India is reeling under the pressure of severe draught and the consequent shortage of drinking water and clean air. The hub of the problem lies in lack of proper environmental management and short sighted developmental agenda.  Forest is the mother of rivers and the sink for polluted air. The assault on forests in the recent times to make way for developmental projects is rather deplorable. The Gadgil/Kasturirangan report; to save the Western Ghats is slowly being abandoned under political and religious pressure. The stretch is being quarried to the core. The Himalayan Range is being burnt in the recent days. Animal census figures are being misinterpreted and contemplation on selling our tigers to other countries are very much in the air. People and groups who talk about conservation issues are silenced. With our water resources being withered how do we implement the dream of ‘Swacha Bharath’.  When people don’t even have water to drink how we can imagine having toilets in such areas. Therefore we appeal to our  environment ministry  to think beyond money and material comforts as limits of development and to  inform people about the proactive steps taken to safeguard the life supporting resources like clean air and water which derives ultimately from our forests.