Bengal: Is Govt-Aided School Education Heading For Privatisation?

Madhu Sudan Chatterjee | 28 May 2025

Poor jobless families in Jangal Mahal area are being forced to pull out children from schools due to acute shortage of teachers and high cost of private education.


Jotsna, Unita, Barsha, Antara, Renuka Shabor from Boddanga village, Bankura, do not go to school. None of the children in this village go to school.

Is government-sponsored education system in West Bengal on the verge of extinction? According to sources, student enrolment has decreased by 35% in primary and 42% in upper primary (class 5-8) schools in the current academic year.

Most children from poor and marginalised families study in these government-aided schools. In fact, a large number of school-going children from families living in the worsening socio-economic situation are not entering the field of education.

The point is that education for the poor has reached rock bottom. What will be the consequences of this state of affairs?

The state government’s apathetic attitude toward education has created an atmosphere of fear. Not only the general public and guardians, but also officials in state and Union ministries discussed the education scenario in West Bengal at the end of April 2025. Both sides reportedly expressed “deep” concern over the dwindling number of students at the primary and upper primary levels.

The Basis for ‘Deep’ Concern

The number of mid-day meals that students partake is being considered a criterion at the government level. The decline in the number of students receiving mid-day-meals is a picture of decline among students in government-sponsored primary and upper primary schools. Students of both these levels receive mid-day meals.

In addition, parents seem reluctant to admit their children to government schools. Although there are exceptions, but this is broadly a state phenomenon, several school teachers this writer spoke to, said. Why?

During the last Left Front regime in Bengal from 2006-2011, about 50,000 teachers and non-teaching staff were recruited through specific examination (District Primary School Councils took the exam for primary teachers, and four regional School Service Commissions arranged for high and higher secondary teachers and non-teaching staff). A large portion of these recruitments were of primary school teachers.

“ The district primary school councils used to recruit teachers through examinations within a specific period of time”, Jyansankar Mitra, former Chairman of Bankura District Primary School Council, told this writer.


Migrant farm labourers along with their children returning home, waiting at the Bankura bus stand.

“The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) was constituted in November 1997 under the West Bengal School Service Commission Act. The Act was enacted on April 1, 1997, and came into effect on the same day. The Commission is responsible for recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff in government- aided schools in West Bengal. Since then, teachers have been recruited to high and higher secondary schools through examination almost every year” said Professor Biswanath Koyal, first Chairman of Western Zone of WBSSC, whose jurisdiction was Bankura, Purulia, undivided Pashchim Medinipur, and Purbo Medinipur.

According to the Right to Education Act 2009, the Ideal student-teacher ratio should be 30: 1. In 2008, this ratio was 35: 1

Biman Patra, district secretary of All Bengal Primary Teacher Association, Bankura district committee, the largest primary teachers’ organisation of Bengal and Panab Mahato, his counterpart in Purulia, said due to the severe shortage of teachers, the current ratio had risen to 70:1.

After the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, the government recruited primary teachers in 2014 and 2016. There are allegations of widespread corruption in recruitment of those who were appointed in 2017 after the 2016 exams. The matter is sub judice in the Calcutta High Court.

As of now, the jobs of over 32,000 primary teachers are hanging in uncertainty. Significantly, On April 3, the Supreme Court, having reached the conclusion that there was multiple corruption in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in high and higher secondary schools through WBSSC in 2016, cancelled the entire panel. As a result, 25,752 teachers and non-teaching staff lost their jobs.

There are similar allegations in the primary recruitment sector. In fact, many schools do not have enough teachers against the requirement. On the other side, a large portion of those who are in teaching positions are uncertain about the continuity of their jobs.

“Overall, it can be said that there has been an institutional crisis in the education sector in the state. This is having a devastating impact on students, teachers and parents in the area”, Panab Hazra, a librarian at Sidhu-Kanhu University of Purulia and Subikash Choudhury, former head of the department of economics, Bankura Christian College, told this writer.

“Despite financial difficulty, I have admitted my son to a private school, because I do not know when the government schools will close. The teachers are not adequate. I do not know if those who are there, will continue”, said Mainuddin Mandal, a bread hawker in Vhikurdihi village of Bankura district. He hawks bread brough from Chandigarh in Punjab.

His wife, Rehena Bibi, said “We are struggling to run our family only for our children’s future. We have to somehow survive. We spend Rs 3,000 a month (in a private school) for my child in Class 4.” She said many parents were opting for this instead of government schools for the future of their children.

In Bagmundi area of Purulia district, this writer met a migrant worker, Ramesh Sardar. When asked, he said, "What will happen if my son completes his schooling? Will he get a job? Is there any job here? Several educated youths are sitting idle, counting their days. They are highly frustrated.”

He said he had admitted his son, Bachhu, in a high school. He studied up to Class 7. “There is only one teacher, how can this teacher manage four classes? What will students learn? Nothing. It is better to learn some manual labour skill from an adolescent age and find work in other states. At least, he will be able to eat and survive, and look after the family in the near future”.

A few days ago, some male and female agricultural labourers, along with their school- going children from Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram districts, were seen waiting at the Bankura bus stand under the scorching sun for buses to return home after harvesting boro paddy from various villages in Hooghly and East and West Bardhaman districts.

“There is no work in the area, matikatar kaj (MGNREGA work) has been closed for four years, and panchayats do not respond regarding our work. We have to survive somehow, so we go wherever we find work. Who do we leave our sons and daughters with? So, we take them along,” Urmila Lohar from Tilaboni village in Purulia, said.

When asked, all of them said that “education of our children are no longer on our minds. We have to survive first, then study.”

“This painful picture is common among jobless poor and marginalised families across West Bengal”, said Amiya Patra, leader of the Khetmajur Union and Sagar Badyakar, assistant secretary of the union’s Bengal unit.

Teachers Trying Hard to Bring Children to School

During the Left Front regime, there was a Village Education Committee (VEC) in every area. That committee consisted of an elected representative from the local panchayat/municipality, a member of the Opposition party, ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) workers, an education expert of the area and teachers. The committee would discuss the ongoing situation of education in the area and take necessary measures.

“After the Trinamool Congress came to power, that VEC was dissolved. There is no discussion on education issues of the area even in the education standing committee at the block level. Only one meeting is held a year, that too related to school annual sports,” said Patra.

Rupak Mondal, district secretary of ABPTA, Jhargram district, along with several male and female teachers from Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram, confirmed that the two years of school closure during the Covid pandemic was still having a major impact. In families, where children did not attend school after it re-opened in 2022, the younger brothers and sisters have been following suit. Many of them have left government schools and have enrolled in private ones. That trend is continuing.

It is a fact there is severe shortage of teachers as well as of officials in the education department, who are responsible to monitor the condition of schools. In this situation, several teachers have been visiting the homes of villagers and are trying to bring their children back to school.

“We go to different houses in the village and look for expectant mothers. We tell them in advance that when the child is born, he/she should be admitted to our government school. We observed that if a child takes admission in a private school his/her brother and sister will follow that path. But the fact is that in many families, the youth are not getting married because they don’t have jobs. As a result, the number of child births is decreasing” said Amit Goswami, headmaster of Kenjakura Primary school. Bankura.

“There is reluctance among parents to admit their children to government schools. The shortage of teachers is a big reason. Child birth is also decreasing in remote areas. We have asked the government to think deeply about this issue and take proper needful measures”, said Tuhin Banerjee, a primary teacher in Dubraji village of Bankura and district leader of Trinamool’s Shikhsha cell.

The District Information System of Education (DISE), which records all information regarding a school, according to the RTE Act, regarding meeting of specific criteria or if an educational institute is not given the DISE code number. During the Left Front regime, private schools did not get that code. Now it is being given to private schools in large numbers. As a result, the number of private schools is increasing.

Despite struggling to support their families, many low-income people are sending their kids to private schools, which has turned into a status symbol, said several teachers and guardians. Many parents also complained that the syllabus of government schools was not “good” and “up to date”. Also, there are fewer teachers in government schools.

On the other hand, private schools offer opportunities to study many subjects, including computers. Several parents feel this is one the key reasons for low enrolment in government schools.

Significantly, many government school teachers also are admitting their children to private schools. This is also having an impact on the people's mind. As a result, students from financially backward families study in private schools till the primary level, but when they enter high school, they face problems in adapting to the environment. Not all families are able to afford the high cost of private education. Hence, many are forced to drop out midway.

Situation in Upper Primary Schools

Upper primary schools were built during the Left Front regime considering the geographical location of the area so that children do not have to go to high schools located far away to study from Class 5. They could study in the local area up to Class 8. After reaching Class 9, the boys and girls could travel to a distant high school.

“The Madhyamik Shiksha Kendra (MSK) that are built for grades five to eight are provided with adequate teachers”, said Fatik Goswami, former headmaster of Radhamadhab Madhyamik Shiksha Kendra of Kumidya village in Bankura. After TMC came to power, new teachers were not appointed in upper primary schools. As a result, the number of students kept decreasing.

Six MSKs have already been closed in Ranibandh of Bankura district. On January 7 this year, the Bankura district administration issued an order for shutdown of seven more MSKs. This includes Kumidya Radhamadhab MSK School.

“Had the government appointed adequate teachers in this school, students would have continued their education”, lamented Mrityunjoy Banerjee, headmaster of the school. He and a teacher, Ramsankar Patra, appealed for saving the school at any cost.

“There have been no adequate teachers for years. How can we send our children to a school that lacks educators? Many have already dropped out,” said Bulu Dasmohonto of Kumidya village.

The newly established upper primary schools, which are called new set-ups, do not have the necessary number of teachers. Therefore, the number of student admissions is low, said a teacher in-charge of a newly set up a girls school in Indpur block.

Several guardians said after studying there were no job opportunities here. Several boys who studied in upper primary are already realising this and have dropped out of school to try other jobs. Several are already registered as migrant labourers.

Number of Students Taking Mid-Day-Meals

To meet the nutritional needs of students, the Left Front government in West Bengal was among the first to introduce mid-day meals in the country in primary and upper primary levels. Later, it was introduced across the country. In this context, the number of students receiving mid-day meals has become a definitive indicator of enrolment. During Left Front rule, in the 2010-11 academic year, 72,40,341 students received mid-day meals. After 14 years under the TMC regime, only 46,83,053 students are receiving mid-day meals. This indicates a decline of 26,57,288 students in primary education -- a 35% decrease compared with 2010-11.


The number of students has dramatically decreased at Shibarampur Primary School in Bankura .

The situation is even worse at the upper primary level. In the last academic year, 40,41,666 students were admitted to upper primary in the state. As per state government figures, 23,66,232 students are receiving mid-day meals in upper primary schools. This means enrolment at the upper primary level has decreased by 42%.

When asked, Jagabandhu Banerjee, the District Inspector of School, admitted that the number of students admitted to primary schools had decreased. A section of people was moving to urban areas, he said, adding that therefore, the number of students in villages was decreasing. Efforts are being made to solve this crisis, he added.

The writer covers the Jangalmahal region for ‘Ganashakti’ newspaper in West Bengal.

(All pictures by Madhu Sudan Chatterjee)

INDIA

Odisha: Snehashree or ‘Shero’, a One-Person Army for Conservation of Nature

D N Singh | 26 May 2025

This teacher from a tribal village in Mayurbhanj district, has been passionately building nests, planting trees and saving snakes.

Known as the ‘Shero’ of the woods, Snehashree is a conservationist of a different kind who always has one ear on the ground and eyes like that of an eagle from above.

Wherever she is, she remains concerned about the species on the ground and the ones who wander in the skies of toxicity as their shelters – the trees and forests -- are virtually disappearing.

A unique soul, Snehashree is a one-person brigade of nature lovers, and today has a caravan of millions of species and thousands of people following her, at a time when even birds and snakes are in a state of threat, gasping to breathe amidst a concrete invasion.

“The damage that is done, is done. We have to be compassionate for those who survive and co-exist with us and still look upon us as the only living beings gifted with the wisdom to realise the challenges they face” Snehashree said while talking to NewsClick.

Born to a poor tribal family in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, a picturesque place on earth, Snehashree grew amidst woods and wildlife species. She is called the ‘Shero’ of the woods, as she listens to them.


The signature passion she nurtured from her childhood was the need for trees and that remained deeply etched in her psyche. She started planting trees and that remains a missionary zeal till date.

“We are living in a world where forest cover has drastically dwindled and now what remains is a sore that may require half a century to even partially heal”, she lamented.

As a little girl born in a nondescript village of Miludihi near the Similipal National Park, Snehashree grew up breathing elixir from the surrounding foliage that remains ingrained in her and is her inspiration even today, at the age of 41.

After planting trees, what became a paramount cause of concern for her was the plight of uncountable birds, those who had lost their shelter amid the disappearing forests, swallowed by the race for ‘development’ everywhere.

So, she started making nests for birds, which was her goal while offering shelter to birds wherever she could.

A teacher by profession, this ‘Shero’ of the woods, also started creating awareness among her students, who emerged as instant buyers of their teacher’s ideal. So, making nests for birds became a numerical wonder, providing new homes to homeless birds.

Wherever Snehashree was posted, she carried along her plantation kit and tools for making nests. She proved to be a messiah and inspiration for all those she worked with. Birds almost speak to her. And who knows that better than Snehashree.

Even during her visits to other areas on her Scooty to places other than her place of work, she carries nests made of mud and dry grass, and hangs them in houses of villagers.

“Once the nests are hung, the birds come and rest themselves, and even stay there. When I pass through those villages and get to hear them chirping from the nests, it gives me an ecstatic feeling”, she says, adding, “I am so happy that some of my students in different schools are also doing this work”.

Snehashree spends money from her salary to buy saplings and gives them to those people who agree to plant them. Plantation of trees has become a dynamic part of her life cycle and would remain so till she can, she says.

“When I look at some new forests in barren fields where I had planted saplings years ago, I do not have words to describe the euphoria it generates within me” a beaming Snehashree adds.

Tryst With Reptiles

In her early days, Snehashree had seen people thrashing snakes to death.

“That was a sad spectacle. I could not recover for days and realised that when snakes never harm human beings until and unless disturbed or provoked, why kill them?” she says.

“I trained myself on how to rescue snakes that enter human habitations and then leave them back in the wild. This helped me to shed false stories about all snakes being dangerous,” she admits.

So far, Snehashree says she has been able to rescue more than 2,500 snakes, a majority of them very venomous.

This beacon of conservation has always stayed far away from publicity. What keeps encouraging her is the outcome of her efforts and the immense appreciation from colleagues and the school headmasters she has worked under.

“I will carry on with my mission till I am physically capable. My heart beats for nature, the birds and snakes. I believe God lives in nature and blesses whoever tries to conserve His home”, she added.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Odisha with over 40 years of experience in the profession.

 

India’s Foreign Trade: How Free Can it be?

Arun Kumar | 28 May 2025

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The argument that India should lower tariffs and allow import competition is a generalist one, inconsiderate of several economic and political factors.

A case is being made out for India to lower tariffs and allow import competition. It is added that this would benefit India irrespective of what President Trump wants. The PM addressing the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting suggested that the States should leverage the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) India is signing with several countries. In other words, the FTAs are going to be the new normal. Till now, India has had adverse experience with FTAs and that is why protectionism was increased during PM Modi’s first two terms.

Proponents of free trade have approved of the cuts in tariffs in the Union Budget 2025-26. They argue that India should offer greater market access for imports just as it seeks access from others. Is this just given that different countries are at different levels of development, and especially since the USA is going protectionist? 

In quick succession, twice Trump has asked the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, to build in the US and not in India. This also undermines foreign investment in India. This is inopportune currently, when net foreign investment in India has precipitously fallen by 96 percent. India needs more investment to boost its growth. 

India’s Experience With Opening up

In the 1980s, India initiated opening its markets to increase imports in the hope that soon exports would rise – the idea of a J-curve. It was said that India imports too little. The result was a sharp rise in foreign debt in spite of a surge in foreign remittances from the Gulf. 

By 1988-89, a foreign exchange crisis ensued, triggered by the Gulf crisis and India came close to defaulting on debt repayment. It had to seek adjustment from the IMF and loans from the World Bank.

India’s tariffs have been a result of multilateral negotiations in the WTO involving give and take across nations. India gave concessions in TRIPS, TRIMS, Services, etc. President Trump is repudiating all this so as to bring back into the USA, manufacturing and jobs that have migrated to China, etc., because of the big wage differentials. But, this would require the USA to permanently levy high ‘protectionist’ tariffs. 

Other nations too would levy high reciprocal tariffs on US imports. This would lead to decline in trade with the US, inflation and fall in demand. Each nation would then look for other markets to sell what they were selling to the USA. It would be a godsend for them if India cuts tariffs in general and unilaterally.  

India’s experience with FTAs with Korea, Australia and ASEAN has not been promising. The trade deficit has increased due to a surge of imports. So, bilateral agreements have not helped in boosting India’s manufacturing and trade. Though controversial, it is suggested that India’s share of manufacturing (at current prices) has declined in recent times. 

India’s difficulties have also come in the way of early completion of negotiations on FTAs with the UK, EU and others. An agreement has now been reached with the UK but it remains to be seen how beneficial it would be to India. So, a general argument in favour of lower tariffs and allowing more imports is not justified by India’s recent experience.

Free Trade Limitations

Allowing import competition is an argument for ‘free trade’. It may hold in the hypothetical ‘first best’ situation. But the reality is ‘second best’ since there are distortions. If India opens up while other nations use tariff and non-tariff barriers to protect their economy, the Indian economy would be swamped. This is also President Trump’s argument for protecting the US economy by imposing high tariffs. So, under the circumstances, multilateral agreement, like under WTO, is required on not only tariffs but the wider trade. Unfortunately, President Trump is undoing WTO gains.

If the US feels the need to protect itself then India stands little chance under free trade. The argument for free trade is based on ‘comparative advantage’. It assumes that capital and labour can smoothly switch across sectors. That is far from the reality. India has disguised unemployment (surplus labour) in agriculture and trade because neither is there any alternative work nor is it possible to generate self-employment, given the lack of access to capital. 

Free trade leads to differentiation across sectors and sections of society. There are gainers and losers from it. For instance, India cannot afford to open agriculture as demanded by President Trump. Most Indian farmers are small and marginal, cultivating less than 5 acres of land. They have little capital, weak access to credit and incomes close to the poverty line. This is unlike an average American farmer who is big by Indian scale and reportedly gets an average subsidy of Rs.26 lakh per annum. So, opening up Indian agriculture under free trade would impact adversely 60% of Indians who directly or indirectly depend on agriculture. Even Indian industry has hardly benefited from free trade agreements already signed. 

Technology: Crux of Competitiveness 

India’s technological weakness needs to be factored into any argument for free trade. It is hard to compete on equal terms with those who have developed technology. There is the ‘infant industry’ argument. Namely, industry needs protection to develop otherwise it would die a premature death. But, how long can the excuse of the infant industry argument be used? 

As long as the nation lacks the capability to develop technology and that depends on its R&D expenditures. India has been a laggard, spending 0.65 percent of its GDP, since the private sector invests little on R&D. Other dynamic nations spend 2 to 4 percent of their GDP on R&D.

Technology is a moving frontier. Advanced technology of yesterday becomes intermediate and low technology later on. So, India has moved up the technology ladder but has largely been at the intermediate and low technology levels. So, it has to compete with the other developing countries and that leads to adverse income terms of trade.  

Kaldor argued that there is an ‘advantage of a late start’. That is, those who are late developers have the technology path laid out and they can advance rapidly. But that requires R&D capability and in its absence, there is a ‘disadvantage of a late start’. India is suffering from this given its poor R&D effort. Further, modern technologies are hugely expensive and most developing countries are unable to invest that kind of funds. India could spend a lot more but this has not received the priority it deserves.

In brief, making a general argument that India should lower tariffs and allow import competition does not factor in a variety of real life economic and political factors.

Arun Kumar is a Retired Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. The views are personal.

Courtesy: The Leaflet

INDIA

TN: Sugarcane Farmers Protest, Demand Better FRP, Reintroduction of SAP

Newsclick Report | 29 May 2025

The previous AIADMK regime had introduced the RSF which should be abolished and SAP be reintroduced, the protesting farmers demanded.

A protest by sugarcane farmers in Chennai.

Sugarcane farmers of Tamil Nadu recently held a protest in Chennai on demands including a fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs 5,500 per tonne and state advisory price (SAP) of Rs 4,000 per tonne by withdrawing the revenue sharing formula (RSF) introduced in 2018 by the state government. 

The farmers have also been demanding the implementation of M S Swaminathan Commission recommendation to ensure a minimum support price (MSP) to protect the farmers from increasing input costs. 

The Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers Association (TNSFA) accused the policies of the Union government for the reduction in sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. 

The other major demands included revamping of cooperative sugar mills and disbursal of Rs 1,217 crore due to farmers from 24 private sugar mills for sugarcane procurement during 2014-17.

INCREASE FRP AND SCRAP RSF

The farmers organisations have been demanding an MSP of C2+50% of C2 for all agricultural products. The Union government has recently announced an FRP of Rs 355 per quintal (Rs 3,550 per tonne), for 10.25% sugar recovery rate, which the sugarcane farmers association has termed insufficient. 

The TNSFA, affiliated to the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), has been demanding a minimum of Rs 5,500 per tonne, even though the Union government has claimed to have increased by FRP by 4.41%.

Speaking with Newsclick, D Raveendran, general secretary, TNSFA, said, “We are demanding an FRP of Rs 5,500 per tonne for a 9.5% sugar recovery rate. The state government should scrap the RSF and reintroduce the SAP and ensure Rs 4,000 per tonne as promised”.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had promised to announce Rs 4,000 as SAP during the 2021 Assembly election campaign. 

DISBURSE SAP DUES

The sugarcane farmers face the task of being tricked by mills which procure sugarcane from them, by inordinately delaying the payment. 

In a detailed memorandum submitted to the Director of Sugar, government of Tamil Nadu, during the protest, the association has demanded the distribution of Rs 1,217 crore for sugar procurement by private sugar mills for four seasons of 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

The association has won a legal battle for a share in profit from the procurers as per Section 5A of the Sugar Control Order, 1966. The association has urged the director to expedite the implementation of the order. 

REOPEN CLOSED MILLS

Several cooperative and public sector sugar mills are closed due to mismanagement and wrong policies of the successive state governments, besides several private mills are closed citing losses. The association accused some mills of betraying the farmers despite their financial stability. 

“The state government must reopen several cooperative mills across the state to ensure the farmers receive a fair deal for procurement and increase the sugarcane cultivation. This will ensure employment in the government sector and the welfare of the farmers”, Raveendran said. 

INDIA

Vanishing Island, Belated Action, Sinking Wildlife Sanctuary

Ayaskant Das | 31 May 2025

Eco-sensitive zone of Haliday Island in Sundarbans notified 50 years after it was declared a wildlife sanctuary; island has shrunk to nearly 1% of original size and faces extinction.

A view of the southern side of the fast-vanishing Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Picture credit: Punarbasu Chaudhuri.

New Delhi: Amid scathing judicial criticism over its failure to protect India’s natural resources, the Central government has declared an eco-sensitive zone around a rapidly vanishing protected island — the Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary, which has now reduced to less than 1% of its original size. According to officials, the island – rapidly sinking under the sea – now supports only a sparse remnant of its original flora and fauna and faces imminent extinction.

Haliday Island, an uninhabited island, is in the middle of the Matla River in the Sundarbans in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. It is among hundreds of islands scattered across a complex network of rivers, rivulets and creeks in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta on the Bay of Bengal, spanning India and Bangladesh.

On May 14, nearly 50 years after Haliday Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (“the ministry”) notified a 2-kilometre-radius eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around it. An ESZ is a designated buffer area meant to protect fragile ecosystems by regulating human activities in the vicinity of protected areas. However, according to forest department officials of West Bengal, no human or industrial activities of any nature are planned in or around Haliday Island.

“The island is deep within the Sundarbans. It is difficult to access and therefore has no human activities in or around it. It is shrinking rapidly. Vegetation over the island is sparse and wildlife is almost non-existent,” Nisha Goswami, the Divisional Forest Officer of South 24 Parganas, said in response to a query by this correspondent.

In a report in November 2022, Newsclick had highlighted how the island was rapidly being engulfed by water without any action plan by the government to save it. This news report was based on research by the public interest environmental law group Legal Initiative for Forest & Environment (LIFE). As per its research, only four hectares (0.04 sq km) – of the 595 hectares (5.95 sq km) of the island when it was notified as a wildlife sanctuary in June 1976 – is left.

The Central government’s data on coastal and oceanic islands of the country itself puts the total area of Haliday Island at 28.7 ha (0.287 sq km). This database, which is maintained by the ministry, describes the island as a “marine protected area”, that is, an area identified for protection of threatened marine species.

The gazette notification, however, sticks to the original figure of 5.95 sq km which was the area as measured when the island was notified in 1976. The notification also says that several vulnerable species of flora and fauna are found on the island. These include the Gangetic Dolphin, Estuarine crocodile, Fishing cat, Estuarine otter, Jackal, Chital, Wild pig, Cotton pygmy goose, Common Teal, Pintail, Crested Serpent Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Long-tailed Nightjar, Ganges Shark, Hammer head Shark, Guitar Fish, Butter Fish, Gangetic Hairfin Anchovy, Harguza, amur, Lata Sundari, Banjai, Math Goran, Kripe and so on.

The notification further lists out a set of activities to be undertaken by the state government to ensure that the ESZ remains protected.

As per officials of West Bengal forest department, the island’s history dates to the 8th century when it was known as Jinjir. It is believed to have been a possible stopover point on the maritime trade route between India and the Arab countries. It was renamed Haliday Island after Bengal’s first lieutenant governor Sir Frederick James Halliday in the 19th century. The British used the island as a game sanctuary and hunting ground.

The island is part of the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, which was identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Newsclick had also reported that no study, whatsoever, was ever undertaken to determine the island’s rapid submergence.

“The reason behind the island’s submergence could be coastal erosion or sea level rise owing to global warming. Only a detailed scientific analysis could possibly arrive at the reason as to why the island is shrinking. It is in an area frequented by extreme climatic disturbances. However, the ministry’s decision to notify an eco-sensitive zone around the island at a stage when it is facing extinction seems perfunctory and an exercise in futility,” LIFE co-founder Ritwick Dutta told this correspondent.

Instances of submergence of small islands are not very rare. In 2021, the Megapode Wildlife Sanctuary in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands was de-notified by the Central government following its complete submergence under the Bay of Bengal in the Boxing Day Tsunami of December 2004.

In a written response to the Rajya Sabha in December 2021, the ministry had informed that as many as four other protected areas have also been de-notified in the country since 2007 owing to a variety of reasons including lack of flora and fauna or for takeover of land by local communities for farming. These include three protected areas in Haryana – Saraswati Wildlife Sanctuary (de-notified in 2007), Bir Bara Ban Jind Wildlife Sanctuary (de-notified in 2007) and Abubshehar Wildlife Sanctuary (de-notified in 2018). The Kachhua Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh was de-notified in 2020.

The notification of an ESZ around Haliday Island Wildlife Sanctuary comes at a time when the Supreme Court has strongly censured the government for its failure to safeguard the nation’s forests. The apex court, in its recent judgements has pointed out at a nexus between bureaucrats, politicians and builders that has been behind the systemic degradation of the nation’s forests.

On May 16, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujwal Bhuyan restrained the government from providing post facto environmental clearances to all categories of projects. The bench set aside a set of office memoranda and notifications, which had been issued in the past by the ministry to provide a backdoor method for project proponents to obtain environmental clearance after beginning construction work or operationalising their projects.

The bench said in its order:

“There are no equities in favor of those who committed gross illegalities without obtaining prior ECs. The persons who acted without ECs were not illiterate persons. They are companies, real estate developers, public sector undertakings, mining industries etc. They were the persons who knowingly committed the illegalities.” 

A day earlier, that is, on May 15, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, had quashed the allotment of 11.98 hectares of Reserve Forest land, in Kondhwa Budruk village of Maharashtra’s Pune district, to a private family. The court found that in August 1998, the parcel of Reserved Forest had been allotted to the private family by the revenue department of Maharashtra bypassing the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The family had later sold the land parcel to a housing society.

“The present matter is a classic example as to how the nexus between the politicians, bureaucrats and the builders can result in the conversion of precious forest land for commercial purposes under the garb of resettlement of people belonging to the backward class from whose ancestors, agricultural land was acquired for public purpose,” the bench stated in its judgement.

While disposing of the matter, the apex court also issued a pan-India direction for constitution of Special Investigation Teams (SITs) across all states and Union territories to identify instances of diversion, if any, of forest land, in the possession of revenue departments, for non-forestry purposes.

Investigations are likely to open various cans of worms across the country in so far as the lacunae of various governments in conserving protected areas and reserved forests is concerned.

Inordinate delays by ministries in notifying ESZ buffers around protected areas has resulted in large-scale development of infrastructure, industries and mining projects near protected areas. There has also been confusion about the exact boundaries of buffer zones of protected areas in several instances resulting in illegal land takeover.

For example, numerous instances of encroachments in the core and buffer areas of the Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary in Shivamogga district of Karnataka have been reported owing to errors in the demarcation of its boundaries. Non-forestry activities continue to take place in and around the wildlife sanctuary even as the state government and the central government are yet to redraw its boundaries. The draft notification for the wildlife sanctuary was issued in 1974 – more than 50 years ago – and the final notification came in 1977. There is no notification of its ESZ yet. It has been alleged that a large part of land was erroneously included within the boundary of the sanctuary after the final notification, an error which is yet to be rectified.

Similarly, enquiries made by environmental activists through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 have revealed that large parts of Itanagar city, the state capital of Arunachal Pradesh, have illegally sprung up within the protected area of the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

The illegal constructions include the state secretariat building and the state legislative Assembly building of Arunachal Pradesh. The building that houses the municipal corporation of Itanagar city has also been illegally constructed within the wildlife sanctuary.

The RTI query was filed by an activist SD Loda. The state government responded with the information that since 1980 no clearance has been granted for any construction activity within the protected boundaries of the wildlife sanctuary as mandated under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The wildlife sanctuary had been notified in February 1978.

The writer is an independent journalist.

 

Argentina: Thousands of Scientists Protest Milei’s Neoliberal Adjustment

Pablo Meriguet | 31 May 2025

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The mobilisations that took place all over the country denounced the reduction of the budget for scientific research, which resulted in the loss of jobs and the penalisation of projects.

Protest of researchers and scientists in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photos: Collaborative Coverage / RAICYT

On May 28, thousands of scientists, academics, and students protested in Argentina against the critical situation facing the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET). The protests followed the announcement by the neoliberal government of Javier Milei to cut the state budget for scientific research (from 0.3% of GDP to 0.15%). The mobilizations took place in several cities across the South American country.

The demonstrations were called by the Association of State Workers (ATE) of CONICET under the slogan “No one saves themselves alone. Without workers there is no science, without science there is no future.” The ATE denounced the precarity of the science sector in Argentina due to the lack of funding. They argue that low salaries, lack of supplies, and the halting of projects forces talented researchers to migrate out of the country or seek employment with private companies.

According to Telesur, “11% of Conicet’s administrative staff was reportedly laid off, along with a reduction of 1,291 workers, including 46% of doctoral and postdoctoral fellows. In addition, there was a 24% increase in resignations among members of the Scientific and Technological Researcher Career (CIC) and a 46% increase in administrative staff resignations.”

In addition, the purchasing power of scientists dependent on CONICET has reportedly been reduced by 35% since December 2023.

“No one saves themselves alone”

The huge success in Argentina and Latin America of the Netflix series called “El Eternauta” (based on the comic by Héctor Oesterheld, an Argentine screenwriter who was disappeared along with his family during the last military dictatorship) has inspired thousands of Argentines to recover one of the famous phrases of the series. Scientists of CONICET called for mobilizations, remembering Oesterheld: “The murder of science advances. So does the resistance. No one saves themselves alone.” Dozens of scientists who marched through the streets wore masks, costumes, and other props related to the series, “El Eternauta”.

The reference is no accident. The series talks about the collective struggle in the face of a sort of winter apocalypse, something that the Argentine opposition has compared to Milei’s neoliberal and libertarian project, which seeks to destroy any hint of collective struggle in a society historically defined by collective struggles, including the struggles that made CONICET, one of the most important scientific institutions in Latin America today.

About the mobilization of May 28, Sol Martínez Allende, General Secretary of ATE CONICET told Barricada TV: “It was a great day of struggle. There were marches in different parts of the country. Conicet workers mobilized en masse. In the face of the bleak panorama today gives us a great boost… [Milei’s Government] is a government that came to do this: to destroy the state. It is a government that does not believe in national sovereignty and has very close contacts with the United States and Israel. It is servile to those interests.”

Gonzalo Sanz, Deputy Secretary of ATE CONICET said, “the theme became reality, and it was reflected in a great collective effort.” 

He described a weeks-long process where colleagues and workers from different institutions in over 15 cities across the country worked together to make masks, paint posters, and plan their interventions. “It was truly this idea that the solution is collective. That was seen on this day of struggle. I think this is one of the most positive things that came out of today’s event.”

Elaborating on the organization’s perspective on the solution to the budget adjustment, Sanz said:

“Milei is receiving support from international financial organizations, particularly through the Trump administration in the United States. There is domestic political support, international political support … behind this adjustment. So, not only do we have to mobilize because it’s the only tool we know … but also because the response to this is political.”

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch