Talking to environment-savvy children these days – while taking them tree-planting – can be a tricky business. Your conversation is likely to go something like this: You: Isn’t this wonderful? Fifty thousand trees are going to be planted in this tree-planting drive. Many big ministers will be there and you’ll all get caps and Tetra-Paks of mango juice. Besides in a few years, there’ll be a whole forest there and your tree will be amongst it, contributing to keeping the world green. Child: Hmm…Wonder how many trees will survive? I read that most of the trees planted even by VIPs in places like Rajghat have died. Besides, even if there is a forest, the government will then want to build a highway through it, so what’s the point? Can we go back home? You: Of course, that won’t happen. Child: Well it’s going to happen to the Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurgaon. (Eyes flashing) First, it was a wasteland where they’d done mining and quarrying, then the government allowed these guys to turn it into a biodiversity park with over 180 species of birds and zillions of plants, and now the government wants to build a highway through it. And Gurgaon has the dirtiest air in the world, and this is what they do? Have they got no brains? Has the smog got to them? You: But roads are important… Child: Not to birds or animals. They only get run down. Besides, you all keep saying that cars and trucks are bad and yet all the ministers — who travel with 20 SUVs — say we should make more and more of them than ever before… What sense does that make? I read that they want to build flyovers through Bandipur National Park and a Metro train parking station in the Borivali National Park and even a road through Corbett. Then the ministers say we must plant more trees. What for? You: (Trying to steer away from the subject) Darling, you know India has some of the best wildlife protection laws in the world. Better even than America… You can go to jail for seven years and be fined an enormous amount if you kill an animal in a National Park, especially, a Schedule I animal like tigers and leopards and… Child: (Rolling her eyes) So let me get this straight: If you by mistake even, run over a silly peacock in a National Park you can go to jail for seven years? You: Yes! If you kill a peacock anywhere you could go to jail for seven years! And darling, don’t call it silly — it’s the National Bird and you could hurt sentiments. Child: But have you heard them? They sound just like all those ministers. And seen the silly way they run in front of the car instead of getting out of the way? And I suppose you can’t cut trees in a National Park or Sanctuary either? You: Of course, you can’t. You can’t even pluck a leaf in a National Park. And even in cities like Delhi you need permission to cut or trim trees even in your own garden. Child: So you can’t pluck a leaf but you can build a highway through a National Park? I read that they want to join the Ken and Betwa rivers, which means they’re going to go through the Panna Tiger Reserve and cut it into two pieces. Besides they built all those Narmada dams and cut down so many forests. So you can’t cut one tree but the government can cut down entire forests? You: Darling, that’s for the country’s development… Child: What about all those VIP Schedule I animals that live there? Don’t they die too? You: Sweetie, you won’t understand: they do a cost-benefit analysis before they do such things… Child: I read that habitat destruction are one of the main reasons why animals are dying… You: Yes, dear. Animals find it hard to cross roads, or tea estates or coffee plantations that go through their forests. Like the elephants in Assam. So they can’t meet each other and breed and get separated into groups… Child: I can hardly meet friends who live across our road because you said not to cross the road alone… You: It’s not all bad, darling! If enough people make a song and dance the government has to listen. That’s why you all need to plant trees… You know, people made a noise and saved the Silent Valley… Child: (Scornfully) That, was mainly because Mrs. Gandhi was in charge and she loved animals and everyone else was dead scared of her. You: Ah…here we are. Got your khurpi? Child: It’s like you can’t kill a single person because that’s murder and against the law but you can kill millions in a war and that’s perfectly okay… When will you guys ever grow up? None of the animals do that. You: (Under your breath) The answer my dear… (Aloud) Now take your hand sanitizer and remember to use it!
