Electricity
Camels graze near power lines (Image for representational purpose only)Reuters

Environmentalists have figured out from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Union Budget that the BJP government has plans to favour corporate and industries over common people.

The newly elected government did not direct any special proposals towards renewable energy or public transport, as it had not allocated enough funds for the protection of the environment, reported Reuters.

However, on Thursday Jaitley announced that it would invest in solar power projects with an allocation of funds to help farmers acclimatize with changing climate patterns.

"The steps on renewable energy and energy efficiency are not transformational and the attempt to force fit coal production to clear the irrational power proposals, is a signal that the reality of climate change has far from being recognized by this government," Reuters quoted Vinuta Gopal, head of climate and energy at Greenpeace India.

"It's good that the government is talking about investments in renewable but it is largely focused on large scale renewable and not on decentralized renewable energy for meeting the electrification needs of rural India," she added.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) from Delhi also agreed to the idea of Greenpeace organization.

Lack of Electricity

India is desperate for power, and reports suggest that up to 40 percent of the country's population have no access to electricity. It has to be noted that they face this shortage, even though there are electrical lines all over these areas. Recently, severe power cuts were faced in the towns and villages of Uttar Pradesh. Besides this, there are many Taluks and villages across the nation that faced frequent power cuts. 

Jaitley announced to invest $100 million to install four mega solar power projects in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Jammu Kashmir. This means that BJP government have emphasized on solar projects which will involve agriculture pumping stations, canals banks, among other projects across the above mentioned states.

CSE's director Sunita Narain opined to invest in smaller power plants, rather than deploying big projects. She said that the accessibility of bigger projects decreases with an increase in distance, and added that the Budget 2014/15 falls back on the "big" solar plants.

Gopal further described the Union budget of 2014 as paradoxical. ''It invites the foreign hand to key sectors in the country, though it has balked at any support that could raise uncomfortable questions on human rights or environmental violations," she told Reuters adding "the budget is a pro-corporate (one) as was expected, with little to cheer for the people and the environment," she added.