Goa, April 26 -- It is only April but Goa is already sweltering in extreme heat, with the air quality index (AQI) spiking over 100, ranging from officially "poor" to "unhealthy." To make matters much worse, although inherently water rich, India's smallest state is nonetheless suffering drought conditions, with widespread scarcity exacerbated by supply restrictions and groundwater contamination. Meanwhile, utterly mindlessly, the massacre of trees continues to accelerate, as the landscape is torn apart by unscrupulous profiteering and criminal misgovernance.

In the Assembly earlier this month, the administration admitted it's no longer safe (as per Central Pollution Control Board criteria) to swim or bathe in any of our rivers or beaches,...