RIGHT TO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

Item

Title: RIGHT TO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
extracted text: NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY
BANGAL.C'JRE

FRO. VCT ON

ACCESS TO :'OCTAL AND ECONOI TC RIGHTS

SI TPORTED BY NOVIB

IP FOR I ON THE STATUS OS

RIGHT TO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
By

Dr N.R. MADHAVA MENC S

RIGH T TO A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

C O NTE NTS

t

Introduction - Environment Vs. Development

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1

H.

Right to Envirc mnent : The Kerala Scene

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8

LU.

Riglit to Environment : The Tamil Nadu Situation

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12

IV.

Status ofEnviremnental Riglit in Karnataka

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15

V.

Right to Environment in Andhra Pradesh

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18

I.

rig j it toa ci ,eain einvironment

I.

INTRODUCTION
Environmental concern in most countries originated with citizen gr oups and out of clash

of conventional wisdom witli modern notions of economic growth and development. During the
last two decades of the 20" century, there has been a gratifying resurgence of environmental
sense among the developing countries including India. Environmental Law as a separate branch

of jur isprudence owes its or igin Io the United Nations Conference on Human Environment

(Stockholm Conference) 1972.
Today environmental concer ns are rellectcd tn environmental policies which are based on
the understanding of what is called “sustainable development?’, the essence of which is the
f

principle that no lasting development is possible, if it is not formulated and practised in a way

that is environmentally sustainable. In other words, the object of right to development shall be
the same as that of right Io a clean environment mid wherever' (here are conflicts perceived, they
have to be resolved according Io the goals of sustainable development. These goals may be

grouped under the following :

A.

B.

C.

Biological Goals :
(a)

Maintenance ofGenetic Diversify

(b)

Contr ol of Resource Depiction and Environmental Degradation

Economic Goals :
(a)

Satisfying Basic Needs of People (Reducing Poverty)

(b)

Equity - enhancing

(c)

Increasing Availability of Useful Goods and Services (Freedom of Choice)

Social Goals:

(a)

Cultural Integrity mid Diver sity

(b)

Institutional Sustainability

(c)

Participatory Decision Making

(cl)

Maximisation ofSocial Justice

In short, sustainable development is about reducing the poverty of the poor through
providing lasting and secure livelihoods (hat minimise resouice depletion, environmental

degradation, cultural di*--ioption and social instability.

In this perspective, one can resolve the

question of right to work of employees of a polluting industry, right to livelihood of tribals being
displaced for building large dams or' similar projects.

An attempt to reduce environmental

degradation will be counter-productive if there is failure to respect the basic needs (cultural,
economic, social) and encourage the participation of those social groups \vhich are most affected
by any change, For example, World Bank financed social forestry programmes in the past failed
I
to make an impact on the landless farm households that are most responsible for deforestation
because of lack of adequate commitment in the pr ogramme to (heir basic needs and the non

involvement of the women responsible for forest degradation.

'l ire message is that without till ing account of (lie basic human needs - food, clean water,

iresh air, fuel, shelter, health care, education and employment - sustainable development is not
possible.

Writing on individual’s right to environmental protection in India (Human Kights
•\pjrr oaches to Environmental Protection,

ed. Alan E. Boyle and Michael R.Anderson,

Clar endon Press, Oxford 1996) Mr. Michael Ander son wr ote :

“Probably' more than any other jin isdiclion on Earth, (he Republic of India has fostered
an extensive and innovative jurisprudence on environmental rights. 1’illecn years alter the onset

of public interest litigation, it is now common for lawyers representing environmental claims to
turn in the lit't instance l» tire ter mi nolory of r ichts i at her than the more traditional rules of tort

and crime. Not only lias the Snpieme Court ruled that every individual has a fundamental right
to (he “enjoyment of pollution lice water and air”, but it has been willing to resolve complex

matters of environmental management according to this test, and has fashioned a. series of
innovative pioceduial remedies to accompany the new substantive right. Moreover, in a country

where the most serious costs of environmental damage fall upon impoverished and illiterate
groups with limited access Io the courts, the new environmental right is championed as a legal

gateway to speedy and inv'.pen'.ive legal remedy”.

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Yes, for the average citizen in India environmental right is more a gill ofjudicial activism

than of any statute or international treaty. However, its continued enjoyment and extension to
newaieas ol'iisk depends on those in charge of implementation of environmental laws, standards

and programmes. The adequacy of implementation strategies, structures, and support personnel
is what the project is expecting to evaluate.

Indicators of Environmental Degradation

Some of the basic environmental indicators give an alarming picture for the country as a
whole (source : Economic & Political Weekly, January 10, 1998). Of the total land area, only 11

pei cent of the land is not affected by any inherent soil constraints. An estimated 100 million

hectares qre waste lands affected seriously by salinity, alkalinity and wind and water erosion. 4
Million hectares have already been swallowed up by ravines. At the beginning of the century

India had a forest cover of about 53 per cent ol’its land area; today, it is hardly 23 per cent. Over
one million hectares of forests rue cut every year. The forestry programmes of the government
ar e not commensurate with the survival needs of the people dependent on forests. India’s bio
diversity, one of the richest in the world, is fast depleting. At mid-century, Indian farmers were

cultivating 50,000 varieties of rice. By 2000 AD they will grow probably not more than 50. The
Hora and fauna rue similarly being depleted. So are the varieties of animals.

The major sources of irrigation in India are wells, tanks and canals. Tanks are in disuse

with increasing ground water exploitation.

Large dams are creating ecological problems.

Siltation rates of the reservoirs of major dams are three to four times higher than the projected
r ates. Ground water tables are going down in most of (he regions leading to desertification.

Flood damage is increasing year alter year.

There is rapid depletion of soil fertility.

With

degradation of grazing lands, as fodder becomes scarce, people and their animals turn to forests
increasing the pressure on forests

India has annual internal renewable waler sources of 1,850 Cubic KMs. Only 18 per cent

of it is being used annually.

Further, India uses only one-tenth of the rainfull it receives

annually. 70 per cent of all the available water in India is polluted. The semi-arid agi o-climatic

tropical conditions in 55 per cent of India creates problems of water deficiency, low bio-mass

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productivity and high variability of rainfall. In a number of Stales in India, available water

resources have reached 100 per cent utilisation.

India’s emissions of air pollutants in most cities have crossed ’he permissible limits.

)ne

of the pioblems is wood smoke inhaled by poor Indian women in rural areas while cooking. The
current car and two wheeler boom is aggravating the probl in of air pollution.

Urban poor account tor 35 per cent of population in cities and towns. The water and
sanilati n facilities are either non-existent or extremely poor. 40 per cent of the rural poor are

living below poverty line and face similar pi oblems of sanitation and healtl

50 per cent of food

samples are contaminated with pesticide residues exceeding permissible limits. Thousiuids of
workers contact serious ailments and many die because of occupational diseases. Mosquitoe-

borne diseases like malaria are rapidly growing despite claims to the contrniy. There are only

about 2.6 doctors per thousand population and about 9 hospital beds per 1000 people. Ruralurban disparities in this regard are pronounced.

'Hie expand’ng industrial sector is producing new environmental problems including
toxic chemicals and radio-active waste.

India thus is confronted by two types of environmental problems.

Firstly, the

conventional problems arising out of water pollution; poor sanitation and waste disposal,

excessive pressure on land, waler and forests, over-population etc. Secondly, the problems of

modem industrial societies like chemicalisalion of agriculture, production of industrial waste etc.

'file adequacy of right to clean environment is to be assessed in terms of the above
scenario in which intelligent management of natural resources with emphasis on sustainable
development oilers the only hope. Law has to play a key and dynamic role to maintain the right
balance between rights and duties of not only tin- Government and Industry but also of eveiy

individual citizen.

Development of Environmental Law a nd Policy

Tlie

first major effort on environmental protection in

India came after

the

Stockholm t.'onfeience in 1972 when n Committee on Envii 'oninenlal Planning and Co

ordination was set up by the Government of India to advise the Government on the
environmental aspects of developmental projects. Soon thercatler the Wildlife (Protection) Act
was enacted regulating hunting of wild animals and birds, declining particular areas as

sanctuai ies ;uid national paiks and regulating hade in animals and animal products. Then came
the Water (Prevention and Control ol’Pollutioii) Act, 1974.

Environment came to be recognized as an important subject in governance and the

Constitution was amended in 1976 introducing a Directive Principles of State Policy under
.Article 48-?\ and a I'undamenlal Duty on all citizens under Article 5 J-A(g). Several entries were
introduced in Concurrent List for betlei forest management and envii oninenlal control. Based on

the Constitutional Amendment the Cenlial Government enacted a Forest (Conservation) Act in
r

1980. Then came n series of very important environmental statutes which radically changed the
legal architecture of environmental policy and management in the coimtiy. For the first time an
Air (Pi evenlion and ('outi ol of Pol hit ion) Act was adopted on the lines of the Waler Act in 1981.

A comprehensive law of enviioninenlal legiilalion came in the form of the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 under which Rules were notified foi manufacture, storage and import of
hiizaidous chemicals and management o f haziu dons wastes. The expeiienco of the Bhopal Gas

Tragedy (1984) gave the enviioninenlal agenda further importance as a result of which the
Factories’ Act was amended and made more sliingent and a new Public Liability Insurance Act,

1991 was put in place to ensure healthy work environment. A series of Notifications liom the
Environment and Forests Ministry covered a vast aiea of unregulated activity involving
environmental impact.

Finally to revamp the institutional back up for stricter environmental policing two

important pieces of legislations were adopted

’Hie first one, the National Environmental

Tribunal Act, 1995, enabled the Government to set up specialised tribunals to process quickly
environmental litigation. The second, the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997

created a forum of judges and experts to he:u' environmental complaints even at the stage of
consideration ofprojects before the damage is caused.

-6All these enactments are over and above the traditional law of torts, municipality laws,

provisions in (he criminal law and procedure which regulate environmental damage tlirough civil
and criminal remedies

(9n the top of all these, the Supreme Court interpretation that 'he Fundamental Right to

Life does include the right to clean environment elevates what is otherwise an ordinary legal
right to that of a basic human right constitutionally protected tlirough writ jurisdiction of High

Courts and Supreme Court. Therefore, despite failures of administrative and legal arrangements
in effective protection of environment human rights standaids and procedures have advanced the

cause of right to environment by putting the administration on the defensive and generating

positive enthusiasm to give environment the priority it deserves.
environment : More Procedural than Subsl.■ ntive Right

Are environmental rights, individual rights?
indivmil’s right to life.

Certainly they are as it affects the

At the same time, they are group rights as well, since a clean

environment is the basic need of all living creatures, particularly human beings. However, at the

end of the day, the discourse on tights invariably aim to articulate potentially enforceable
indivic. ml rights as all human rights are inherently anlliropocentric (focus on people).

Many aspects of environmental rights reaffirm the substantive content of such rights.

Thus, environmental rights emanated out of right to life, right to health, right to privacy and right
to sustainable development.

?\t the same lime, without individuals having the standing to

challenge per ceived violations of environment and the system following “due process of law” as

a pre-requisite for interference with fundamental lights (based on Maneka Gandhi decision of
prohibition against ar bitrary' exercise of power and the need for fairness in decision-making),
development of environmental rights could not have taken place as part of human rights. Thus
the substantive and procedural dimensions of environmental rights contributed to an

environmental law regime at once dynamic and pr ogressive. With right to information becoming

part of funilamenlal right, there is greater scope for more effective implementation of

envir onmental right.

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There is no doubt that environment is a collective good the uses of which have to be

negotiated through balancing of apparently conflicting interests.

Individuals themselves are

perpetrators of environmental hai m. '1 hey are at the same time beneficiar ies of environmental
conservation. Therefore in defining environmental rights at a given time, the collectivity has to

balance the potential harm of the activity with the rights of individuals affected. This is a value
judgment based on a vaiiely of information and perception of the benefit and harm. As such,

environmental right is a concept with varying content which suggests that environmental right as
a procedural right is more impoitant than it being a substantive right.

This explains why

environmental jurispiudencc is largely a pioduct of public interest litigation and pro-active
judicial interventions to prevent envii onmental damage.

In a number of environmental cases, courts have accepted petitions even when violations
f

have not yet taken place and sought Io pievent violations through interim remedies. Illis is a

very important dimension of environmental right as a procedural right which has great potential
in co-ordinated environment management thiongh preventive strategies of planning, impact

assessment, deployment of better technology, early warning sy-lems etc.

Experience with

environmental rights do indicate that access to information, locus standi, public interest
litigation, judicial activism, pro-active approaches, due process principle and similar procedural

techniques have been of great help in protecting environmental rights rather than assumed
substantive content ol’stable universal principles.

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II.

RIGHT TO A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT : THE KERALA SCENE

1.1

For a Stale like Ket;ila where the literacy rate is very high, it is very surprising to

note that the environmental awareness is veiy low both among the government functionaries and

the public at large. Environment is more seen as a stumbling block to development rather than as
a desirable economic and social value.

1.2

though Keiala is well ahead of other States in terms of physical quality of life,

instances of water borne diseases due to water pollution and unsafe sanitary practices are quite

huge

1.3

The coalition politics of Kerala has been a bane on environmental protection in

the State. The politics of appeasement for electoral gains followed by the United Demoractic

Front (UDF) and the I.efl Democratic Front (LDF) has seen large depletion of forest wealth.

1.4

'Ihe local Government institutions as per the Keiala Panchayat Raj A . t, 1994 have

been given various functions relating to environmental protection and conservation of natural
resources. Most of these tasks remained in paper and no proper enforcement has been attempted.

1.5

A serious environmental hazard developing in this thickly populated State is Hom

the excessive use of plastics both for domestic and industrial purposes. There is some awareness
ofthe danger and the Government is reportedly considering restrictions on the use of plastics.

1.6

Another serious problem facing Kerala is the harm resulting Coin indiscriminate

removal of sand from (he river bed leading to soil degradation, lowering of waler levels,

disappearance of vegetation mound and diversion ofthe course ofthe river itself

2.

Forest Depletion

There are different estimates of area under forest in Keiala.

According to Forest

Department it is 11,280 Sq KM area which represents 29*?t. ofthe geographical area ofthe Slate.
According to Revenue Records, the Forest area is only 10,815 Sq.KM covering 27?4> ofthe State.

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'Hie National Remote Sensing Agency found in 1988 that the area covered by forests in the State

is only 7,400 Sq.KM which represents just 19% of the territory

If the satellite data is to be

believed (he foiest aiea in Herala has dwindled from nearly 9,000 Sq KMs in the early 1970s to
just 7,400 Sq.KMs in almost 10 years. In the last 15 years it must have further come down
significantly. If (he I’oiest Depnitment Data were to be believed, the fall in forest area is an

insignificant 0.35% between 1974 and 1988 and theic is no reason for any concern!
Forests have been a poor victim of the coalition politics of Kerala. In the process of
appeasing one partner or another, encroachments have been allowed and title deeds given to
settlers in the high ranges. Along with forests, (he tribals have also suffered and were deprived

of their livelihood.

Geography of the Stale makes forest cover critical. The ecological function of forest is
already distiubed and the State is paying heavily in terms of water, vegetation, bio-diversity,

wild life etc.

Kerala once used Io have extensive mangiove foiests along the coastline. In the last few
years they have been mercilessly destroyed leaving only small patches here and there.

3.

Water Pollution and Scarcity

Kerala is blessed with plenty of water though much of it is wasted by non-conservation.

Thousands of water bodies like ponds and lakes have sull'ered neglect and misuse. They are

disappearing and tank beds are being used for a variety of purposes.

Rivers are degraded by indiscriminate removal of sand Hom (he river bed. River beds in

some places have gone down by as much as four metres in just one decade. During monsoon

Hood, land slides and erosion create havoc in many places.

Discharge or municipal and domestic waste and untreated diluents H orn small scale units
along the river have polluted the source of drinking water causing untold suffering to people

living in the area. 'Hie Ninth Repoit of the Environment Committee of the Assembly (1996) is
full of disturbing facts on pollution of drinking water sources.

- 10 Extensive tapping of underground water has brought down the water level to dangerously

low levels. Nobody cares to make provision for recharging of the unground water tables.
'll>e very first report of the Environment Committee of the Kerala Legislature constituted

in 1992 lamented the slow pollution and continuing destruction of the State’s three fresh waler
lakes (Vellayam, I’ookodu and Sasthancoltah).

By storing ram water and maintaining

underground water tables these lakes served water needs of a vast population for centuries
together Now they are dying due to soil dumping, unscientific fishing and farming, large scale

pollution, deforestation in sum unding areas and unauthorised constr uction of structures in lake
areas.
■I.

Wastage Disposal

Solid waste increasingly generated by a growing population constitutes a serious threat to
the people in Kerala with a high density of population. Industries are not too many; yet some of
those functioning in the State like paper and chemical units are highly polluting as Urey discharge
chemical w iste. Plastic products consumption is very high in the State and dumping plastic

waste into waterways and other open spaces is threatening the fertility of the soil and the survival
of lakes, wells and ponds.

There is no proper sewerage disposal facility in most cities and towns. Together with
hospital and domestic waste as well as chemicals used in agriculture, the tlireat to health of

humans, animals and vegetation is retd and imminent.

5.

Environmental Awareness

Despite high level of literacy. Keratites have a poor understanding of ecology and
environment. As the Environment Committee of the Kerala Assembly said : “Keralites have
only persomd cleanliness and not social cleanliness” (8lh Report, Oct. 1997). There is very little

being done to educate and mobilize the people for the job in hand.

The level of ignorance on the part of the government is still more disturbing. Nothing

gets implemented without information and motivation in environmental protection. People seem

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to take it easy, thinking that it is the job of the pollution control board which behaves no better
than a conventional department of (he government, mostly reactive a.s a fire fighting mechanism

when things get too hot

With little power and inadequate support facilities the board is unable

to make an impact despite occasional proddings from the Courts and media. Many politicians

and bureaucrats sincerely believe that environmentalists are a nuisance and a hindrance to
development.

One Bhopal tragedy seems inadequate to open our eyes to the hidden bomb

around us!

6.

Kerala is a Stale having a long coast line along which so-called development

activities have sprung up violating the Coastal Zone Regulation Guidelines.

lire State

Government itself is asking for lower ing the CRZ standards and enabling exceptions for the
State Meanwhile with the connivance ofthe local bodies and Pollution Control Board, several
tourism based unit'-- have been established against which the High t owl bad given directions for
demolition,

'lire problem is a recurrent one and is likely to be a source for large scale

environmental degradation.

7.

Ihe State has a number of Sacred Groves and a long cultural tradition of

ecological conservation

Due to population pressure and governmental indill’erencc these

Nature-tiiendly tiaditiom- and rich heritages are under constant attack. There is no institutional
effort to revive such traditions.

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HI.

RIG HTTP ENVIRONMENT : THE TAMIL NADU SITUATION

Tamil Nadu is the fourth largest State in India densely populated and fairly well

industrialised. It accounts for 7% of the country’s population, 4% of the land area and 3% of
waler resources. Over

of the laud area is cultivated and agriculture remains the major

activity of the people. About 20% of the land area is categorised as waste lands. The major
rivers of the State ar e Haver i. I’eriyar and Tanirapurani all of which are not exclusive to the

State. Tamil Nadu draws 15 to 20% of its waler Horn the rivers originating in neighbouring

Stales. The areas along the eastern coastline is plain while tin western parts of the State are
mountainous. In the western ghats, Nilgiris is the most fertile stretch of land among all the hill
terrains of the Slate

Water Resources anil Water Pollution

One of the major environmental problem in Tamil Nadu arises out of the increasing
scarcity of water resources and the widespread pollution of available water sources.

Tamil Nadu is one of the States which has got itself into a trap with over-exploitation of
ground waler resour ces. More (han 70% of water for the irrigated areas of the State is tapped
from ground water sources. More than one million bore wells in the State are being operated

regularly in the State. The result is a decline of waler level table in many pails of the State

where tube wells are dug well below 200 meters (like Coimbatore). This has not only affected
agriculture but dr inking and household use. The potential llueat is not merely non-availability' of

life-supporting clean water but of no water at all.

It is said by experts that the over-pumping of wafer has created an artificial impression of

abundant waler fuelling unmindful expansion of water utilisation pattern.

Equally alarming is the extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides also generating salinity

of soil which, in turn lowered the ground water table further. Water pollution tlwough industrial
effluents and municipal waste lias reached alarming proportions in some parts of the State. A
major litigation involving several hundred tanneries for- polluting the river along four districts

has Jed to an order for' closing down all the tanneries till proper effluent treatment procedures are

adopted. Given Hie sot! attitude ofthe Government and lite apathy ofthe public. Hie pollution is

continuing in vaiying degiees along Hie major liveis of the State, Before the Pollution Control
Board came into the scene industries were required to take clearance Irom the Director ofPublic
Health and Preventive Medicine which, people stty, was mote effective check against waler

pollution. With an ai ray of anti-pollution legislations and a range of local body institutions
outside the PCBs getting into the act, water seems to have been more polluted Ilian before. The

spread of watei-borne diseases is indeed a menace to the right to life and, as such, water
pollution has to be dealt with in a war footing. The machinery in place seems to be inadequate

for the tasks in hand.
Tamil Nadu was a pioneel in conservation of rain water thiough tanks, ponds and other

devices. They were part of the common propeity resoui ces ofthe community and there were
strict customaiy laws in the use mid maintenance of such water bodies. Today most of these
tanks have disappeared with use of tank beds for construction of houses and a variety of other
puiposes. 'Iliere is today some demand lot energising village tanks mid for legislating to control

the exploration of ground water.

Forest Degradation

A closely related issue is the mindless depletion of forest cover already available in the
State. Tamil Nadu has only 17.4% of forest cover compared Io 23% for all over India. The per

capita forest coverage is one of the lowest in India. '1 he pressure on forest is naturally high and
the degradation is fail ly lit-t.

While ollicial estimates claim forest cover of the Plate at 22%, independent surveys

including the satellite mapping done in 1982 indicate that the green cover ofthe State is less than
14%. In the last 15 years it must have been further gone down to 19% or less which is indeed a

warning signal for the right Io life of people in the State. Nairn al forests are being replaced by
plantations piomoted by the Plantation (.'otporation.

Trees being cut down for agricultural

purposes and use of fertilisers and pesticides alsolead to soil erosion, desertification, land slides

and ground water depletion.

Social forestry is only a partial success if at all.

Monitoring

mechanisms are inadequate, slow and corrupt which adds to the miseries ofthe people and the
State. Once upon a time, forests in Tamil Nadu were under the management ofthe community.

With bureaucratisation of forest management (here is greater depletion of forests under cover
despite contrary impression.

Coastal Area Regulation

I he coastal aieas of Tamil Nadu extend*: to neai ly 1009 KMs.

More than 23,000

villages besides Ihe capital city ot Chennai are situated in the coastal areas. About 10.5 million
people live in these area’--, the density is veiy high. Coastal aieas of Nagapattinam and South

Arcot are at a lower level and even a minor rise in the sea level poses danger of inundation of

vast tracts of land The increase in the level of sea bed in the Palk Straits is vciy marked causing
considerable erosion of sand liom th? coast. It is said that every year- 0.33 metres of land was
being eroded by the sea
'Iliere is widespi end d ?cj alalion of manni ovc I'm ests along the coast. These played a key
role in the eco system of con-tai areas. It develops ntatine fish. It prevents the devastation of

storms. 70% of mangrove foiests extending over 30.000 hectares have already been destroyed
because ol human activities along the coast The establishment o! dirinip farms and processing

units for fish dischaiged lot of diluents containing chemicals and proteins. The sea waler itself

gets polluted at dillerent places contributing to a variety of environmental problems little noticed

today.

Industrial Pollution

Pollution of land, wab't mid ait by the extensive growth of industries is a major cause for
concern in Tamil Nadu.

All systems like J iivnonment Impact Assessment and other

environmental clearances are cleverly manipulated by industries with the collusion of corrupt
politicians and btireaucials. 'Ihe nouns and standaids are conveniently changed liom time to

time by Ihe Governments. (liven the demand for quick mdusti ialisation, the Stale is soil to

industries and exercise [lowers under exemptions clauses in the law. Information is hard to get.
’1'he official machinery is slow to act and will never co-operate with public interest groups or
environmental NGOs. On many occasions it is the direct action methods which brings response

from the administration p;uticnlarly I'.hen it i*< supported by media publicity and judicial
inteiventions.

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IV.

STATUS OK ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHT IN KARNATAKA

Introil ut lion

Uiuiiatnka ik one ol the Iasi developing States in the South and consequences of the same

nr beme l'-lt m the use and management of natural tesources

land, forest, livers, water ways,

in . koi I in ban situation mid population in I gi nt ion Most of the development projects are coming
ip <'ii an ad h >c Lunik at the instance ol one department ol the Government or the other with the
Environment Division being taken for granted When there is public outcry about the ecological

listurbance

i procedural violations for clearances, the Government gels into the defensive

organizing the clearances m a hiniy and accusing the intervenors for acting without information.
Finally, the battle reaches the court in which projects are stidled, blame is apportioned and public
interest is made to suffer. I lie whole mind-set of ollicials and regulat/oYis is non-friendly to the

environment partly because of conventional thinking, partly ignorance and partly influence of
money and politics. Forests, coa: I areas and rivers are the worst victims of this mindless hairy

in industrialisation and the so-called development. The individuals who are victims include
tribals, fishermen, women oi poorer classes, sl im dwellers, casual labour and agricultural labour.

Ihe institutional arrangements in the State Government for environmental management is

an unhappy and unco-ordinated mix of several departments under several ministries.

The

Environment Ministry/Depaifinent as well as the Pollution Control Board are die latest entrants

into the scene of governmental decision making. It is yet to assume its full authority and get the
legitimacy it deserves. Meanwhile the conventional District Collector/Deputy Commissioner
assisted by the Inspectorate of industrial establishment continues to be an active player at the

cutting edge of the system.

At the other end is the Ministries of Industiy and Commerce,

Agriculture, Urban Development, Power, Fisheries and the like who push their respective

projects by negotiating with individual and coiporate enterprises from India and abroad. They
mobilise the capital required tluough financial institutions, acquire the land, assemble the

clearances and start projects with great fanfare. The environment department is an innocent
onlooker most of the time and they are pressurised to do their part of the job, often without

piopei objective evaluation.
Im the tusks they in e assigned

The technical support available to them is also far too inadequate

It is in such a complex and uncertain scenario, the I’anchayat Raj institutions have now

emerged with some real powers in environmental management. In the bargain for development
in their urea, these newly elected bodies ol common villageis are handicapped in respect of both

information and expertise.

Develop now and regret lafei seems to be the pattern of

environmental administration that is evolving today.c
There is a view entertained by officials that all of a sudden a series of strong

environmental laws have been enacted which made implementation all the more difficult. The

technology for lighting pollution are neither easily available nor is conomically feasible. ’Pius
strong laws tend to result in soft enforcement. Closure of existing industr ies causing pollution is
a difficult option which no political party is willing to accept

The demand for resources (land

and water) is increasing day by day and without commensur ate inlia-structure the problem is
getting exacerbated.

Environmental Degradation

As in the other Southern States, the major sources of concern in respect of environmental
right in Karnataka ar e .
(a)

Degradation of forests_and threats to_bio-diversity

The decline of forest cover in the State has been quite rapid. Karnataka used to have
more than one-third of its land ar ea covered by forest. There has been indiscriminate felling of
timber, poaching and clearing of large tracts of forest land for developmental purposes. Plant

and animal life get affected in the process besides contributing to pollution, soil degradation and

land slides and Hoods.

(b)

Pollution of Waler, Air and Sod

With growth in industrialisation and urbanization coupled with pressures from expanding

human settlements, the problem of waler and air pollution is getting more and more .grave.
Several areas of the Stale sue served only by rains and because of poor water management grave

scarcity of water has arisen in many places. The water level has gone down due to ground waler

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exploitation in large scale. Tanks and ponds which once used to servo the drinking water needs

of villages have become non-serviceable because of neglect and conversion for other purposes.
'Hie water holding capacity got reduced greatly because of silt deposit.

Coupled with the depletion of waler sources and the pollution of available water through
letting of untreated domestic waste and industrial effluents into waterways made the right to
clean waler tut impossible dream to many rural folks. Even the piped waler supply in urban

human settlements is increasingly under tlu eat of varying degrees of pollution because of the
problems of sanitation and maintenance. The slum dwellers and the squatters are the worst
sufferers who get sick with water borne diseases too often
Lf right to environment is a right for a fair share of the life-sustaining natural resources,
the State has obligations to perform not only for the present generation but to generations yet to

be bom.
The Western Ghats eco system is threatened by a concentration of power plants and

industries in Southern Kamatak:

There is high density of population also in the area whose

right to livelihood as well as cultural and heritage rights may get adversely affected. Soil erosion
and waler and air pollution are distinct possibilities if proper monitoring and corrective action are

not undertaken.

Equally disturbing is the possible impact of the long coastal areas of Karnataka. There
are industries and big construction projects coming up all along the coast the impact of which is

yet to be asserted. The CRZ and ELA Notifications are alleged to have been violated in a number
of instances and the land utilisation patterns have been changed.

The indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides by farmers most of whom having no

knowledge of the necessary environmental information is another important source of threat to
life in the region. Pesticide poisoning is widely reported in the State.

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V.

STATUS OF ENVIRONMENT IN ftWHR.s. PRADESH

Introduction

Andhra Pradesh was formed on 1“ November, 1956, by the merger of the Telugu
speaking areas of the erstwhile state of Hyderabad with the then Andlira State, which itself
formed a part of the composite Madras State till 1953. It is the fifth largest state m the country
both in terms of area and population. The geographical extent of the State is 2.75 lakh sq.km

consisting 8.4 percent of the total geographical area of the country. The population of the State,

acce mg to the 1991 <. nsus, is 6 63 crores which constitutes 7.9 percent of the all India
population.

The State of Andlira Pradesh is blessed wjlli abundant wealth of natural resources -

rivers, forests, minerals with a long coastal zone running more than 700 Km in length on eastern
in the East.
Environment, defined in terms of natural resources, in A.P. has been facing degradation,

deteriorating from bad to worse

Such a status of environment reflects lack of proper study.

understanding and policy in its development programmes.
The situation in Hyderabad, its capital city, confirms this fact of mismanagement of
natural resources. The city of Hyderabad was built over 400 years back on the banks of Musi
river. This area was blessed with 400 small and medium natural water bodies ensuring a balance

of climatic conditions. Today, river Musi is a dead river, and most of its drainage carries either
municipal sewage or industrial effluents All the live elements ofthe nature, representing water,
land and atmosphere are contaminated

Further, accentuating this situation there is a severe

energy crisis. A city which experienced Hoods in the early 20th century, suffers for want of

drinking water by the end of it.
Many water bodies were encroached upon, disturbing the natural water drainage pattern.

As a consequence, a little rainfall results in inundation of many parts of the city. A city which
was known for its beautiful green parks, today is concretised to a maximum extent.

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’Hie situation in other pails of the State is no different iroin what it is in Hyderabad.
Chances in lite styles, and consumption pattern added a new dimension to the environmental

crises, particularly in managing the solid waste generated in the municipal areas. Ground water

in many parts of city is contaminated not only witli mien, biological organisms but also with
heavy metal concentration.
.Social Justice and G ender Equality
Woman i

he prime victim of environmental degradation, followed by deprived sections

of the society, viz. small mid marginal farming community, agric.iiitiral labour and other sections
involved in labour work both at rural and urban areas. This is because social welfare and justice

were never made an integral part of the development programmes. Unfortunately, the approach
of the Stale has been bi-dii ectional witli respect to development and social welfare. Both aspects

were never integrated.

Further, environmental issues were also ignored while planning and

implementing these programmes, like resource access, resource sharing and resource
conservation.

Technology and technological thinking hail dominated the perspectives of development

in the past five decades, across the world. . uidlira Pradesh is no exception in this regard. Such a
narrow perspective undermined the other dimensions of i sues related to environment and

development, viz. social, cultural and socio-anthropological. Often, the project advisory panels

are constituted with engineers, technocrats, economists, and scientists, who are in the habit of
providing a limited perspective and opinion in grounding the programmes of development.

Water Reiourcei

About 34 minor rivers including five major rivers drain the state. The live important

rivers are Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, Vamsadhara and Nagavali. It is estimated that these rivers
cany about 150 million acre-feet of waler into the Bay ofBengal.

Andhra Pradesh has one lakh ten thousand minor and medium irrigation projects, of
which eighty percent were built more than 400 years back.

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River projects built across Kiishna and Godavari

Nagiujuna Sagar, Si iramsagar - were

commissioned 25 years back but the compensation to displaced people was paid in the first
phase of' 1990’s only.
Illis Slate usually leceived South West and Noilh least monsoons. Over the years due to

changes in global meteorological conditions, there is a inaiked shift in the monsoon trend

leading to unseasonal rains Nevertheless, the average annual rainfall in the state remains
600 mm.

It is evident that the shill in monsoon'.- had disfnibed the agriculture cycle and its production.

However, with the quantity of pi■. capitation remaining same, it should not disturb (he
drinking waler situation in the stale
Surprisingly eveiy coinei of the state sufleis foi want ol protected drinking waler supply,

either in terms of quantity or quality. -

-— —

- —

------------

More than sixty percent of the population has no proper access to environmental ly-soi>nd
sanitation system

Most of the waler bodies in stale are silted up, losing their original water retention capacity

leading to flash Hoods and frequent inundations

Extensive use of ground water souices caused rapid depletion in ground water levels ci eating
distuibances in base flows in natural stiearns and i iver collides, This situation aggravated the
soil-moisture conditions in all the diy land areas ofthe stale.

Lakes, like Pulical and Hollern, are polluted, encroached, reclaimed and are general!)' abused
and decimated.
Untreated Municipal sewer walers are discharged into the I lussainsagar lake in Hyderabad al

an estimated rate of 18,650 CM!) and the discharge of industrial effluents is estimated at
9,540 (.'MIL Their is no exception Io the situation in the i ivers across the State.

Urbanisation and Industrialisation

Uibanisalion is on the lise, but planning sutlers, leading to chaotic living conditions.

Growth of urban and industrial zones is governed more by adlioc planning, rather than based on

any long term integrated perspective

According to a government’s assessment, between 1984 and 1989 itself, total land
affected due to industrial effluents of Patancheru and Bollarum is 1382.28 acres. ANational

- 21 -

Environment Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur (NEERI) in its suivey, in 1991, estimated
the allected land nt 1717 acres belonging to 581 farmers. NEERI reports put the cattle loss at
1323 animals

Presently in 1997, the damage is much more, md more acies of land is becoming
biologically inert. 'Ihe pollutants entered into the food chains atlecting human healllr Villagers

exposed to industrial ellluents suffered H orn a plethora of diseases like epilepsy, skin and tliroat

problems, respiratory diseases, conjunctivitis, glaucoma cancer, leukaemia and paraplegia In
areas allected by tndusli ml ellluents,
lack of oxygen levels in the an caused frequent abortions mid it was reported bv local

medical practitioners that women in these areas are delivering still-born babies.
Situation similar in other industrial zones of the state like Visakhopntimin, Nalgondn,

Macherla etc.
Vehicular traffic is constantly increasing causing severe pioblems in air pollution. Recent
reports from ESI doctors confirmed these situations

Vrban mid industrial planning lacks comprehensive policy, and has failed to evolve proper
zoning regulations.
Hyderabad and Secunderabad cities generate about 2500 tonnes of solid municipal waste on
a typical day and no proper measures are being taken in managing this waste.

Coastal Zone

Lack of proper policy in 1980s in regulating development along the Coastal Zone created

several envnoninental pioblems in A.P.

Despite this, early 90’s witnessed uncontrolled

development of prawn culture, leading to ground water pollution. About 1,40,000 acres of prime

agriculture land was converted for this pmpose. This fundamental change in land use deprived

the source of livelihood of lakhs of agriculture labour and compelled them to migrate to towns

:md cities in search of jobs and employment.

'Illis development activity disturbed Ihe giowlh of mangrove forests along the coast,

which act as natural bnrrieis Io cyclonic winds, from piercing inland, further, coastal areas and

process of desertification. However, alter ;ui investment of mor e than Rs.450 crores, over the

past 25 ye:u s. i esnlts remain dismal

Jhese and other programmes of development have only accentuated the degradation process
ot natiu al i esoui ces, ailecting the livelihood and survival of millions of poor people.
Institutional Arrangement

Administialive concern for the environment was demonstrated in the 1970s, when
A.P.Slate Pollution Control Board was established to monitor industrial pollution of waler

courses and reservoirs and the atmosphere. However, with the expansion of the framework,of

environmental issues, gradually including developmental aspects, a separate Ministry for

Environment was formed in the 1990s. However. (Ins agenda of this Ministry is till in its nascent
stages, not defined beyond the confines of pollution mid deforestation. Even the district-level

Environmental Advisory Committees have limited their work to these issues.
Citizen Action and Right to Environment

A Citizens’ Repoit on the status of Andina Pradesh environment has been prepared by
Academv of Gandhian Stmhv- Hyderabad in 1990. The Report is a well-documented analysis

of environmental degradation in the Stale mid a warning as Io how it is affecting the right Io life
of the citizens. It is a constructive, yet critical response to the developmental polices evolved by
the State from time to lime and the manner in which environmental concerns are administered in
the implementation of the policies. 'Hie findings of the Report are indeed shocking.

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