Moily bats for sustainable growth model

 The deliberations at the three-day Indian Biodiversity Congress 2012, which began in the City on Sunday, would be taken up by the Planning Commission to address issues concerning biodiversity, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Veerappa Moily, has said.

“There is a need for faster, inclusive and sustainable model of growth and it is therefore necessary to devise a plan that would adhere to such a philosophy. The Central and the state governments need to work together and there will be no issue of federalism at that,” Moily said.

On the question of preservation of biodiversity in the Western Ghats - the focal theme of the Congress - both Moily and BJP MP Ananth Kumar promised that they were devoted to the cause.

Despite the good intentions claimed by the government, the other side of it was highlighted during the discussion.

Madhav Gadgil, a prominent ecologist,noted that the bureaucracy had been flouting laws and distorting facts while implementing development projects in bio-diverse terrain.

Stressing that conservation should be the focal point of the debate on biodiversity, Gadgil said that development and biodiversity could be complementary.

Moreover, the fruits of development can reach people at all levels, if only the government and the bureaucracy consulted people, who would bear the brunt of such projects.