Loktak lake, located in Moirang town, some 45 km south of the State capital, Imphal (Manipur) provides livelihood to many. In a symbiotic relationship, the fisherfolk also look after the ecosystem on which they thrive: their beliefs and folklore make it imperative to worship the waters and to take from the lake only what is essential for survival.
Authority vs People
- Recently, Loktak Development Authority (LDA) announced that all homestays, huts, and athaphums (the famous green rings of Loktak, created by segregating sections of phumdis, or floating islands, and used for fishing) are to be removed so that the lake can be rejuvenated.
- In 2006, the State government enacted the Manipur Loktak Lake (Protection) Act “to provide for administration, control, protection, improvement, conservation and development of the natural environment of the Loktak Lake”.
- It restricts certain activities in the lake, such as the free-ranging fishery as traditionally practised by the local people.
- The core zone as defined by the Act covers most parts of the waterbody used for fishing. Section 20 of the Act prohibits the building of huts on the phumdis, cultivation of athaphums, and athaphum fishing in the lake.
Livelihood from the Lake
- The Manipur ecosystem consists of two interrelated biomes, wetlands and forests.
- Loktak Lake, which acts as a natural reservoir for rivers and streams flowing from the hills, and its related wetlands are central to the State’s life.
- There are 55 human settlements around the lake.
- A recent study indicates that 54 per cent of the households are dependent on the lake for drinking water and other domestic purposes.
- At least 57 per cent of them are involved in fishing, fish farming, and fish marketing; 24 per cent in fishing and agriculture; 6 per cent in weaving lake products; and 4 per cent in ferrying boats.
- That is, more than 90 per cent of the households are dependent entirely on Loktak for sustenance.
The Pollutants brought by rivers into the lake
- The rivers that flow into it, especially Nambul, which meanders through Imphal, bring with them a good amount of pollutants, including solid waste dumped into the waters by city-dwellers. This is killing the fish and aquatic plants.
- The Loktak Power Project caused the disappearance of nearly 20 species of aquatic plants of commercial value. The Ithai Barrage blocked the passage of migratory fish, inducing a sharp drop in the fish population of Loktak and adjoining wetlands.
- Manipur’s State fish Pengba ( Osteobrama belangeri) is reported to be regionally extinct in the wild now
About Loktak Lake and its Significance
- The largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, the pristine Loktak Lake is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Manipur.
- Known for its floating circular swamps, which are called phumdis in the local tongue, the lake invites tourists from far and wide for its ethereal beauty.
- The lake houses the only floating national park in the world, the Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last refuge of the endangered brow-antlered deer or sangai/ dancing deer, Manipur’s state animal.
- Considering the ecological status and its biodiversity values, the lake was initially designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on 23 March 1990. It was also listed under the Montreux Record on 16 June 1993, “a record of Ramsar sites where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur”.
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.