The Modi Government is pushing through reforms that weaken India’s existing environmental laws and threaten the rights of those who rely on the forests for their livelihoods.
Mining projects that have already obtained an environmental clearance no longer need to apply for a fresh EC while renewing the leases of their mines. To boost coal production, public hearings have been dispensed with in case of coal mine expansions up to 5 million tonnes per annum if the coal is transported via a rail line or a conveyor belt. ....
Despite the bold warning from the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of the catastrophic impacts of rising temperature on the global climate, Narendra Modi's Government is all set to enact changes to weaken the existing environment and land acquisition laws of India, in order to promote industrialisation and ensure high economic growth, allege activists and environmental experts.
The Minister of State for Environment, Prakash Javadekar, has “delinked forest clearance from clearance by the National Board of Wild Life and halved NBWL clearance requirements from 10 km to 5km around forest reserves, besides emasculating the Board by replacing eminent experts and concerned NGOs with rubber stamps. He has also relaxed procedures for the application of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) in precisely those areas where FCA is most required: Naxal-affected areas; linear projects in forest areas; and in eco-sensitive areas along the international border”, says Mani Shankar Aiyar, a Congress leader and Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian Parliament).
“Modi’s government has further threatened to heavily dilute the landmark Land Acquisition Act that they themselves voted for but a year ago, and amend with a view to diluting a whole raft of environmental protection legislation ranging across the gamut of the Environment Protection Act, the Wildlife Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act, and the Water and Air Pollution Act, while preserving the highly discriminatory colonial legislation that is the Mother of all forest Acts in its current form - the Indian Forests Act, 1927”, Aiyar adds.
Diluting the Forest Rights Act
In its attempt to dilute the norms of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) from 2006, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has exempted projects seeking the conversion of plantations categorised as forests after December 13, 1930 that have no tribal population as per the recent census, from the requirements of “initiation and completion of the process for recognition and vesting of forest rights of scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.” The recent order from the Ministry empowers the district administrative authorities to clear the land conversion proposals at their level in these cases.
Most of the forests across the country can thus be handed over to corporations without any hassle because most standing plantations presently operating under various working plans of the forest department have emerged after this cut-off date (1930), says Soumitra Ghosh of the All India Forum of Forest Movements (AIFFM).
Condemning the attempts to empower District Collectors or other officials to take decisions over the conversion of forest land, Campaign for Survival with Dignity (CSD), a non-government organisation working for the proper implementation of FRA, says, “It amounts to empowering precisely the same officials who are responsible for the denial of forest rights to date.”
Undermining village councils
The MoEFCC order, issued on October 28, 2014, discards the specific provision in the 2006 Forest Rights Act, which seeks "prior informed consent" of gram sabhas ( the village council body) before acquiring forested land and clearing forests for industrial or any other non-forest activity.
“The Ministry has also weakened clauses for public consultation with communities affected by mining and other infrastructure projects, and sought to dilute provisions mandating “free, prior and informed consent” of Adivasi (indigenous) communities, says the India chapter of Amnesty International.
In its original form, while recognising the rights of indigenous tribal communities and the non-tribal forest dwellers over the forest land, FRA empowers the communities to certify that their rights will not be violated by an upcoming project. .................
Since several of the corporate-led infrastructure projects could severely affect the rights of communities, “to clean air, water, health, livelihood and a healthy environment.” people affected by these projects “must have a say in whether and how they go forward,” says Aruna Chandrasekhar, Business and Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International India. She also believes that the recent attempts to shut these communities out of the decision-making process are, “short-sighted and counter-productive.”
“Some of the amended laws also fall short of international standards on consultation and consent, and could further marginalise vulnerable communities who seldom have a voice in decisions taken around their lands and resources,” Chandrasekhar added. ................
Conflict and legal complications ahead
In view of the people’s resistance to most of the large industrial and mining projects across the country for issues relating to land, environment and water, it can only be hoped that the changes brought in by the government and its environment ministry may result in more conflict on the ground because, “in India, loss of forest cover is not just an environmental issue but an issue concerning livelihood and food security of the communities dependent on the forest,” says Ranjan Panda, an environmental activist and convener of Water Initiatives Odisha.
Highlighting that these changes would lead to legal complications, the tribal affairs ministry has warned the MoEFCC by reiterating that “any action or process inconsistent with the due process laid under the Act would not be legally tenable and is likely to be struck down by the courts of law. .....
Environment – government’s last concern
The order for weakening environmental laws is a clear indication that the Modi government is least concerned about environmental issues.
“It is clear that the government considers the environment laws, as currently implemented, as constituting a roadblock, and wishes to expedite the process of development at the cost of environmental protection and sustainable growth,” says Armin Rosencranz, co-author of Environmental Law and Policy in India. .....
Modi government cuts through red tape to make working easier in India
For highway expansion projects, EC conditions have been eased so that a fresh clearance is only needed in cases where more than 100 km of roads are being widened and the right of way in question is more than 40 metres from the existing road.
Mining projects that have already obtained an environmental clearance no longer need to apply for a fresh EC while renewing the leases of their mines. To boost coal production, public hearings have been dispensed with in case of coal mine expansions up to 5 million tonnes per annum if the coal is transported via a rail line or a conveyor belt. ....
No comments:
Post a Comment