Design can educate and inspire....

Design & People poster for the 'Save Periyar' 

campaign launched by Periyar Riverkeeper.
(www.designandpeople.org)

The first factory in Eloor was started in 1944 and the reasons for choosing the island were the easy availability of fresh water, transportation through land, water and by rail. At present the Eloor-Edayar area has 247 factories, out of which 106 are chemical, pesticides, tanneries and fertiliser factories. Factories situated near the Periyar River are using fresh water for their production with no proper effluent treatment systems. Due to heavy industrial pollution, the color of River Periyar changes from time to time and causes massive fish deaths. 90 per cent of well water is also contaminated. More than 30,000 fishermen and thousands of people with traditional skills already lost their livelihood. An average of 17 million litres of effluent water is being discharged to the River Periyar every day making the river toxic with zinc, lead, cadmium, chromium and organic pollutants like DDT. A study conducted by Greenpeace from water samples from Kuzhikandam Creek found 111 chemicals.

Design &  People identify how design can intervene to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the lives of people disadvantaged by environmental conditions.

25 is no age to call it a day....

In an earlier post, we had observed that any 'movement' is 70 per cent work of 'art' and 30 per cent 'commerce'. The recently concluded silver jubilee event of SWGM was a clear reflection on that observation.

Young, Energetic and Dynamic is what best describes the Save Western Ghats Movement as it commemorated its silver jubilee in Kundai, Goa on Nov 17-18, 2012. Young because over 108 activists, researchers, architects, accountants, theatre enthusiasts, panchayat leaders, homemakers, musicians and students thronged the venue from 5 different states on their own; Energetic because the participants demonstrated die-hard attitude to collectively sustain the movement for another 25 years and Dynamic because they have been ever eager to re-invent the movement to conform to the changing socio-economic and geo-political environment. The congregation declared that 25 is no age to call it a day....it calls for a fresh beginning instead!

The Navhind Times reported that the activists at the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Save Western Ghats Movement (SWGM) resolved to take the findings and recommendations of the Gadgil committee report to the people, aiming to get the gram sabhas to adopt resolutions in support of the report that calls for protecting biodiversity hotspots. The newspaper further reported that the activists resolved to sustain the struggle to save the Western Ghats by engaging in talks with those driving the political economy in the entire region. To be able to do so, it was resolved to revive the historic march across the Western Ghats to re-ignite peoples’ involvement in preserving the ecosystem.

Gautham Sarang, who at 7 had been the youngest marcher in the historic 1987-88 Western Ghats march, participated in the silver jubilee event with his wife and young child. He recalled his experience and how his participation in the event twenty five years ago had strong bearing on his life. Gautham called upon the younger generation to be the torch-bearer in taking the unfinished task of preserving the pristine ecosystem of the Western Ghats further. Representing anti-nuclear movement of Jaitapur, Vaishali Patil was quoted by The Times of India for saying: 'The manner in which we are being governed, activists can either be found campaigning on the streets or jailed under fictitious pretexts.' Kalanand Mani had set the tone for the event by appraising the house about the history of the movement.  

Covering the event, The Economic Times reported that the movement has extended its support to Goa's demand to get its section of Western Ghats on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites. The UNESCO list of world heritage sites had no mention of Goa, even as it has listed 39 sites in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Once Goa's Western Ghats section gets recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO, the Western Ghats, Goa sector, would be in the focus of national and international attention.As a significant move, the SWGM took a firm stand to support the ongoing anti-nuclear movements in Kundakulum and Jaitapur and to oppose any future attempt at bringing nuclear power in the Western Ghats.

Enlisting the nature of unresolved ecological challenges, Appiko leader Pandurang Hegde was quoted by The Times of India for having stressed the need to reinvent the movement and its strategies to suit the changing political and economic environment in the country. ‘The geo-politics of development need to be understood in right earnest to evolve strategies for the future,’ he stressed. In its 25th year, the movement focused on the need to get the ‘idea of the western ghats’ across to both upstream and downstream communities. That the Western Ghats are the water towers of the peninsular India ought to be brought to the imagination of the downstream population in towns and cities, the SWGM press release noted.

The two-day event was hosted by the Kundai-based Peaceful Society and was held under the auspices of the Save Western Ghats Movement. Based on sub-group discussions, the SWGM extended support to numerous campaigns currently being waged on the issues of tourism impact, wildlife corridors, micro-hydel interventions and infrastructure projects for protection of the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Notable among those who spoke at the event were Carmen Miranda, Hartman de Souza, N Badusha, R R Srinivasan, MacMohan, Jaychandran, G Janardhan, Ashok Kundapur and Gangadharan. As has been the tradition, the bamboo band led by Unnikrishnan Pakkanar provided the perfect musical tone to the celebrations. Performance by the Space Theatre Ensemble had offered icing on the cultural cake.

Homemakers from Bangalore-based Minchu Ideas not only added colors to the event but sang inspirational songs at the event in keeping up with the spirit.The group vowed to take the issues to urban population and educate them in their inimitable style. The most significant aspect of the silver jubilee celebration was that it was supported by individual contributions in cash and kind. Upholding the tradition of otherwise fast-waning spirit of voluntarism, each of the participants made cash contributions before the close of the event. Such gesture augers well for the future of the Save Western Ghats Movement.  

Be part of it as history repeats itself

Save Western Ghats Movement, hailed as the finest environmental movement in the country, is quarter century old and is still going strong. A two day event at Kundai in Goa on Nov 17-18, 2012 will mark the silver jubilee celebrations for re-commitment to save the pristine Western Ghats. It was back in 1987 that the famous march (see picture), from the south and north of the Western Ghats, had culminated at this very location.

As a run up to this historic event, the movement was re-launched in 2009 to build up momentum  for developing a common strategy to bring the issue of conservation of the ghats to the mainstream. A Citizen's Manifesto for the Elected Representatives was adopted and a demand for creating Western Ghats Ecological Authority was raised at a well attended three-day congregation. A year later, in 2010, intense lobbying and advocacy by civil society actors had led to the setting up Western Ghat Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) under the chairmanship of Prof. Madhav Gadgil. The controversial report has sought drastic policy changes, seeking ban on mining, infrastructure and hydel projects in sensitive areas alongside keeping the Western Ghats ‘GM’ free. Much to the dislike of the civil society, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has set-up another committee to review the report (the committee has yet to submit its report).

SWGM that had successfully lobbied with state and central Governments to change policies towards protection of Western Ghats, notably being the establishment of Western Ghats Task Force in Karnataka and WGEEP at the Centre, aims to engage with representatives of local institutions like Gram Panchayats and Zilla Panchayats to spruce up its efforts in ensuring that the WGEEP report is adopted in letter and spirit.

Rechristened as ‘movement of the movements’, the silver jubilee congregation will focus on sharing the experiences  of ongoing movements in the Western Ghats and evolve a common strategy to enforce eco-friendly policy decisions. It is also an attempt to revive the spirit of voluntarism at a time when vested interests are co-opting grassroots movements through the power of 'funds' and 'opportunities'.

One hundred delegates from five difference states, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, are taking part in the event. The event will be inaugurated by Justice Kolse Patil, an active member of Jaitapur Nuclear Movement and will be joined by the activists of the Kudankulam Nuclear Movement among others. Goa's Minister of Environment is another dignitary who is likely to grace the occasion.

For participation and media inquiries, contact 09448818099 or 09422439857

Between legal and illegal mining there is just this 'ill'

Reading Sept 29 newspapers in Goa make for interesting reading, and one can easily be forgiven to think of a Samuel Beckett play, where the end beckons but never nears. There were some in Goa for instance, who felt that The Shah Commission’s report was a perfect present for this Chaturthi season. Apparently not:

As one can clicks this link , Ganesha too, is not to be protected from the mining lobby, a few upper caste, well-heeled families, who now outsource their greed and theft, to, a constituency that by design is  now referred to as ‘mining-dependent people’…Given that it was part of the same play, it was not unlikely, that yesterday too, perhaps even at the same time, the renowned Centre for Science and Environment and indeed, some 30 journalists from Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, were given a taste of just how much is being done to make blatantly illegal mining become ‘legal’…

All these actions follow what Goa’s pro-environment lobby has been saying for some time, that the mines are illegal and they should be shut down forthwith. As can be read they have argued their case cogently – even to the extent of seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention to recognize the findings of The Shah Commission and do nothing more than implement its recommendations.

The Sept 29 edit in Herald from Panjim, given its long and trusted tradition of either sitting on the fence, or trying to run with both hares and hounds, was surprisingly forthright, saying 35,000 crore rupees was looted by X number of Goan mining operations, that the Goan people want that money back, as simple as that, and all the fat cats should stop trying tricks to wiggle out of the mess and continue the mining as if nothing happened.

The edit mentions the 80 year old woman who blocked a mine. That’s nice: her name is Dora, she’s my mother and I couldn’t be a prouder son. She blocked the mine being operated by Dinar Tarcar, a well-known politician and suave man about town. When we found out in 2008 through our sources in the Mines Department that the mine was patently illegal and operating without any licenses, it was her suggestion that the mine be blocked.

That too was interesting. There were several others arrested with her, including a Salesian priest and a well-known anti-mining activist. Mysteriously only Dora, her daughter and her family retainer had cases filed against them, and had to go several times to court to answer trumped-up charges. The case dragged on four solid years and still failed to break Dora’s resolve that the blatantly illegal mining had to stop.

In all this absurdity, lies a journalist called Sujoy Gupta, who once edited the Herald and actively assisted the BJP come to power and assert the constitutional right of some families to mine, only to dump them the next day, mission accomplished, to head The Goan, a weekend newspaper that claims to be the authentic voice of Goa. Gupta is better known in pro-environment circles, as the man who filed a 500 crore lawsuit against an anti-mining activist in Goa, a suit one may add that seems to have mysteriously disappeared. He’s also been the main front for preaching the case for ‘legal’ mining.

Dora of course insists that any industry that willfully takes away forest and water cannot be legal, and the rest of us in her family concur with that. But the old bird has a great sense of humour, I’ll give her that…

This Tarcar fellow’s mine was illegal she asks me?
Yeah, I reply.
This Gupta fellow only wants legal mining?
Yeah, I say.

And this Gupta fellow filed a suit for 500 crore against Saby because Saby was only writing about illegal mining when his own boss, that Timblo fellow, was actually doing ’legal’ mining?

Yeah, I tell her, wondering where she’s going with this crazy logic.
So this Gupta fellow is actually only against illegal mining?

You could say that I reply.

She hasn’t finished. So now you tell me he’s a big shot with a lot of clout and what not and edits this big paper that’s only speaking for Goans?

Good, she says, so you ask this Gupta fellow and his boss, that Timblo fellow, whether he’ll help me file a 500 crore suit in Goa – because I can’t travel all the way to Kolkata – against this Dinar Tarcar fellow for illegal mining, and falsely harassing us for four years. Tell him when we get the money, we’ll share it among the people of Cawrem and Maina and reforest Tarcar’s illegal mine…

Nice idea Mom I say, I’ll tell the guy…

- Hartman de Souza

An open letter to Kasturirangan & Co

Dear Dr Kasturirangan, 

Aspersions have already been cast that the Kasturirangan panel will dispose what the Gadgil panel has painstakingly proposed! Given controversial birth of your panel, it will take a leap of faith for the concerned, within and outside of the Western Ghats, to convince themselves that your panel will prove it otherwise. Such contention may be rhetorical at this stage, but has every chance of becoming a reality should the recent soundbites in the media were to come true.   

There are reasons for citizens to be skeptical. The Gadgil panel had termed Western Ghats extremely ecologically sensitive region and hence suggested restricted mining and other development activities. You have been quoted in the media: 'The Kasturirangan panel will hold meetings and consider all issues, since the Western Ghats is important to the country.' How different it is from what the Gadgil panel had said? It had held wide consultations and considered each of the issues in the Western Ghats on ecological and scientific merit. It will be a challenge for your panelists to read the findings differently!

Your panel will have a lot to prove itself. First, through your report you would need to provide 'reason' to persuade skeptical and skittish citizens that the government had enrolled the best available expertise into the task of ecological (re)assessment. Second, your panel ought to 'reason' not only theoretically, but also empirically, that it was not engaged in a political practice but in a scientific inquiry aimed at connecting a defensive state (read the Ministry) with its attentive citizens. Third, your panel must provide a modicum of certainty that the panel, conducted with taxpayer support, has fulfilled its obligation to the people and the ecosystem under reference.      

But your panel can do a world of good by avoiding to nitpick the WGEEP report and instead focus on how indeed the Western Ghats must, given its regional and global ecological significance, be governed. Should such a sense (?) prevail, the panel would have gone a step ahead in proving its worth. After all, the very idea of creating the WGEEP in the first place was to recommend the setting up a Western Ghats Ecological Authority. If the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had his way, he would have announced such an authority in 2010 itself. But he was advised to take-a-step-at-a-time and creation of the Gadgil panel was a step in that direction. 

Would the Kasturirangan panel be courageous enough to take the second strep?

Dr Sudhirendar Sharma

Mini hydel causing macro scars in the Western Ghats

There is a rush to flood the Western Ghats in Karnataka with mini hydel projects, each with an installed capacity of around 25 MW. Promoted by public sector Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited and built by private players, as many as 836 mini hydel plants with a combined capacity of over 4,000 MW have been under various stages of implementation, from consideration to construction. Numerous such projects shall soon dot the rivers like Netravathi, Kumaradhra and Gundias on Dakshin Kannada map. Reports indicate that nearly 108 mini hydel projects are at various stages of completion.

Since these can be built without undergoing any environment impact assessment and consequently do not need environment clearance as well as mandatory public hearing, there is literally a ‘gold rush’ to scar (see picture) the picturesque Western Ghats with such power units. Though one would imagine these units to be non-obstructive and non-offensive in nature, dams to create the desired head discharge are at times as high as 10 meters.

Simply assuming that a mini hydel project will be green and clean by default could indeed be untrue. Sample this: the 24.75 MW MHP by AMR in Perla Village and another 24.75 MW MHP at Shemburi by Ritwick Energy near Mangalore are in reality on big project worth 50 MW whereas as per the Project Design Document submitted to UNFCCC for claiming Carbon Credits, both were 'separate' mini projects. Much to everybody’s surprise, Netravathi river has been dammed with huge submerge upstream of the structure, sudden release from which had drowned three youths last year.

Same is the case with the Maruthi Power Gen dams in Hassan, which were shown at two different locations on paper (to avoid forest clearance) but were being executed as one huge structure on ground. The construction and tunneling activity has caused extensive damage to forests and wildlife habitat.  On the other hand, Kukke I Project near Hosmata is unique as it will not only submerge houses and endanger a critically endangered plant that has recently been rediscovered in the area but will submerge part of another MHP unit upstream as well.

Since mini hydel projects do not need mandatory public hearing, an informal public hearing was organised under the aegis of the Save Western Ghats Movement by Prakruti and SANDRP on Aug 4-5, 2012 at Kukke Subramanya, a small temple town near the origin of the river Kumaradhara in Dakshin Kannada district. As many as 60 affected farmers, fishermen, activists, researchers and scientists took part in the discussions and issued a ‘Subramanya Declaration’ that called for greater regulation of the sector alongside punitive action for those violating the norms.

Mini hydel projects can be clean, green and welcome provided the sector is regulated and efforts made to involve local population in planning and implementation of such schemes with a caveat that the communities have access to power generated through MHPs in their area.

Parineeta Dandekar

Whose playground is Western Ghats?

Democracy is a numbers game connecting people with legislators and parliamentarians. While people play this game once in every five years, for the intervening period the dice remains loaded in favor of the elected representatives. In peoples' faith they hold the dice but quite often end-up playing to serve vested interests. Else, legislators in Karnataka and Kerala assembly would not have been up in arms that 'development projects' will be halted in the Western Ghats by UNESCO heritage tag and the controversial WGEEP report respectively. Branding anything 'anti-development' is the dominant political discourse of our times.

Could legislators have taken a different stance had peoples' voices been echoing in their ears? It is anybody's guess but it would surely have made a difference because at the end of the day it is the 'constituency' that matters for the legislators. With this in mind, the idea of a Member of Parliament Forum on Western Ghats was mooted by SWGM in 2009 and first attempts to set up such Forum were also made. However, it was in 2010 that then Environment Minister had announced the setting up such Forum under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment & Forests. Ever since the WGEEP had a session with the Forum nothing much has been heard.

The reason for elected representatives to be short-sighted and small-minded has much to do with a lack of accountability towards the people they represent. It is more by design than default that peoples' real concerns rarely echo in the corridors of power. Given the way our society thinks and works, the task of sustained connection with legislators has often to be through petitions, protests and panels. Since much of this has limited impact, civic campaigns and peoples' movements remain the next best option. But literature is replete with evidences that campaigns/movements neither make legislators see 'logic' in (orchestrated) public voice and nor do governments capture 'reason' emanating from science (WGEEP) being presented to them.      

Without doubt, judicial activism does provide temporary reprieve in such situations. However, in an era marked with 'consistency deficit', 'governance deficit' and 'compliance deficit, court orders and judgements run the risk of poor compliance. In a democratic set-up, undermining peoples' power could indeed be suicidal. Couple of us who worked with an MP to get the National Green Tribunal bill passed in the Parliament with desired amendments can indeed vouch for the change that can be brought by engaging with the elected representatives. It is high time MP Forum on Western Ghats and/or State Legislators Fora on Western Ghats are revived to get some sense into the politics that is obsessed with 'economic assessment' of Western Ghats. After all, Western Ghats could not be allowed to be the playground for the politicians alone!   

SWGM: Reinvent or Perish!

The resurrection of the loose-knit Save Western Ghats Movement in 2009 was indeed a shot in the dark, few of us who conceived it knew it as an 'art of the impossible' (recall the Bamboo musicians in the picture!). Any work of 'art' creates a 'dent', we knew. The unpredictable spontaneity did the trick, both at Goa and at Kotagiri. The unrealistic demand, at least at that time, of a 'western ghats ecological authority' was a work of 'art' for us. Like any work of 'art', there ought to be at least a buyer for it. The connoisseur in Jairam Ramesh saw value in putting money on it. The day he bought our art work at Kotagiri in 2010, we were left penniless. Not penniless in monetary sense but in every other sense of the term.!

First, our 'art' was redrawn to suit to the minister's 'drawing room'. Perhaps not without reason, the fine lines of an 'authority' were converted into hard lines of a what was construed as a 'panel'. Second, an imaginative piece of work was converted into a 'process', with a definite timeline to deliver the end-product a'la WGEEP Report. Pinning hopes on the leftover of the original, the movement laughed and cried at each stage of the process (post 2010), missing out on the next possible opportunity to get back on the drawing board for its next 'creation'. Living in a state of strange schizophrenia the SWGM instead has been lost in the illusory notion of being close to achieving the unachievable!

Many may disagree but any 'movement' is 70 per cent work of 'art' and 30 per cent 'commerce'. Since the first work of 'art' was bought at Kotagiri, this ratio has been reversed. What was spontaneously unpredictable could now be predictably contrived - the movement has literally been swallowed by time-bound activities. What is not written in the project document is most unlikely to be considered, cause-effect linearity determines the logic of any 'action'. No wonder, it is a losing battle that the 'movement' is currently engaged in, if at all. Unless the current batch of 'proponents' go back on the drawing board, commerce-driven gainful engagement will ensure that the SWGM only celebrates its 'past', something to 'w(g)eep over!
      

Heritage Tag: Milestone or Millstone?

By tagging the Western Ghats to the World Heritage List, UNESCO has brought to fore the hitherto low-pitched battle between environmentalists and the development juggernaut. While environmentalists have lauded the move, industrialists have denounced it as an anti-development measure. The Federation of Indian Mining Industry has gone to the extent of saying that: 'India's growth is being stalled' whereas Deccan Herald editorial opines that 'the new tag has defeated such naysayers'.

The heritage tag to the Western  Ghats does improve its TRP but getting the rating translated into tangible actions to protect the fragile ecosystem could indeed be far-fetched. Such perceptions are not without reason because the 39 sites of the Western Ghats selected as heritage sites have all been governed under the existing environmental regulations and legislation. It is unlikely if the heritage tag alone would suffice to accentuate compliance of existing protective measures....more

WGEEP report is nobody's baby?

Is there a hidden message the government has conveyed by dropping Prof. Madhav Gadgil from the National Advisory Council (NAC)? Has persistent efforts by Gadgil to ensure that the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), of which he has been the chairperson, be accepted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests been negatively construed by the government? It is seemingly clear that Gadgil's stance as an activist, to get the report accepted, hasn't gone well with the government.

Sources indicate that at this crucial juncture, with a close eye on the 2014 general elections, the government wants the NAC to work in close synergy with the UPA to provide a clutch of actions that can deliver political goodwill to keep the 'aam aadmi' image of the ruling coalition alive in popular perception. With Food Security Bill, Communal Violence Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill already mired in controversy, the NAC can least afford controversies and dissension on additional matters.

Insiders believe that the WGEEP report, despite public opinion been sought on it till July 5, would remain an exercise in ecological academics. If it could not be accepted when Gadgil was member of the NAC, the chances that anything dramatic may happen when he is no longer member of the august council seems remote. While the Western Ghats may not be politically volatile region, accepting WGEEP recommendations may have serious implications (with likely spillover to other regions) on the growth agenda of the government.  Jairam Ramesh, who was instrumental in setting up the panel, has already expressed his fears that the WGEEP report may get junked.   

Gadgil's Dilemma

One can only sympathize with Madhav Gadgil who, after leading the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) constituted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests for little over a year, has to lobby to see the panel's report accepted, not only by the ministry which chose to appoint him to lead the panel in the first place but by the respective state governments who are supposed to implement the recommendations in their respective states in the region. The situation could not have been worse given the fact Gadgil is a member of the National Advisory Council as well.

One can only sympathize with Madhav Gadgil who, after leading the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) constituted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests for little over a year, has to lobby to see the panel's report accepted, not only by the ministry which chose to appoint him to lead the panel in the first place but by the respective state governments who are supposed to implement the recommendations in their respective states in the region. The situation could not have been worse given the fact Gadgil is a member of the National Advisory Council as well.


Gadgil's response to Kerala government's decision to appoint a committee to propose alternatives to the recommendations of the WGEEP clearly reflects his predicament. Said he: “Let the people of the State and not a government-appointed panel decide on the fate of the report. Any decision on the report shall be taken through a democratic process and not by the expert panel." Gadgil seems to have contradicted himself in his outburst,  missing on the crucial fact the WGEEP has been a government appointed panel only.  Can one government appointed panel hold itself sacrosanct over the other?


Despite the fact that the ministry is now seeking public opinion on the panel's report before accepting it, the writing on the wall makes it clear that like numerous other reports this too will find a convenient place on the dust-laden shelves.  Without doubt the Save Western Ghats Movement would not like this report to languish because it has been the outcome of one of its major demands that the then environment minister Jairam Ramesh had accepted at Kotagiri in 2010. Gadgil can draw comfort from the fact that his panel, though appointed by the government, was fulfilling a democratic obligation. 


Jairam Ramesh had conceived WGEEP as a precursor to Western Ghats Ecological Authority, which was put forth as a demand in the Citizen's Manifesto on Western Ghats, released by SWGM before Lok Sabha elections in 2009. The irony is that neither the self-appointed custodians of SWGM (the core team/group) are taking the panel report to the people nor does it dawn on Gadgil that it is finally peoples' power that will exert desired pressure on the elected governments.  In a compliance deficit state, decisions by information commission and green tribunal can only go half the distance!


It is both a challenge and an opportunity for Gadgil to first acknowledge the role of SWGM in what he and his panel has been able to accomplish, and then join hands with the movement to get WGEEP report accepted as a Citizen's Report to Save Western Ghats!