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Panjim ISUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2014 I indiaUnlimited IV

data. This is what Dr Dookia thinks is hap - pening. He started to study the chinkara Drowning Out The at three sites in the districts of Jodhpur and Nagaur in 1999, while pursuing his doctorate in zoology. Between 2006 and 2009, he received support from the Rufford Small Grants Foundation, UK, Chinkara’s Sneeze for three more studies on the chinkara, allowing him to expand sites to six and Photo: Dr. Sumit Dookia train volunteers in what is regarded as a The wide- eyed, fragile- more scientific method of counting large looking gazelle, the animals over a large area: The line- transect method, which involves counting chinkara has over the animals along fixed lines and estimating years faded from public their density from raw counts and prob - ability. view, but they are at the In 2014, a collaborative survey on heart of a data contro - the chinkara, great Indian bustard and Some Good News other desert species in Thar, conducted versy that could tell if it is by the Wildlife Institute of India and Ra - fated to survive or die out jasthan Forest Department, did use a On Infrastructure vehicle-based line transect method for counting these species’ numbers across a large landscape (25,000 sq km). r Dutta Though traffic, pollution and crime are problems | CHARU BAHRI, I ndiaspend.org described the method as “scientific, ro - bust and widely used for wildlife surveys is still dealing with, infrastructural projects ll of 16 years old, a court-weary to generate accurate population num - are doing reasonably well case is nearing its denouement: bers”. Its added advantage over the AOn November 5, the Supreme The answer depends on whose data traditional waterhole-based census Court reserved its judgement on the in - you examine. method is that it accounts for the famous Salman Khan poaching case. The Rajasthan forest department’s fraction of animals that are not de - | A STAFF WRITER, I ndiaspend.org 12-km long, for water supply from In 1998, Salman, one of India’s most chinkara census shows an 11% rise in tected, he said. Maroshi (in Andheri in north west) to famous Bollywood stars, was accused the animal’s numbers over three years In 2010, Dr Dookia joined Guru umbai’s citizens may be gen - Ruparel College ( in the south of hunting and killing a blackbuck and to 2013, while counting done by biologist Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, erally vexed with their megapo - central Mumbai). two chinkaras, a type of gazelle. Suspect Dr Sumit Dookia, who has spent about New Delhi. In 2012, he received a Mlis’s growing traffic, pollution These projects, of course, are only partners in crime include fellow celebrities 15 years studying the chinkara, shows a Young Scientist Fellowship from the and crime, but it has actually done rea - a fraction of what the city requires. Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and 43% decline in its numbers in six repre - Department of Science & Technology, sonably well in one aspect—infrastruc - Among the critical projects expected Neelam, all of whom have made visits sentative sample sites. Government of India, as well as ture projects under a national scheme. to cost more than Rs 18,660 crore are to the Jodhpur sessions court in the Chinkara sightings are most frequent same period. The office of the Chief funding to continue studying the chinkara Mumbai has completed 13 of 26 a new metro line and another sealink desert state of Rajasthan. near villages of the Bishnoi Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, Jodhpur, in his six chosen sites. projects, valued at Rs from Sewri on the eastern But for all the wide- and of other communities attributes this 20% fluctuation to the Fourteen years of data on chinkara 2,873.4 crore, financed seaboard to Nhava Sheva eyed attention and national practicing non-violence higher number of waterholes where numbers in three sites and eight years by the Centre under the on the mainland. These headlines that the stars attracted over against animals, such as the Charans, chinkara were counted in 2012: 110 of data on their numbers in three more Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Re - projects have made no headway be - the years, the chinkara faded from public Jains, Jats, Meghwals, Rajpurohits and water holes versus 66. Water pipeline sites tell a very different story to gov - newal Mission (JNNURM). It is fourth cause there are no funds available. view. Now, as IndiaSpend has learned, Sidhs. Fewer chinkara are seen near leakages had formed extra waterholes ernment census data. All six sites have among all cities with completed proj - Greater Mumbai (Mumbai and suburban the wide-eyed, fragile-looking gazelle is Muslim and Rajput villages. which the herds visited. The state’s experienced a decline in chinkara num - ects—Bangalore has the highest num - Mumbai) has a population of 12.4 mil - at the heart of a data controversy that, Successive forest department censuses forest department relies on these tradi - bers, varying from 32% to 54%. ber of completed projects, with 24 of lion, but the urban agglomeration of if deciphered, could tell us if it is fated put out wildly fluctuating figures of tional waterhole-based counts. The chinkara is listed as “Lower 38. Mumbai stretches into the neighboring to survive or die out. chinkara numbers. The census pegged At best, done well, the waterhole- Risk/Conservation Dependant” in the The completed Mumbai projects districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad Is the chinkara, helped by the gov - the number of chinkara inside protected census method can generate surrogates International Union for Conservation of include: an underground tunnel from and now accommodates an estimated ernment and traditional protectors, flour - areas at 5,251 in 2012 and at 4,085 a of chinkara – extrapolations from ob - Nature’s Red Data List (2014) of threat - the reservoir in south 26 million people. The infrastructure ishing or—pushed by growing towns year later. The chinkara population in served animals – and can provide popu - ened species, and as an endangered Mumbai to Cross Maidan (3.6 km), the costs to link all these people to their and hunted by feral dogs—hurtling to - the protected Desert National Park plum - lation trends over years. At worst, the species in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife middle Vaitarna water supply project workplaces are likely to be enormous. wards extinction? meted from 2,705 to 1,779 over the method can lead to inaccurate census (Protection) Act of 1972. for Mumbai and an underground tunnel The JNNURM is just a start. How Indian Cities Can Gwalior, India’s rape capital, Delhi is no. 3 Budget For Women’s Needs Photo: Lalwani, Flickr Photo: Bgopal for Dreamstime.com Mumbai is among the for 4,858 women in the slums of Mumbai. That is 0.16% of Mumbai’s few cities in the country female slum dwellers with a per that has adopted gender capita support of approximately Rs 164 per month. budgeting at the local • Construction of women’s toilets level and constituted a at crowded places in Mumbai gets an allocation of Rs 1 crore whereas separate section in its training for self defence has been al - budget located Rs 2 crore. • Almost 52% of Mumbai’s gender budget (Rs 305.5 crore) is allocated for maternal and child care. Mum - bai’s infant mortal - ity rate—number of baby deaths per thousand live With 22.8 rapes per lakh wome, births—stands at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh 26, much lower olution was passed in 2006, Mumbai than the national average of 44. accounts for the highest Corporation of Greater Mumbai • Sanitation gets Rs 37.5 crore incidence of rape in India (MCGM) introduced gender budgeting under the gender budget with Rs only three years later in 2009-10. On 33.5 crore allocated for building com - MCGM’s website, the gender budget munity toilets, but it is not specified chapter can be viewed as a separate if these toilets are meant only for | PRACHI SALVE, I ndiaspend.org port pointed out. “That’s thanks to the document though, and MCGM should women. efforts of a lot of good people—police, be lauded for its efforts. But are • Scholarship for girl child has he rape of a 26-year-old woman in lawyers, victims and their families—work - these efforts enough to improve the been allocated Rs 46.71 crore. a Delhi taxi run by Uber has led to ing heroically with limited resources,” the quality of life of our Mahila Mum - • Administration costs amount to Ta furore on the mainstream and so - report said. | NAIM KERUWALA, I ndiaspend.org Investing in gender equality not baikars? Rs11.5 crore and software develop - cial media and led to a ban on four taxi- It is also clear that Delhi is not the rape only helps fight violence against Let us not forget that over half of ment for implementation of gender booking companies, including Uber. capital of the world or even India. Gwalior ender budgeting was intro - women, but also achieve Mumbai’s 12.4 million population budget initiatives costs Rs 0.2 crore. The latest in a series of widely-publicised in Madhya Pradesh has the highest inci - duced in Maharashtra after a live in slums, which means that 3.1 In the year 2012-13, MCGM spent rapes raises many questions, on the func - dence of rape in India with 22.8 rapes Ggovernment resolution was developmental goals such as million women could be living there, Rs 62 per month per female slum tioning of the state, legal action and per lakh women. In 2013, Delhi was third issued in 2006. The resolution man - poverty alleviation, livelihood a figure equivalent to the population dweller in Mumbai for their economic, sexual assaults in India. in the incidence of rape with dated that after meeting the expen - enhancement and access to of Pune, the second most populated social and educational betterment It appears that the pub - Rajasthan and Madhya diture committed to by the municipal education city in Maharashtra. and the provision of improved health licity around rape has en - Pradesh each having three corporation, 5% of the balance be Here are some of and sanitation services. In 2014-15, couraged more women to report rape. cities in the top 10. Delhi’s move up from kept reserved for the work done by was announced in 2001 the key features of MCGM proposed to increase this Over the last five years, there has been a number 11 in 2012 to number 3 last year, women and child welfare committees. and the third edition of Mumbai’s Gender amount from Rs 62 to Rs157 per 57% rise in reported rapes. Many rapes perhaps, reflects an increased reporting This is an extremely important step the policy has been published in budget according to the 2014-15 month per female slum dweller. go unreported. of rape by women. as investing in gender equality not 2013. It is not a matter of debate budget estimates: All that this serves to show is that Statistics from the National Crime The most important point about rape only helps fight violence against that these are very well-intended • MCGM has budgeted around an in-depth, multi-layered analysis Records Bureau (NCRB) showcase the in India is that it is—and has always women, but also helps achieve de - policy documents but the real ques - Rs584 crore for the ‘Gender budget’ will be required to assess the impact good and not-so-good news. Reported been—committed overwhelmingly by velopmental goals such aspoverty al - tion is: do these policies ever get in 2014-15. of ‘Gender budget’ on the lives of rapes in 2013 were at an all-time high at men known to the victim, including fathers, leviation, livelihood enhancement implemented? Can the government • MCGM’s gender budget focuses women in Mumbai and, through a 31,807, and conviction rates for rapes brothers, relatives, neighbours, friends and access to education. “walk the talk”, as it were? on four aspects viz. economic and participatory approach, present rec - over five years have also risen. and teachers. Over the last five years, the Government of Maharashtra adopt - Mumbai is among the few cities social, educational improvement, ommendations to MCGM. At 27.1% in 2013, the conviction rate percentage of rapes committed by such ed the principle that ‘Empowerment in the country that has adopted gen - health &sanitation and development (Naim Keruwala is an assistant director for rapes in India is higher than some men has always accounted for at least of women means development of der budgeting at the local level and of children’s parks. at Janwani, a Pune-based NGO working Western countriesas a Time magazine re - 93% of all rapes reported in India. the country’ in 1994 and published constituted a separate section in its • MCGM to spend Rs 0.96 crore towards the holistic & sustainable de - a ‘Women Policy’. A revised policy budget. Though the government res - through a revolving fundon support velopment of Pune metropolitan region.) (Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit)

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