Veteran agriculture expert Dr S Jeevananda Reddy urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi please re-look in to the use of drones in agriculture as announced by the government during the 2022-23 budget session.
In the case of agriculture. The former Chief Technical Advisor – WMO/UN and Expert – FAO/UN suggested the government that let the ICAR and its regional agencies identify the issues faced by farmers and then suggest the ways and means to mitigate those issues.
However, the convenor of Forum for a Sustainable Environment said thatthe mitigation of risks with cyclonic activity is minimal and the government must give priority to “Precautionary Principle” as national security is paramount.
In a open letter to the Prime Minister, he felt that the government made this announcement forgetting the basic risk in the use of Drones. He cautioned that use of drones’ culture is dangerous to nations’ security in terms of defence and local price escalations. He also expressed concern that the manufacturing companies might mint money.
Explaining on of his experience, he recalled that when Pokhran nuclear test in Rajasthan desert was executed during the (late) Mrs. Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister in May 1974, nobody in world has the knowledge on this test. After this several agencies started methods to get advance information on such issues.
Dr Reddy said that One person approached N. Chandrababu Naidu (CBN) the then AP Chief Minister to get some satellite images interpreted. CBN in turn forwarded the same with a request to NRSA/Hyderabad, who had turn it down. Then CBN approached ISRO and they also turn it down.
At that time people have opinion “satellite images are freely available to everybody” then what is great in interpreting them. “We told them, raw satellite images as such have no value. They get value only when they are interpreted with ground based factual information”, he added.
He said brining to the notice of these facts to the notice of the Central government explained the danger in that — they can get the locations of important defence installations/locations in relation to satellite images and foreign nations can monitor regularly on the activities at those points with satellites.
As a result, Dr Reddy said that the then central Minister Ram Vilas Paswan rejected the request from AP government on this. Unfortunately, he deplored that now this has come up with drones-culture under the disguise of helping farmers. Unfortunately in India we don’t have a mechanism to monitor them and thus put Indian defence at great risk, he added.
Stating that the mitigation of risks with cyclonic activity is minimal, he has given a simple example of GM cotton seed entry to India. He recalled that the seeds were brought in to India illegally and cultivated illegally. Even the internationally banned seed of GW-II & GW-III seeds entered in to India and cultivated them. However, recalling very poor monitoring mechanism in the country, he said that neither the state governments nor Central government took any action on those violators.
Dr Reddy also expressed concern that the AP government in its 2022-23 budget announced use of drones in agriculture [allocated Rs. 200 crores for 10,000 drones and man power to handle them] without going in to pros and cons of such system: He cautioned that at local level aerial spraying chemicals will cause air pollution. Air pollution in turn causes water pollution.
He warned that these in turn affect the environment and thus humans, friendly insects & pests and life forms [birds, etc.] in those areas. Major hazard is it pollutes drinking water bodies and life in the water bodies. This helps drug manufacturing industry and health care institutions.
Referring to discussion over climate change, he deplored that in politics lobbying plays the major disastrous impact on nature. Take the example of cloud seeding [artificial rain making, he recalled that Prof. Sivaji Rao run around the AP Secretariat to influence the government to take up cloud seeding and succeeded.
At that time, he said he had brought to the notice of Dr. YS Rejasekhar Reddy, the then Chief Minister of AP on the negative impact on dry areas and got it withdrawn the project. “We tried to convince the state government to stop aqua ponds in delta areas but we failed but we achieved partial success with Centre bring out Law to pay subsidy on chemical fertilizers to farmers directly”, he added.
He said that Aqua Forms and illicit liquor manufacturers use chemical fertilizers that have been brought in black market [from industry or retail outlets) and all know the role of black money in real estate. Governments indiscriminately raise the salaries of politicians and government employees. He alleged that this helped converted black money earned by them through real estate.
