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Vishal Dadlani is dead against the Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor project. He tells us why development cannot be disconnected from the environment
Upala KBR (DNA; March 7, 2016)

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is set to lose 58 hectares of forest land, including 10 hectares of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, to the Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor project. While issuing the final order, the forest department has not only set aside its own reservations but also ignored the objections raised by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the officials of the two forest divisions that will lose land. Singer, music record producer and music composer Vishal Dadlani speaks about how he feels about giving away natural land for developmental purposes...

Aspire to good progress
He says, “They are ripping out Mumbai’s lungs and filling them with concrete. If the city chooses to meekly accept this, we will have failed as responsible citizens and human beings. ‘Development’ cannot be disconnected from the environment. I hope the government realises that while progress is good, good progress is what we must aspire to. To simplify it, so even they can comprehend it....We can’t breathe money!”

Burning questions
He adds, “Yes, it’s true that development is also required for civilisation to move forward, but it can’t be random and inconsiderate. There’s no point having all the bridges, bullet trains, expressways in the world, if you don’t have air to breathe. The project will ensure jobs for many, sure! But it’s a small number compared to those working on all the land it will acquire, mostly arable farmland, ranging from Delhi to Mumbai. What happens to all those farmers? What happens to India’s food production? Are those figures in the public domain? And if not, why not? To bridge the gap between development and civilisation and the environment, environmental concerns have to be the FIRST concern, even during the planning stages, of any project. Not a bureaucratic afterthought, as they have traditionally been.”

Climate change is real!
He concludes, “Please understand that I’m a capitalist by upbringing. I believe that people should be rewarded for work they put in, and that everyone should have equal opportunity. However, that doesn’t mean that we fly off the handle and start doing ill-conceived things, out of a sense of desperation. The whole world knows that climate change is real. Perhaps our government is playing ostrich, but climate change is the most urgent, impending catastrophe facing mankind. Either we course-correct now, or we may not be around as a race, to enjoy all that we are building. Straight up.”