Kerala had large excess rainfall with the highest being in Kasargod and Malappuram where the rainfall was 100 times the normal. In Karnataka, however, some of the districts did not receive any rainfall at all.

The genesis

A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event occurred on January 5, 2021, thousands of kilometres away in the Arctic region and several kilometres above the Earth’s surface in the stratospheric layer, experts believe.

During SSW events the temperature of the stratosphere can increase by up to 50 degree Celsius within 10 days and the winds in the stratosphere can reverse from westerly to easterly.

The distance between the southern tip of Tamil Nadu and the Barents Sea in the Arctic, which is a crucial part of the region of occurrence of the event, is more than 7,800 km.

The weather in the atmospheric layers above the stratosphere — mesosphere and thermosphere — also get affected by SSW. This is a cause for concern for satellite navigation and other space-based human endeavours.

The warming events are regular but non-periodical. Sometimes, SSW might not occur for extended periods as was the case between 2013 and 2018. It last occurred in 2019. Its natural frequency is about six times in a decade.

“One of the reasons for the rainfall in the tropics during winter days is the polar sudden stratospheric warming but we need detailed study, especially of the science and dynamics behind this phenomenon,” said Remya Raveendran, researcher at the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Raveendran and her group analysed 20 SSW events and rainfall data over 36 years in Kerala’s Kochi. They found that five to six days before the warming event peaks, there is a change in wind patterns in the troposphere and unusual rainfall in the city. Their research will be published in the journal Earth and Space Science.

Global disruptors

The rainfall and changing winds is how the SSW event impacts the weather in the tropical regions.

SSW is related to the behaviour of the stratospheric polar vortex, a fast-blowing band of winds that forms over the Arctic region during the winter due to reduced solar radiation.

Very rarely, SSW may also occur over the South Pole as happened in September 2019. “Waves in the atmosphere can disturb the flow of the polar vortex. In the most extreme cases, such as during SSW, the polar vortex flow weakens dramatically and sometimes even reverses,” Marlene Kretschmer, a scientist at the meteorology department of University of Reading told Down To Earth.

During an SSW event in the 2019, the North Pole vortex had split into three smaller vortices releasing cold winds into the southern regions.

These disturbances in the stratosphere sometimes also cause circulation anomalies in the troposphere — the atmospheric layer below which our weather is generated.

“For instance, after SSWs, one often observes a meandering and southward-shifted jet stream in the troposphere, causing colder winter weather in northern Eurasia and the northeastern United States, as well as increased storminess and precipitation in the Mediterranean region,” said Kretschmer.

Now, Raveendran and her group have found that the impacts of an SSW event can be experienced on the surface as far as the tropical regions.

With climate change in tow, if the SSW events increase in number, as some scientists have surmised, then such extreme rainfall events over tropical regions like southern India might also increase in the future. (Source: downtoearth)

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Did stratospheric warming lead to excessive rainfall in Tamil Nadu?.

Tamil Nadu moved to guard Cauvery delta. So why are farmers still worried? - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Tamil Nadu moved to guard Cauvery delta. So why are farmers still worried?.

The Act aims to prohibit hydrocarbon projects in the delta region. But it doesn't cover all districts, a major concern among farmers

When the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed the Protected Agricultural Zone Development Bill, 2020 on February 19, 2020, farmers heaved a sigh of relief.
The new Act declared the Cauvery delta region a Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ). It proposed to protect agriculture and prohibit Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) and hydrocarbon projects in the delta region.
However, activists and farmer associations flagged a major gap in the Act — it did not cover all districts of the Cauvery delta.
The proposed PSAZ comprises Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts and some blocks in Cuddalore and Pudukkottai districts. It, however, excluded Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur and Karur districts and other parts of Cuddalore and Pudukottai, though they also fall in the delta zone.
Farmers in these parts cultivate rice as their primary crop and pulses such as blackgram and greengram as their secondary crop. They also cultivate seasonal vegetables and fruits.
In August 2018, the Central government approved unconventional hydrocarbons policy that permitted exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons such as shale oil/gas, coal bed methane (CBM), etc.
This was a major concern in the Cauvery delta, a sight for gas exploration activities since 1985 that has adversely affecting farming and livelihood. Several farmer associations condemned the Union government order and staged protests.
According to activists, the Bill also did not address issues regarding existing industrial and oil extraction projects in the delta region.
According to G Sundar Rajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, a Tamil Nadu environment group, more than 400 projects were already underway in parts of the now protected zone.
Additionally, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd was set to invest Rs 50,000 crore in a Nagarjuna Oil project in Cuddalore’s Kayalpattu village. Some parts of Cuddalore falls out of the protected zone ambit.
“At first, the state government planned to make nine districts of Cauvery Delta as Protected Special Agricultural Zone (PSAZ). But they did not do so. We want the entire Cauvery delta region to be declared as PSAZ,” Professor T Jayaraman, coordinator of Tamil Nadu-based welfare group Anti-Methane Project Federation, said.
He added that according to the current Bill, ports, pipelines and telecommunications projects in the PSAZ would not be affected, which was a problem.
“Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said ongoing projects would not be affected. These are the disadvantages of the Bill. These issues should be addressed some way or the other. I consider this is a starting point. Many political parties openly opposed these hydrocarbon projects. However, no party was interested to stop them,” he added.
“Even when the Bill was passed, hydrocarbon exploration was underway in Ariyalur district, because it wasn't included in PSAZ. There was no mention of soil mining in the Bill. These are the gaps that need to be addressed,” Rajan said.
PR Pandian, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, said farmers were happy with the recent developments: “But we want these plans to be implemented effectively. We have already lost our water resources to industrial mess. We cannot lose them anymore.”
Tamil Nadu environment minister KC Karuppannan did not respond to Down to Earth’s queries.
Another issue plaguing Cauvery Delta is water scarcity.
According to Jayaraman, Tamil Nadu had been facing water scarcity since 1970s. Earlier, farmers used Cauvery water for agriculture purposes. However, when the dispute on Cauvery water sharing came up, farmers started to rely on groundwater.
"At the same time, industries boomed in the delta. This drastically impacted agriculture and livelihood of farmers. Agriculture cannot be done only depending on groundwater,” Jayaraman added.
He added that the delta region had nearly 28 lakh acres of cultivable land, which has now come down to 15 lakh acres. He attributed “Central government's partiality towards Tamil Nadu and lack of enough Cauvery water” for the same.
He claimed: “This Central government approach can't be allowed at any cost. We are only demanding what is our right. But their approach towards water dispute is affecting our needs and agriculture.” (Source: downtoearth)


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Tamil Nadu moved to guard Cauvery delta. So why are farmers still worried?.

Establishment of Defence Corridors at Tamil Nadu - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Establishment of Defence Corridors at Tamil Nadu.

In pursuance to the Union Budget announcement (2018-19), it has been decided to set up two Defence Industrial Corridors in the Country, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, five nodes for Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, viz. Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirapalli have been identified. Investments of approximately Rs. 3100 crore were announced by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)/Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSUs) & Private Industries in Tamil Nadu Corridor.

Till date, six consultation meetings of stakeholders in Tamil Nadu were organized across its various nodes. Further, Government has also appointed a consultant for the preparation of Detailed Project Report for these two Defence Corridors.
Setting up of Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor would catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace related items, thereby reducing our reliance on imports and promoting export of these items to other countries. This will lead to generation of direct & indirect employment opportunities and growth of private domestic manufacturers including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik in a written reply to Shri P. Wilson in Rajya Sabha today.


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Establishment of Defence Corridors at Tamil Nadu.

How Tamil Nadu’s tiger count went up four times in 13 years - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

How Tamil Nadu’s tiger count went up four times in 13 years.

Thirteen years ago, Tamil Nadu recorded 76 tigers in the wildlife sanctuaries of Kalakkad-Mundanthurai (KMTR) in Tirunelveli, Mudumalai in the Nilgiris and Aanamalai in Coimbatore district.

This number has increased by four-fold today. Thanks to scientific data collection on tiger population, increased patrolling and better management of forest areas, the big cat numbers have gone up steadily, say officials.
Tamil Nadu chief wildlife warden and principal chief conservator of forests Sanjay Kumar Srivastava attributes increased forest area, adoption of scientific methods such as camera traps to account for the tiger population and a better monitoring and anti-poaching team for the numbers.

At the outset, declaration of Sathyamangalam as the fourth tiger reserve in the state contributed to a major increase, since it is also the largest wildlife reserve in the state. This coupled with use of camera traps and better use of manpower helped in keeping a better record.
An official recounted that from 1973 to 2005 the counting was done using indirect sighting of pug marks. Under this system, enumerators used to walk along the pre-drawn transect lines. Whenever marks were sighted, it used to be considered as one tiger. This old method was prevalent for a little more than three decades. "This was one of the main reasons for not getting the actual population of tigers. This was an issue in most of the states, which now record a good number of tigers," he said.
A new method was adopted from 2006 onwards. Under this, the total area of tiger reserve is divided into units of 5sqkm. The number of volunteers and the days to do the enumeration was increased. What was earlier done with a handful of wildlife enthusiasts became a sizeable number. Similarly, the two-day exercise became a week-long one.
Collected data was then sent to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun. Researchers checked randomly the data sent by the concerned states by sending a team. When both the data were analysed, the real numbers came to light, said the official.
Srivastava said yet another important factor was the setting up of camera traps, which are used for monitoring the tiger population. These traps in strategic locations helped authorities trace the movement of the big cats. In sensitive areas anti-poaching camps were set up. These camps had anti-poaching watchers who perambulated interior areas 24x7. "Ensuring such protection to the forest areas resulted in a strong prey base, which also got the protection," he said.
The tiger reserve managers also ensured habitat improvement wherever possible. A good example to this is banning of vehicles and tourists in KMTR by its then field director A Anwardeen. This kind of effort helped in free movement of wildlife such as leopard and Indian gaur in the erstwhile tourism zone, which turned into a sterile zone, the officer said.
Apart from these measures, the tiger deaths in the state were mainly due to retaliatory killing by cattle owners. There is no organised poaching in TN, which is the case in central India, Srivastava said. (Source: The Economic Times)


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How Tamil Nadu’s tiger count went up four times in 13 years.

Tamil Nadu overtakes Karnataka to become No 1 in renewable energy - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Tamil Nadu overtakes Karnataka to become No 1 in renewable energy.

Of the total renewable power generation in the country, nearly 17.2 per cent was from Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has overtaken Karnataka to become India's top renewable power generating state in FY20 (till October).
Of the total renewable power generation in the country, nearly 17.2 per cent was from Tamil Nadu. According to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data in 2019-20 (upto October) 85,774.92 million units (MU) of power was generated through renewable energy, of which 14,771.69 MU was generated by Tamil Nadu followed by Karnataka (14,730.08 MU), Gujarat (10,505.54), Andhra Pradesh (9,638.70), Maharashtra (8,942.55) and Telangana (3794.99 ).

Wind was the major source of renewable energy in the state. Of the total generation, 11,614.85 MU came from wind, followed by 2,733.37 MU from solar and rest are from other sources.
Tamil Nadu's wind energy capacity is 8,480 MW, which is 24 per cent of the country’s total wind generation capacity.
State is aiming to achieve 9,000 megawatt (MW) of solar power by 2023, as part of which a new Solar Policy had come into effect in 2019. At present, the total solar capacity is above 3,000 MW.
The policies and incentives offered by the government — bundling of wind power projects, accelerated depreciation, a Technology Upgradation Fund etc — have driven the state’s power-intensive industries to invest in captive wind power plants, says industry representatives.
Wind generation peaks during the southwest and northeast monsoon months, followed by below average generation for the remaining months. The state introduced banking of energy, which allows the cooperatives to supply to the grid when there is excess generation, in exchange for free supply during low generation periods. (Source: The Business Standard)


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Tamil Nadu overtakes Karnataka to become No 1 in renewable energy.

India’s first insect museum opens in Tamil Nadu - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India’s first insect museum opens in Tamil Nadu.

The Rs.5-crore museum is spread over a 6,691 sqft area and dedicated to all types of insects in the world.

An insect museum with the state-of-the-art amenities, a first of its kind in the country, opened in Coimbatore on Monday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswamy unveiled the museum at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in the city, with the theme “Bugs are Kings”.
The Rs.5-crore museum is spread over a 6,691 sqft area and dedicated to all types of insects in the world. It will showcase insects and their different developmental stages, images, videos and models of their unique behaviour, habits and habitats.
A section on social insect termite mounds (whole and sectioned) and bee hives of different types would also be displayed. The museum also houses a souvenir shop and a mini auditorium to screen insect movies and documentary films. And ramp is provided to facilitate the visit of physically challenged persons.(Source: new.nation)

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India’s first insect museum opens in Tamil Nadu.