Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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Why have you not appointed Lokayuktas yet, SC asks 12 States

News

• The Supreme Court directed Chief Secretaries of 11 States to explain the five-year delay in appointment of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokayukta and Uplokayukta.

Why its important?

Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act comes under the radar of UPSC. Make a note.

Beyond News

• A Bench ,found that several States have not moved a muscle to appoint Lokayuktas despite the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act coming into existence in 2013.
• The court found that Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh have not appointed Lokpal, Lokayukta or Uplokayukta.
• The Chief Secretaries of the aforesaid 11 States shall inform the court within two weeks as to whether steps have been taken for appointment of Lokyukta/Uplokayukta and if so the stage thereof.

U.S. warship sails near disputed islands in South China Sea, officials say

News

• A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation” operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea- U.S. officials.

Beyond News

• The operation, which infuriated Beijing, was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as China’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.
• The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Mustin traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and carried out maneuvering operations. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.
• China’s Defence Ministry said two Chinese naval ships had been sent to identify the U.S. ship and warn it to leave.
• China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• The U.S. military put countering China and Russia at the center of a new national defense strategy recently unveiled.
• The United States has been pushing allies to carry out freedom of navigation operations as well.
• Britain this year said one of its warships would pass through the South China Sea to assert freedom-of-navigation rights.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Bengaluru tops in waterbodies with chemical pollution

News

• More than half of the country’s critically polluted waterbodies, in terms of chemical pollution, are found in Karnataka, with its capital itself accounting for 17 lakes and tanks with the highest chemical pollution.

Beyond News

• From Bellandur to Hebbal, 17 lakes and tanks in Bengaluru have been categorised as critically polluted with Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels, which indicate chemical pollution, topping 250 microgrammes per litre, shows data that was submitted to the Lok Sabha.
• The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, provided a list of 38 rivers and 48 lakes, tanks and ponds in the country that have been categorised as critically polluted .
• The analysis was done by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in association with the State Pollution Control Boards, for the years 2013-17. Over 253 rivers and 259 waterbodies are being monitored under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme.

Water bodies

• Karnataka tops the list in critically polluted water bodies, followed by Telangana with 12 and Kerala with 6.
• While lakes in and around Bengaluru are polluted, it is hard to believe that lakes in other States are not as polluted or worse off. This is perhaps because other State Pollution Control Boards do not monitor or give reliable data.
• Interestingly, in the list of 38 rivers, only Bhima from the State finds mention.
• Sugar factories and cement factories along the stretch dump effluents directly into the river, while rampant sand mining in both Karnataka and Maharashtra has resulted in the disappearance of sand, which can naturally filter pollutants.

Microplastics ruin the beaches

News

• Microplastics, one of the carriers of pollution to the marine environment, have been found more on the beaches of Karnataka and Maharashtra as compared to Goa, according to a study.

Beyond News

• Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment, resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.
• During a study conducted on different beaches along the coast of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, the researchers found significant variations in the distribution pattern of plastic contaminants.
• However, comparatively fewer microplastic pellets were found along the coast of Goa.
• During a comprehensive study on the identification and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics in the coastal Arabian Sea, they observed 5,095 pieces of plastic pollutants in total, ranging from 3 to 100 mm in size, on 10 beaches along the west coast of India during 2016-17.
• These pellets were made of polyethylene and polypropylene, and a few of them were unidentified polymers.

After effects

• Due to the long residence time of microplastics in the sea and on the beaches, they tend to adsorb various pollutants, and may act as vector transferring toxic chemicals from the environment to the marine organisms.

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