Why in news:

• Recently, ecological concerns have been raised over the planned 4,000MW ultra mega solar plant in Rajasthan.
• Whereas on the one hand, the state forest department is at an advanced stage of creating a development agency to protect and conserve the natural ecosystem of Sambhar lake which is a wetland of international importance, there are plans afoot to set up a 4,000MW ultra mega solar plant at the Ramsar site.

Key Points:

• Sambhar Salt Ltd has recently invited expression of interest (EoI) from companies to set up the solar project.
• Out of the 58,000 acres the company has, it currently uses only a fraction of 2,500 acres for salt production.
• Thereby, a large area can be utilised for solar power generation.
• As per industry estimates, over 16,000 acres would be required to set up the 4,000MW plant. This would mean setting up solar panels in large swathes of land.
• It is feared that such a large-scale project on the wetland could wipe out the eco-system with all its genetic diversity.
• Sambhar attracts a lot of birds. In the past few years, the archeological department with assistance from the Centre has spent close to Rs 100 crore to develop Sambhar as a tourist destination.
• Of late, it has also become a destination for film shooting.
• Environmentalists have raised their concerns and have demanded that the involved players have to share the environment impact assessment study of the project before taking any decision. If they have not done that, they need to stop the exercise immediately.
• While the solar industry in the state is always in favour of such projects, some representatives said that there was no dearth of barren or semi-barren land for solar plants in districts such as Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer.
• Sambhar is not the right place as per the experts.
• The chairman and managing director of Hindustan Salt Ltd, the parent company of Sambhar Salt has said that Solar plants come under the ‘wise use’ category. That’s why environment clearance is not required. It does not affect the ecosystem.
• The forest and environment department officials have said they were unaware of the expression of interest. But officials in the department said that as per wetland guidelines, no permanent structure can be allowed.
• The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016, do not permit ‘any construction of a permanent nature’. Restrictions in wetlands also include setting up of any industry and expansion of existing industries.
• The solar project in Sambhar was originally announced by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2013 when he had come to Jaipur to campaign for the party in the run up to the state elections.
• After BJP won the elections the project was junked as it would damage the wetland’s environment and ecosystem.
• Currently, no single entity is responsible for the management of Sambhar. But the multi-departmental Sambhar Development Agency, which is awaiting the law department’s approval, is expected to play a key role in protecting the wetland and creating a sustainable model for development for the benefit of local communities.

Ramsar Convention

• Ramsar Convention is a convention on wetlands that was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
• The negotiations for the convention started in the 1960s by the different countries and NGOs for the protection of wetlands and their resources.
•  Finally, it came into force in 1975.
• There are 46 Ramsar Sites in India listed under Ramsar Convention.
• The convention works on three pillars that define the purpose of the Ramsar Convention:
• Wise Use – To work towards the wise use of all wetlands
• List of Wetlands of International Importance – Designate suitable wetlands under the Ramsar List to effectively manage those
• International Cooperation – To bring cooperation internationally over the transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.
• It is the only international treaty that addresses a specific ecosystem (wetland.)