Environmental Decision Making in India

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Environmental Decision Making in India

• Environment Support Group
• Bangalore
• India

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Although Public participation is a fundamental
  and important aspect of many administrative and
  legislative decision making of environmental
  governance in democratic countries, yet the very
  terms Public and Participation are
  continuously being redefined in increasingly
  constricting ways.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• The potential benefits of Public participation
  are multifold as it can bring important
  information, innovative approaches and solutions
  and enhance public perception of plans and
  helps make projects viable.
• But Public needs and grievances are not of
  concern to the state or project proponents.
  Accepting genuine public participation in design
  and implementation of projects is normally
  perceived as a nuisance by decision-makers and
  investors.
• Adverse project impacts such as displacement,
  enviornmental destruction and consequent
  depression in quality of life amongst the
  affected fail to cause any distress to the expert
  decision makers

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Public Participation at Statutory Public
  Hearings -
• A Nightmare
• Merely a public relations exercise with no
  commitment to comprehending concerns of affected
  communities.
• PR Skills and strategies applied with different
  degrees of sophistication to mystify issues and
  distract attention from real concerns.
• Panel generally biased - in future no involvement
  of local government representatives or eminent
  citizenry
• Hearing are procedural and tend to justify
  decisions already made
• Not all voices are heard
• Level of Public engagement varies based on
  degree of comfort allowed with the presence of
  police and goons hired serving role of
  intimidation.
• Limited possibility of conflict resolution
• No feedback provided to Public with rationale for
  decisions results in polarising debate

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Information for participation
• A closely guarded secret
• Public inadequately informed (EIAs mostly
  fraudulent, plagiarized, not comprehensive and of
  poor quality)
• Not available in time
• Not available widely
• Available mainly on websites
• Often times deliberate choice of Hearing location
  to make participation inconvenient to affected
  communities
• Announcement restricted to newspaper ads and no
  innovative approaches of community communication
  adopted.
• Information presented in highly sophisticated and
  expert driven language, with little appreciation
  of communicating to a diverse and often
  illiterate population.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Other challenges
• Regulatory Agencies unfriendly to public
• Help lines, FAQs, lacking
• No assistance after office hours
• Public outreach, citizen training initiatives
  absent
• Public representations often not acknowledged,
  and issues ignored in consideration of final
  decisions
• Audio/video aids, training programs, completely
  lacking

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• No accountability- PCBs, State or Ministry
• Laws not suitably amended to appreciate public
  needs
• No Evaluation Process either at the State or
  central levels

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Quality of Information
• Dandeli Mini Hydel Dam EIA EIA Ernst Young
  plagiarized EIA of another dam (Tattihalla dam) .
  Got caught but no criminal action taken.
  Susequently TERI prepared another EIA which was
  found to be fraudulent. Yet no action initiated.
  
• Consultants generally get away with supplying
  rubbish In the BMIC EIA Socio-Economic impact
  survey data included only the name of Head of
  affected family and his address. Today this has
  resulted in widespread conflict and mass
  litigation.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Stories from experience.
• Bangalores Master plan 2015 finalized despite
  protests against poorly presented information
• Public participation limited to commenting on
  colorful maps, displayed only in one location,
  and with minimal participation of Panchayats,
  Town Councils and communities across a large
  metropolis.
• Maps difficult to comprehend without any effort
  to process information for ease of understanding
  by the public.
• French consortium which prepared the plans
  unaware of local considerations.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Bangalore Namma Metro (our metro) but for who?
• The residents and traders have been demanding
  Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL)
  should hold public hearings to know the socio
  economic and environmental impacts of the
  project.
• Alignment fixed by Judicial Commission following
  conflict but without widespread empirical
  evidence for appropriate alignments.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Administrative attitudes to limit public
  understanding of project impacts increasing
  conflict and misunderstanding. The widespread
  resistance to projects in Kalinganagar and
  Nandigram are only the most profiled of a whole
  range of conflicts.
• Projects thrive while people are driven out of
  their homes, their livelihoods snatched,
  arrested, jailed and even killed for raising
  their concerns

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• While International treaties move progressively
  to enable Public Participation our domestic
  laws are being diluted to limit and restrict
  public participation
• The European Aarhus Declaration mandates
  involvement of the public from the initial stage
  of projects and extended involvement beyond the
  completion of projects.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• The Boston Metro story An interesting lesson
  from a bold decision in 1972 not to follow the
  American model of continued expansion of
  metropolitan expressways.
• Instead a major investment in rail transit was
  made. Bostons Southwest Corridor Project
  illustrates how a process of community
  participation in the design of a new below-grade
  railroad and rapid transit line, along with a
  linear park and new public facilities, has
  strengthened neighborhoods and is part of a
  renewed focus on cycling, walking, public
  transportation and healthy communities.
•  

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• New Zealand The Resource Management Act 2001
  is based on the Maori Philosophy
• It states two key principles 1.Decisions on
  environmental matters are most appropriately made
  by the communities most affected by those
  decisions
• 2. community participation is vital to effective
  resource management

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Sri Lanka- Scoping process has recently included
  formal and informal meetings with people who may
  be affected by the project directly or indirectly
  or who may have special knowledge of the project
  area and its environment
• South Africa- ten years after the abolishment
  of Apartheid and more than five years after the
  adoption of a new Environment policy, lessons
  learnt from public involvement were incorporated
  in the Environmental law reform Process and today
  SA has a very progressive law building capacity
  for Public Participation

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Non Statutory Public participation
• Relatively open
• Public intervention and lobbying effective
• Mechanisms and Procedures controlled by public
  .
• Public creativity through actions, protests and
  rallies draw widespread attention, widens
  interest and debate, attracts media attention
  that decision makers cannot ignore

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Widespread public protests , rallies, street
  plays, human chains, watchdogs perched on trees,
  marked citizens efforts to protect trees in
  Bangalore. Resulted in High Court orders that
  mandates public involvement in decisions to cut
  trees in Bangalore .

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• The Handi Gondi Rocks of Ramnagar
• Sanghamitra Buddha Foundation proposed plans to
  carve a Buddha statue to compensate the loss of
  Bamian Buddha detroyed in Afghanistan. This on an
  impressive rock face formed during the lower
  proterozoic era threby destroying the 2600-2000
  million years of natural history. The project
  also aimed at a film city, resorts and amusement
  park.
• Public protests, repeated meetings with PCCF,
  Karnataka Forest Department, widespread campaign
  resulted in the Forest Department withdrawing the
  clearance s and declaring the area as a
  Santcuary for sloth bears.

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Reengineering of the Environmental Clearance
  process
• 2004-2005- Draft National Environmental Policy
  and Amendment to the EIA notification
• 2004-2006-Civil Society Groups Lobby with
  Members of Parliament, chief Ministers of State,
  Leaders of opposition, Law Ministry, Prime
  Minister's Office
• 2005- 200 groups from across the country came
  together and held a two day campaign MOEF SUNO
  MOEF CHALO.
• A jury listened to peoples voices

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• MOEF CHALO People stormed into the Ministry
  despite all security and declared the MOEF Dead
• 2006Policy issued despite protests.
• Notification finalised only in consultation with
  industries and disregarding protests from
  Parliamentarians and environmental groups

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Environmental Decision Making In India
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Environmental Decision Making In India

• The way forward.
• With a Legal framework that has Failed to
  guarantee the right of public participation in
  Environmental decision making
• Initiate an Environmental law reform process to
  enhance public participation in decision making
• Involve District Planning Committees (per
  Article 243ZD), and thereby Panchayats and
  Municipalities in accordance with Constitutional
  73rd and 74th amendments

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Increased Access to Information
• Advertisements
• Press releases
• News Paper Inserts
• Public Displays on hoardings, etc
• Field Visits
• Videos made with Local community involvement
• Public debates and discussions
• Media support in building public opinion

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Environmental Decision Making In India

• Providing support to public on Legislation and
  its implementation
• Bringing necessary changes in practice with
  public opinion
• Increased resources for skill training in
  public and staff
• Redistribution of power in decision making
• Directives and lessons from Aarhus, Indigenous
  practices and the spirit of Principle 10 of Rio
  Declaration should be integrated
• Greater public awareness of their rights
  ,greater willingness of ministries, bureaucrats,
  regulators, Industry to reach out proactively and
  work together with their communities, and local
  governments

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Environment Support Group105,East end B
MainJayanagar 9th Block Bangalore -560069Tel
22441977/26531339Emailesg_at_esgindia.orgWebsitew
ww.esgindia.org