The price we pay for progress

You don't find trees being felled in central London, nor do you find an overhead Metro there. There are lessons we, in the developing countries, can learn for what is not ecologically sound is not economically sustainable

Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath

I grew up in a small town called Hassan in Karnataka and went on to join the military school in Bijapur and then on to the Army. After spending eight years in the army, I was restless and went back to my little village exploring opportunities. Meanwhile, in the village, the farmland that we owned was submerged as there was the Gorur dam that had been built. To compensate for the lost farmland - the family was provided barren lands in the outskirts of the village.

When it became known that the government would be compensating the loss of land in the submersion area with land that once supported grazing of royal cattle, neighboring farmers felled the trees there for timber and firewood. What now remained was thick undergrowth. In this background, when I saw neem, sandalwood and honge shoots growing under bushy thorn, I was intrigued. It was a curious correlation—where the land was barren, nothing grew on it, where grew thorny bushes and scrub, there emerged colourful saplings.

I saw a bird perched on a tree. It held a seedy fruit in its beak. The bird would drop the seed in its droppings. They would soon be buried in the rotting vegetable remains. The seed would sprout and give birth to a sapling. The thorn in the bush would keep animals from grazing the tender shoot. So nature contrives to produce its own best conditions for the seed to sprout, grow into a sapling, a plant and then a tree.

I gradually learnt to recognise local tree and plant varieties and I worked towards ensuring that they are allowed to thrive. The farm has weathered all storms and I got recognition from Rolex for sustainable eco-farming.

My heart bleeds when I see relentless felling of trees to create Metro stations and the price we are paying for progress. Couldn't we have planned Metros underground to save the trees like the developed countries have done? You don't find trees being felled in central London, nor do you find an overhead Metro there. There are lessons we, in the developing countries, can learn.

In all my businesses ranging from aviation to logistics, right from managing fuel consumption to planning networks that would require lesser flying times is ingrained in our very processes. To sum up, what is not ecologically sound is not economically sustainable.