Avoidable stalemate

This refers to the article ‘Why governments find themselves in a bind’ (July 28). Additionally, governments when led by a powerful or popular leader become vulnerable while politically immature leaders succumb to their poor decision-making.

But the Opposition demand on PM Narendra Modi is a political ploy to criticise him in Parliament. Despite the government’s willingness to debate the issue, the Opposition has still insisted on Modi speaking in the debate.

The bad blood between the PM and the Opposition has made both sides inflexible. The casualties are the people of Manipur.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Fed moves

This refers to the Editorial ‘Clear Signal’(July 28). Though the Fed went for a 25 bps rate hike, its

post-hike press meet had a positive tone. The RBI’s MPC could take a cue from the Fed and maintain status quo on rates.

NR Nagarajan

Sivakasi

Millet conundrum

This is with reference to the article ‘Some caveats to promoting millets’ (July 28). Farmers must be encouraged to produce millet by assuring them minimum support prices.

People like Raju Bhupati, who make low-cost millet chikkis, should be encouraged.

All school canteens should be encouraged to sell millet products and children must be made aware of the benefits of eating millet. This will discourage children to eat junk food.

Celebrities must also be encouraged to endorse millets and products such as endorse millet chikkis and millet laddoos.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

Ecological worries

The passage of the Bill to amend the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) in the Lok Sabha without meaningful deliberations and discussions among members is unfortunate.

While the FCA draws attention to the country’s global warming mitigation efforts by increasing the country’s forest cover for the creation of a carbon sink of an additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent by 2030, which deserves praise, the deregulation proposed in the Bill to fast-track the construction of roads, railway lines, or projects of strategic nature near the country’s international borders is retrograde as most frontier zones of the country are classified as ecologically fragile.

The legitimate apprehensions of the environmentalists that more than 28 per cent of the country’s forests could lose protection if the amended FCA came into force cannot be undermined.

It is time the Centre paid heed to the legitimate apprehensions raised from several quarters about the dilution of the very spirit of the Forest Conservation Act through the amendments.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan (TN)

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