Holocene issue March to May 2020 comply or Close

YEAR 5/ISSUE 07-08-09/MARCH - MAY 2020

Cover Story: Comply or Close

Special Compliance issue of Holocene: Cover Photo: A cement plant of Bhuj by ERM Team 1

YEAR 5/ISSUE 07-08-09/MARCH - MAY 2020 Year 5/Issue 07-08-09/March-May 2020 The Holocene is the geological epoch that began after the Pleistocene at approximately 11,700 years BP and continues to the present. As Earth warmed after the Ice Age, the human population increased and early man began to change the planet forever. For Exploring Nature, our newsletter Holocene is our platform to convey our concerns on human threat to biodiversity. We will use our newsletter as a media to highlight the current local and global issues which could impact biodiversity of Mother Nature and promote awareness of biodiversity in alignment with our group’s mission of promoting awareness of different aspects of Mother Nature among people.

In this newsletter our readers will get information and periodic updates on.  Recent significant discussions on biodiversity, going on across the world.  Major recent research and studies on biodiversity.  Biodiversity explorations planned and conducted by national and international groups as well as Exploring Nature.  Information and interesting readings on wildlife photography and biodiversity modelling etc.

Holocene Year 5/Issue 07-08-09/March - May 2020 © Exploring Nature Cover, Design and Illustration © Exploring Nature All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without proper prior permission in writing from Exploring Nature.

Editorial Board Team Exploring Nature Holocene Cover: ERM Team Logo and Title Design Arijit Das Majumder and Saikat Chakraborty Website www.exploringnature.org.in e-mail info@exploringnature.org.in

Content:  Editorial Dilemma in Indian Regulatory Framework towards Commitment for Sustainability Governance: Moving towards Sustainable Development through Judicial System The neo-liberalized articulation of the definition of sustainable development has merely made the phrase an “oxymoron”!

Although the phrase could be justified in its true spirit and intent with a mature governance system.

3|Page  Cover Story Comply or Close: India’s Balancing Act between Ease of Business and Sustainable Development by Pranav Sinha As we approach the beginning of a new decade, India’s story of industrial growth and urbanisation progresses, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. However, what is the price that India is paying?

7|Page  Story Room The Silver Lining in the fiasco of “Ease of Business” by Arnab Basu Indian environmental regulatory framework, has undergone a sea change in last five years.

The evolution of Indian environmental regulatory framework is also marked by creation of National Green Tribunal in October, 2010, which has been acting as an autonomous and unbiased body, under Supreme Court of India, which has jurisdiction over all civil cases relating to environment and has power to order relief and compensation to victims of pollution and other environment damage.

13|Page  Expert Speaks  India Inherits the Black Legacy of Coal by Dwaipayan Ghosh Beginning some 1.0 Million Years Ago (MYA), when Homo erectus, the ancient Homo range from approx. 1.7 MYA to approx. 0.2 MYA, learned the skill to control fire and use it for its survival. Evolution of fuel was also as important as the usage of tools and tackles and metals in the history of human evolution.

It took a very little time to understand that the use of coal as fuel would emit much more heat than wood.

16|Page  Co-habitation Any Opinion on Climate Strikes Should Not Matter… Unless Given by a Person Participating in It

by Aditi Kale 20|Page  Voice of Nature Workshop on SDG and Wildlife Habitat Conservation at Kolkata by Exploring Nature 22|Page  Theme-Poster Comply or Close by Vijay Penagonda 25|Page

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Editorial: Dilemma in Indian Regulatory Framework towards Commitment for Sustainability Governance: Moving towards Sustainable Development through Judicial System (Earlier published in 19th August, 2019 issue of The Tilak Chronicle)

Indian environmental regulatory framework, has undergone a sea change in last five years. From 1995 to roughly 2012, the entire emphasize of regulations was confined to sustaining forests, wildlife, wetlands and protected area network. But strategies for achieving SDGs and INDC are lacking directives from judicial systems. Because of that, advocating environmental causes has not gained momentum amongst the legal and administrative fraternity as the cases for environmental pollution are filed pro bono which takes a toll on their professional and commercial career. In addition to that, lack of execution of the successful orders of higher judiciary makes their efforts futile as two-third of the States/Union Territories do not bother to comply with orders and directions passed by Courts and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) respectively from time to time.

In 2008, eight Government missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) designed to heal India, recognising that climate change is a global challenge. The plan promised that India will engage actively in multilateral negotiations in the UNFCCC, in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner. A decade back when the plan was introduced, we were one of the 10 odd countries, to have a consolidated policy in place to deal with climate change. But still we don’t have clarity on how NAPCC has fared. NAPCC is still being implemented and unless the NAPCC succeed in its spirits and intent, the Sustainability Governance in India will never succeed.

The first mission under NAPCC was National Solar Mission, the only mission which succeeded four years ahead of target 2022. But now India is staring at a massive target of 40 GW of solar rooftop by 2022, with only 1.9 GW of capacity installed. In Union Budget 2019, further budgetary capital allocation or announcement of dedicated policy or scheme to fuel rapid growth and broader structural and regulatory reforms, such as carriage and content separation proposed in the Electricity Act amendment to improve distribution sector’s efficiency, would have been welcomed.

The second mission was for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, in 2009, it was approved 'in principle' by the PM's Council on Climate Change and the third mission was on Sustainable Habitat approved by the PM in 2011. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs backs the mission, but again lack support of effective regulatory frame work.

Building bye Laws and Motor Vehicle Acts are two key regulations which could strengthen the governance system for mission two and three of NAPCC and most of the elements of INDC. Although Section 10 and 11 of Building bye Laws, explicitly direct provisions of issuing clearance for new buildings based on water management through rain water harvesting, sustainable building materials, waste management, energy efficient fixtures, solar energy utilization etc., but the enforcement lacks right intention.

The amendment in Motor Vehicle Acts towards usage of Electronic Motor Vehicle (EMV) also needs to be backed up by public private partnership to make the enforcement effective. However, the government has recommended reducing the GST rate on electric vehicles under the Union Budget 2019, from the current 12 per cent to 5 per cent, while also offering an additional income tax benefit on loans taken to purchase EVs and commencement of FAME Phase II. The move is expected to expedite the growth of EVs in the Indian auto sector. But, only an incentive programme will not work without a 3

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strong legal mandate for phased electrification of vehicles, fixing of timeline for intermediate goals for infrastructure and deployment strategy and compliance mechanism for the real change.

The fourth mission under NAPCC was on water. The mission was put in place to ensure integrated water resource management helping to conserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across and within states. This mission is one of the most proactive ones and is backed by the National Water Policy as well as the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. In recent “Mann ki Baat”, Prime Minister stressed on water conservation – but the water issue can be resolved with an integrated water management regulation focussing on surface water, ground water and waste water together. Although, Central Ground Water Authority, has been constituted under Section 3 (3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 , has regulated abstraction of ground water in great extent, but consuming surface water is still vaguely regulated. No regulatory framework exists to monitor and measure domestic water consumption. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted in 1977, to provide for the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons operating and carrying on certain types of industrial activities; but that has also been abolished. An autonomous body like Bureau of Water Efficiency maybe a need of the hour to regulate water monitoring and measurement across sectors. Section 31 and 32 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 directs, Industrial operations to declare any discharge of pollutants into any water bodies and empowers regulators to take necessary actions.

But involvement of two different regulatory bodies – Central Ground Water Authority and Pollution Control Boards, doesn’t provide adequate integrity in meeting the purpose of these regulations.

The fifth mission was on sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, got a nod from union cabinet in 2014.

Aimed at protecting the Himalayas, it has mapped institutes and civil society organisations working on the Himalayan ecology for ease of coordination between governmental and non-governmental agencies. We cannot really expect success of such mission without being backed up by regulatory framework. Also, one of the agendas of the government followed in 2014 in order to “ease out” the environmental clearance process was the recommendation of a shorter timespan for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, public hearing and eventual environmental clearance, and also categorization of industries based on environmental risks, depending upon self-assessment, has further diluted the impetus of this mission.

The sixth mission, for Green India, also termed as the Green India Mission/Scheme, aims at protecting; restoring and enhancing India's diminishing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures. Driven by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, it received the nod of approval from the Cabinet in 2014. But again “ease of business” concept and pressure on Government by corporate lobbyists are the big hindrances for MoEFCC, to act upon this.

The Seventh mission of NAPCC is on Sustainable Agriculture, focussing integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management etc. Again, no regulatory framework to strengthen this effort.

The eighth mission is on strategic knowledge for climate change, to be driven by Department of Science and Technology. Although, NAPCC is still under implementation, Nation’s biggest commitment now in front of global community is INDC and SDG, through NITI Aayog. Therefore, its NITI Aayog’s responsibility now to integrate knowledge pool available in public and private sectors as well as in other institutions. Unfortunately no such mechanism exists in NITI for such integration and accumulation of SDG commitments taken by corporates in India, and report back a cumulative achievement of SDG to UN. 4

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Can Government of India alone own the commitment for INDC and SDG? Not just absence of mechanism for including big corporates in SDG reporting; the regulatory framework also has significant lacuna as it does not include a big chunk of corporates and MSME in the purview of mandatory sustainability initiatives.

The Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 , makes Corporate Social Responsibility mandatory for the companies having net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more or a net profit of rupees five crore or more during any financial year. Clearly a significant number of corporates and MSMEs are missed out in this Act. Now if we look into Schedule VII of section 135, the suggested activities to be included by companies in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policies, are activities relating to:— (i) Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty; (ii) Promotion of education; (iii) Promoting gender equality and empowering women; (iv) Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health; (v) Combating human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, malaria and other diseases; (vi) Ensuring environmental sustainability; (vii) Employment enhancing vocational skills; (viii) Social business projects; (ix) Contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government or the State Governments for socio-economic development and relief and funds for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women; and (x) Such other matters as may be prescribed.

The above 10 point activities are more in alignment with the 8 point agenda of Millennium Development Goal, now a realignment of the Act is needed with respect to INDC and SDG. Moreover, based on my two decades of experience of working as sustainability advisors for Industrial sectors across globe, I think none of the above would find any place in the list of CSR activities of MSME players. Therefore, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and NITI Aayog should work together to bridge this gap and make regulatory framework more specific and inclusive to achieve INDC and SDG. The net worth mentioned in Companies Act, should be expanded and the activities prescribed in the act should be modified to fit into all corporates and MSMEs interests and ability.

There was a provision of a jail term of up to three years and stringent fines ranging from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 25 lakh for executives of companies violating CSR provisions, which were added in the amended Companies Act, 2013. This clause jolted industry and triggered calls for a rollback. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is also minister of Corporate Affairs, assured India Inc. that she would review the criminal penal provision for not complying with CSR mandates and also promised more simplification of the taxation system to end harassment.

If CSR notification is diluted, corporate may get reluctant for their SDG commitment, and it could be an irony to India’s commitment for COP21.

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After this, a high-level committee on CSR suggested doing away with the provision for imprisonment in case of violation of the spending requirement and disclosures, while seeking to allow for tax deduction on the expenditure. Instead of imprisonment provided under two sections of the Companies Act, the panel headed by corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas recommended that the penalty be enhanced to two-three times the default amount, with a cap of Rs. 1 crore.

The Indian Judicial System has to play the pivotal role in ensuring that the development activities stay within the ambit of sustainable development and does not affect the environment of the country and strive towards formulation of effective Sustainability Governance.

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Cover Story: Comply or Close: India’s Balancing Act between Ease of Business and Sustainable Development

By Pranav Sinha Background & Context As we approach the beginning of a new decade, India’s story of industrial growth and urbanisation progresses, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. India continued to remain the fastest growing major economy in the world in 2018-19 (at 6.8% in 2018-19), even as the world output growth declined from 3.8% in 2017 to 3.6% in 2018. The April, 2019 Report of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) of International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India’s GDP to grow even higher at 7.3% in 2019, even as it projected a decline in growth of world output and that of Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) by 0.3% and 0.1% points respectively. The Asian Development Bank Outlook 2019 states that India’s growth is expected to touch 7.2% in 2019-‘20 and 7.3% in 2020-’21, thus corroborating estimates of the WEO. However, what is the price that India is paying? The World Bank struck a cautionary note when it reported that India’s remarkable growth record is clouded by a degrading environment and growing scarcity of natural resources. Mirroring the size and diversity of its economy, environmental risks that face India today, are wide ranging and are driven by both prosperity and poverty. Per the 2018 Environmental Performance Index (based on 24 indicators spread across 10 issue categories), India’s overall rank was 177 out of 180 countries surveyed. On the same index, India’s ranked 180th (or the last), on Environmental Health. India lags even Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean in environmental performance. Figure 1 below shows India’s scores on Environmental Health and Ecosystem Vitality relative to other countries.

Figure 1: India on the EPI 2018 relative to other countries and regions According to a WHO survey in 2016 across the G-20 economies, 14 of the world’s 20-most-polluted cities were in India. IQAir’s World Air Quality Report of 2018 paints an even grimmer picture, with 15 of the world’s 20-most-polluted cities located in India; Delhi and its suburbs are amongst the most polluted 7

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locations on earth. Similarly, two of the five most polluted rivers in the world are in India, even as 54% of India faces High to Extremely High water stress per the World Resources Institute.

Per the World Bank, environmental degradation costs India about USD 80 Billion per annum, or about 5.7% of India’s GDP. Simultaneously poverty remains both a cause and consequence of resource degradation: agricultural yields are lower on degraded lands, and forests and grasslands are depleted as livelihood resources decline. To subsist, the poor are compelled to mine and overuse the limited resources available to them, creating a downward spiral of impoverishment and environmental degradation.

Therefore, it has become imperative for India to plug this drain on its resources and economic growth by implementing effective and stringent measures to prevent and regulate pollution in all its forms, whether from industrial sources, vehicles or agriculture. Only then would India be able to realise its dream of becoming a USD 5 Trillion economy by 2024.

Various interventions implemented by the executive, legislature and judiciary in India, and the continued citizen activism around matters environmental indicate that we are witnessing a paradigm shift in environmental governance and enforcement, even as India works towards enabling greater ease of doing business and works to cut through the bureaucratic red tape that has often shackled entrepreneurs in the past.

A recent and hard-hitting example of this was the 10 July 2019 ruling of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that ordered the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board/ Committees (SPCB/ PCCs), to:  





Shut down, within three months, all polluting industries located in 69 industrial estates across the country that were assessed as being “Critically Polluted” or “Severely Polluted”; Estimate the compensation to be recovered from the polluting industries in these 69 industrial estates for the last five years, taking into account not just the cost of damage caused to public health and environment, but also the cost restoration of damaged elements of the environment and a punitive amount towards creating a deterrent for future violations; Collect an interim compensation in advance from all industries, pending assessment of compensation liability (amounts for this range from USD 35000 to USD 150,000, approximately); and Halt setting up of new industries and prohibit expansion of existing polluting industries until environmental impacts in these industrial estates are brought to within permissible limits and the carrying capacity of the area has been assessed

It is clear that the future would not be anything like the days past.

How this paper is useful This paper seeks to examine some the trends emerging in environmental regulation and governance regimes. It also presents key facets of the new reality that business in India must face and adapt to quickly. Industry leaders and top management would find the information presented in this paper useful as they work to address emerging environmental and social (E&S) risks. The ability to manage the various environmental risks and to convert some of these into opportunities would be the key determinant of success as corporations expand their presence and reach in India. Failure to do so is 8

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likely almost inevitably to expose corporations to the risk of business interruption (in India and across their global supply chains), material financial penalties and loss of reputation.

The New Reality for Corporations in India New Reality 1: A Rapidly Evolving Regulatory Regime In the last three years (since 2016), India has witnessed what is, by far, the largest surge in new and materially amended environmental regulations coming into force.

While the 43-year period between 1972 and 2015 witnessed 30 environmental regulations coming into force, the same number of new/ materially amended laws have come into force since April 2016 (refer Figure 2 below). Most of these have material and far-reaching implications for environment, while also adding to compliance burden for industries.

No. of Environmental Regulations

The rapidly changing regulatory landscape allows corporations only a limited visibility of future compliance burden. There can be significant shifts in regulatory requirements within relatively short periods. For example, India’s decision to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI (equivalent to Euro 6) norms for vehicular emission and the Supreme Court’s ruling that all vehicles sold after 31 March 2020 meet BS-VI standards has upset many an automaker’s profit arithmetic, while promising significant abatement in air pollution and related disease burden. At least six other draft regulations are presently under consideration, including one that may result in a complete overhaul of the foundational environmental legislations as well as the regulatory framework.

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

5-year Periods

Figure 2: Number of New/ Materially Amended Regulations in various 5-year periods (Source: Review of new/ amended environmental regulations conducted by ERM) New Reality 2: Enhanced and More Stringent Enforcement by Regulators The last five years have also witnessed an upswing in enforcement actions taken by the CPCB, SPCBs and Central Groundwater Authority. Aligned with the new regulations being promulgated and in step with various judicial pronouncements, the regulators at federal and state levels have been proactive in identifying, investigating and prosecuting errant industries.

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CPCB has developed a new technology-enabled solution known as ‘India E-Track Industries’ to store and retrieve up-to-date information on 17 most polluting industry sectors.

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

664

625

525 434 350

293

273

140118 28 8

16

98 26

160 43

6 4 5

ALUMINIUM CEMENT CHLOR ALKALI COPPER DISTILLERIES DYE & DYE INT. FERTILIZER IRON & STEEL OIL REFINERY PESTICIDE PETROCHEMICALS PHARMACEUTICALS POWER PLANTS PILP & PAPER SUGAR TANNERY TEXTILE, DYEING &…

CHEMICAL ZINC

Number of Notices

Figure 3 and Figure 4, below present data provided by the CPCB on the number of Show Cause Notices (similar to Notices of Violation) and Closure Notices that it has issued to the 17 most polluting industry sectors during 2016 and 2017 .

Industry Sectors

Figure 3: Show Cause Notices issued to 17 Most Polluting Industry Sectors, in 2016 & 2017 (Source: CPCB website) 400

366

Number of Closure Directions Issued

349 350 300 250

208

200

163 133

150

99 100

72

60 39

50 5

6

3

24 3

17

30 1

7

1

0

Industry Sectors

Figure 4: Closure Directions issued to 17 Most Polluting Industry Sectors, in 2016 & 2017

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Similarly data obtained by ERM from the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB), also indicates an upward trend in the number of Closure Directions issued to errant industrial units in the hill state. Please refer Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: No. of Closure Directions issued by UEPPCB since 2010 (Source: UEPPCB response to RTI request)

REFERENCES 

Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India, 4 July 2019, “State of the Economy in 2018-19: A Macro View”, viewed on 14 September 2019 at https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=191212

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Asian Development Bank, 2019, “Asian Development Outlook 2019: Strengthening Disaster Resilience”

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Wendling, Z. A., Emerson, J. W., Esty, D. C., Levy, M. A., de Sherbinin, A., et al. (2018), “2018 Environmental Performance Index” New Haven, CT: Yale Centre for Environmental Law & Policy, viewed on 14 September 2019 at https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu



BBC News, 2 May 2018, “India’s Cities Dominate World Air Pollution List”, viewed on 14 September 2019 at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43972155 World Bank, 5 June 2013, Report No. 70004-IN “India Diagnostic Assessment of Select Environmental Challenges: An Analysis of Physical and Monetary Losses of Environmental Health and Natural Resources”

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Order of the National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, 10 July 2019, in the matter of Original Application No. 1038/2018.

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CPCB data on number of Show Cause Notices and Closure Notices issued to Highly Polluting and Grossly Polluting Industry Sectors, viewed on 14 September 2019 at: https://cpcb.nic.in/cpcb-directions.php



UEPPCB, 08 March 2019, Response to request for information under the RTI Act, 2005 vide letter no.

UEPPCB/HO/S-185-1093/9659-1752

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

Order of the National Green Tribunal, 08 August 2013, in the matter of Sterlite Industries Limited vs. Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and others (Appeal 57 of 2013 and Appeal 58 of 2013).



Order of the National Green Tribunal, 07 March 2019, in the matter of Saloni Ailawadi vs. Union of India and others (Original Application No. 509/2015) with Satvinderjeet Singh Sodhi & Ors. vs. Volkswagen India Private Limited & Ors. (Original Application No. 527/2015).



Order of the National Green Tribunal, 04 January 2019, in the matter of “Threat to life arising out of coal mining in south Garo Hills district Versus State of Meghalaya & Ors. (Original Application No.110(THC)/2012)



Kiran Pandey, Susan Chacko, 10 April 2019, “NGT makes polluters pay nearly double so far this year than whole of 2018” viewed on 15 Sept 2019 at https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/pollution/ngt-makespolluters-pay-nearly-double-so-far-this-year-than-whole-of-2018-63927



https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/green-court-orders-assessment-of-carrying-capacity-of-102-cities1940185

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The Tribune, 30 May 2019, “Carrying capacity of Manali, McLeodganj being assessed”as viewed on 6 August 2019 at https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/carrying-capacity-of-manali-mcleodganjbeing-assessed/780416.html



TIANYI LUO, DEEPAK KRISHNAN, AND SHREYAN SEN, January 2018, “PARCHED POWER: WATER DEMANDS, RISKS, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIA’S POWER SECTOR”, World Resources Institute



Paul Mitchell, 2019 “Top 10 business risks and opportunities-2020”, EYGM Limited viewed on 09 October 2019 at https://www.ey.com/en_gl/mining-metals/10-business-risks-facing-mining-and-metals



International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019, “The Sustainable Development Journey”, viewed on 15 September 2019 at https://www.iisd.org/business/sd_journey.aspx

……. To be continued

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Story Room: The Silver Lining in the fiasco of “Ease of Business�

By Arnab Basu (Earlier published in 10th October, 2019 issue of The Tilak Chronicle; link: https://www.thetilakchronicle.com/post/ee2bf910-ea60-11e9-a003-abf72917a17b)

Indian environmental regulatory framework, has undergone a sea change in last five years. From 1995 to roughly 2012, the entire emphasize of regulations was confined to sustaining forests, wildlife, wetlands and protected area network. However, in last decade significant emphasize was noticed with respect to regulating wastes generation, management and disposal. Between 2010 and 2018, four different legislations were introduced to regulate electronic waste, plastic waste, solid waste and construction waste, besides existing legislations on hazardous and biomedical wastes.

The above graph, exhibits that post 2000, there has been a surge in the number of regulations. The change in the regulations attributes to increasingly active participation of citizens, non-governmental organizations and media.

The evolution of Indian environmental regulatory framework is also marked by creation of National Green Tribunal in October, 2010, which has been acting as an autonomous and unbiased body, under Supreme Court of India, which has jurisdiction over all civil cases relating to environment and has power to order relief and compensation to victims of pollution and other environment damage.

Delivery of speedy and inexpensive justice in order to protect Constitutional rights of the class of victim who are unable to knock the doors of judiciary, are the intendent philosophy behind this land mark legislative reform in Indian judicial system.

Since its inception and until 30th April 2019, it has registered 29939 cases, disposed-off 27022 and 2917 are pending. In one of its landmark judgement, in the year 2013, NGT imposed a penalty of INR 100 crores (approximately USD 15 millions) which was levied on Sterlite Industries for polluting the

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environment in the vicinity of its plant and for operating the plant without a renewal of the consents by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) for a fairly long period as per norms.

Introduction of four different legislations to regulate waste and inception of NGT as an autonomous body has brought the desire as well as right of people of India for a “Clean and Green” Nation to foreground.

The growing concern of people of India for the impact on environment due to Industrial practices have been demonstrated several times in recent past. The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu had to order the shutdown of a controversial copper plant that locals had been protesting against for more than 20 years. The order from the state government came days after police shot at a large crowd of protesters, killing at least 13 people. Also we should not forget that a massive global youth-led protest demanding political action on climate change took place in April, 2019, with 2,300 school strikes taking place in over 130 countries. Indian students of all ages and backgrounds took part in that mass class bunk as well.

After seeing their elders fail to effectively deal with global pollution levels and the subsequent climate change again and again, children around the world have decided to take matters into their own hands.

Growing number of environment and climate change related protests by people of this country against Political and Industrial establishments, alongside with rapidly increased judicial enforcement for not complying with environmental norms, with the advent of stringent regulations and Green Tribunals, definitely leave enough reasons for Corporates to be worried about.

However, that does not necessarily mean corporates in India in risk of closing their operations in India for not being able to meet national environmental norms. In last decade we have also seen a conscious effort by Government to boost Indian economy by embracing the concept of “ease of doing business”.

India climbed 23 points in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index to 77th place, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time and third among the BRICS. The concept of “ease of doing business” has been incorporated in environmental regulatory framework as well. With an eye on speeding up and simplifying environmental clearances for industrial projects, High Level Committee on Review of Environmental Laws headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian submitted its report to Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change on 18 November 2014. The committee recommended formulating a new umbrella law to streamline the process of environment clearances for development projects in the country.

The committee has proposed new Environment Management Act (EMA) and two fulltime expert bodies National Environment Management Authority and State Environment Management Authority, to provide single window clearance in time bound manner. Another intention behind this is also to reduce cases of corruption and bribery in judicial enforcement systems, as per Government sources.

Although, many environmental researchers, lawyers and activists are sceptical of the Subramanian panel’s trust-based recommendation. However, TSR Subramanian asserted to a national online daily, that "Utmost good faith" is only one side of the coin, the flipside of that coin would be serious consequences for breach of faith. In case of a violation, the offending company can be asked to pay a spot fine. In addition, it may have to pay a deposit of more than twice the amount needed to repair the environmental damage it has caused. If the project continues to violate environmental norms, its clearance can be revoked. The final step, as per the committee report, the project proponent may be liable for punitive or preventive action permissible in respect of serious offences.

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The post submission time period of TSR Subramanian Committee report is in fact marked by series of ground breaking ruling by NGT. The most recent was directing the Central Pollution Control Board to shut down polluting industries in "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas within three months. Few other worth to mention cases are: Coca-Cola bottling factory in Uttar Pradesh had to shut down for extracting groundwater above legal permissible limits and polluting the environment with toxic effluents, hence, reducing the carrying capacity of the area . NGT had ordered assessment of carrying capacity of 102 cities, including Delhi, where air quality does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Illegal construction in Manali and McLeodganj has the cities into concrete jungles. NGT is assessing carrying capacity report for the cities, and may ban construction in the region as it did in Shimla.

Another recent milestone ruling of NGT is imposing Rs. 500 crore fine on German auto major Volkswagen for damaging the environment through the use of “cheat device” in its diesel cars in India.

Volkswagen had to pull its operation from India, for not complying with the prescribed environmental norms.

As per global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, India’s economy is expected to grow by upward of 6 percent annually in the next few years, among the highest rates of any big emerging economy. The future of many multinationals depends on their ability to succeed in India, only they need to learn to do business the Indian way, rather than simply imposing global business models and practices on the local market.

Inculcating a culture of compliance and building effective leadership driven compliance management system, in order to be proactive in demonstrating their intention to adhere to local environmental standards and regulation, will undoubtedly help corporates to earn trust of people as well as regulators of this country.

The concept of “trust-based” compliance is an invitation from the national institutions for the industry operators to grow their business in the soil of this largest democracy of world. This also comes with a caution of “serious consequences for breach of faith”.

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Expert Speaks: India Inherits the Black Legacy of Coal

By Dwaipayan Ghosh (Earlier published in 10th Jan 2020 issue of The Tilak Chronicle; link: https://www.thetilakchronicle.com/post/9b04f2e0-3304-11ea-a003-abf72917a17b)

“So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do… Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you…” King Louie, the ape king, wanted to be as powerful as human being, but he didn’t know the secret of man’s red flower.

That very red flower, fire, has put the super ape, human, way ahead of others in the animal kingdom.

Ability to control fire by ancient human species made them able to move to colder regions, fight other animals and revolutionised the system of cooking to maintain the food ration.

Beginning some 1.0 Million Years Ago (MYA), when Homo erectus, the ancient Homo range from approx. 1.7 MYA to approx. 0.2 MYA, learned the skill to control fire and use it for its survival.

This was definitely one of the most important milestones of human evolution. With the control on fire, ancient human started spreading over the colder parts of the planet, evolved cooking procedure to accumulate more nutrition from food and had an edge over other animals while competing and struggling for existence.

That eventually helped human being to be the most influential creature of the Holocene. That was the beginning of human urge to control natural phenomena for its own comfort.

Evolution of fuel was also as important as the usage of tools and tackles and metals in the history of human evolution. It took a very little time to understand that the use of coal as fuel would emit much more heat than wood.

So, the overwhelming popularity of coal as fuel was inevitable with the increasing usage of metals and with the increasing demand of coal, mines started being modernised.

We have evidences of usage of coal from Fusion of China as fuel to melt copper in the 10th Century BC (approx.). Except two to three, all the modern times’ coal fields of England and Wales were discovered and exploited in Latin Britain in 1st and 2nd century AD. Soon after easily accessible coal got exhausted due to overuse and man started extracting underground coal by means of shaft-mining or adit to meet the ever-increasing demand. But, socio-economically, the real surge in demand and importance of coal in occurred after the Industrial Revolution. With the rise of capitalism, supply of coal became the historical reason of imperialist aggression.

As the importance of coal increased in the economy and as well as in the society, it happened to be the cause of exploitation. This eventually fuelled a several coal mine centric socio-economic conflicts in many parts of the world.

For an example, we can consider the forty years long “Coal War” in America that happened between the last decade of 19th Century and 3rd decade of 20th Century, where many organised and unorganised 16

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armed conflicts took place. At the same time, the miner’s movement got the pace in many countries outside America.

In 1920, Pan-England national coal mine strike was called for minimum wages. In some places, those movements turned into the uprising against the colonial regime. In the mid of 19th century, British and other Europeans started building heavy and medium industries in India.

During this period, Railways, and coal mines were established and expanded along with cotton and jute industries in India. British imperialism introduced the colonial capitalist exploitation in India along with the benefits of Industrial Revolution that led to the development of labour movements in the country.

After the WWI, labour movement changed its characteristics worldwide and there was no exception in India also. In 1920, Indian Colliery Employees’ Union and Jamshedpur Labour Union were constructed, and they took part in Indian Freedom Struggle as a part of organised labour movement in India. In a few words, coal has become the apple of discord since the industrial revolution.

Of course, the limitless profiteering demand of the capitalist production system and the ever-increasing exploitation to achieve the same, was the reason behind. The imperialism changed its face after the WWII and the coal business also changed its way along with. Following the global trend, India nationalised it’s all coal mines by the year of 1973, after 25 years of its independence.

But it made a very little difference in the coal market and its system of exploitation. In some cases, wages became a little reasonable for colliery employees, but the colonial bureaucratic exploitation still prevailed among the various levels of colliery staffs, where the hierarchical social exploitations were the major. In contemporary times, another massive problem surfaced.

A trend of increase in the average temperature of the earth has been evidenced as the excessive increment of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere occurred due to the uncurbed use of coal and other fossil fuels and destruction of natural forests for establishment of heavy and medium industries.

A trend of increase in the average temperature of the earth has been evidenced as the excessive increment of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere occurred due to the uncurbed use of coal and other fossil fuels and destruction of natural forests for establishment of heavy and medium industries.

Displacement and socio-economic oppression on the natives, in the name development projects and urbanisation, has become regular, and on the other hand this vaguely defined modernisation caused severe damage to the environment and nature. In this situation, being the primary source of energy, as coal has its enormous reserves in India, acquisition of land for new coal mines and thermal power stations, elimination of indigenous people and indiscriminate destruction of forests, hills and rivers has become normal.

India has gained a major share in the global market of coal due to the growing demand of energy for its 1.3 billion population, and the huge bituminous coal reserves it is having.

If we only consider the statistics of the last financial year India was the 2nd largest coal producing and importing country and the 3rd largest coal consuming country as well. In financial year 2018-19, India produced a total of 730.35 million tonne of coal and imported a sum of 235.24 million tonne.

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At the same time, India’s consumption was of 463.28 million tonnes. When, being a part of International Solar Alliance, we are talking about the renewable energy, 78.37% of the total energy generated in India in last three years, were from coal fired power plants. From these data, we can easily estimate the importance of India in the global market of coal.

Though India doesn’t have a significant anthracite coal reserves, and grossly depends on its import from Australia, the huge stock of bituminous coal in the coalfields of India has always been admirable for the rest of the world. At the end of the last century, the rise of neo liberalism has also influenced the Indian economy. At the very beginning of this century, India again tried to privatize its coalfields.

But all those efforts were in vain, as only one of the 57 coal blocks, which were leased to the private players across the country, managed to survive and operate successfully.

But the ultra-rightist government that has come into power in 2014, with the popular slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (Collective Efforts Inclusive Growth, which is basically the 17th Goal of SDGs, i.e.

“Partnerships for the goals”), never wanted to keep the alluring Indian Coal market out of the capitalist exploitation.

So, the government has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment in Coal India in the mid of 2018 and thrown away country’s coal mines as a chunk of flesh in front of the profiteer pack of wolves.

Coal War fuelled by the Government? Source: ENVIS http://ismenvis.nic.in But the discontent, among the marginal people of India, regarding coal and coal fired power plants is quite noticeable for last few decades. Eviction of indigenous populace, clueless felling of natural forests and horrible pollution in the name of development are the main reasons behind it.

In last one decade, about fifty outrages took place across the country, protesting against new coal mines and thermal power stations.

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Its major parts were in the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Telangana, and Karnataka etc., which are amidst with natural forests and populated with large settlements of traditional forest dwellers.

Protest against the Mahan Coal Block in Madhya Pradesh at the beginning of 2nd decade of this century and the ongoing protest over Talabira coal block, are some of the most recent of those. In both the cases, the government wanted to give away our natural resources, to the multinationals and national large capitals. State repressive terrorism have been brought down to shatter all the protests.

Government statistics reveals at least 28 deaths in about 60 suppression operations, to disrupt protests against coal mines and thermal power plants in India in last ten years. In this scenario, government’s announcement for new 42 coal blocks and 100% FDI in Indian coal sector may lead to a new “Coal WAR” to protect the rights of people in India.

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Co-habitation: Any Opinion on Climate Strikes Should Not Matter… Unless Given by a Person Participating in It

By Aditi Kale (Earlier published in 20th October 2019 issue of The Tilak Chronicle; link: https://www.thetilakchronicle.com/post/469a1d30-ef2e-11e9-a003-abf72917a17b)

As a researcher and a writer interested in observing things and exploring them, I am caught between Climate Strikers and their Critics and feel a bit dizzy not knowing where to look or where to stop.

My verdict? The Climate Strikers win this time round, because their narrative centres around science and climate justice and not on interpreting or counter-arguing someone else’s perspective.

The question that haunts me now is – is the resistance to Climate Action shifting from Climate Scepticism to leaning on Climate Strike Scepticism? What can be done to ensure that this does not happen? At an individual level, the answer for me is writing about it. So here it goes…

The Global Climate Strike has already created a momentum in Climate Change Awareness like no other human endeavour has. The likely reason for this is that it is supported by youth and people who have less of hidden agendas and vested interests than others. Although their logic considers money and politics, it does not centre everything else around it.

Striking for Climate Action. PC: Jasmin Sessler. Source: www.unsplash.com.

The first thing everyone must understand and respect is that the strikes are not happening because of compulsion from some outside authority. They are voluntary and self-motivated in nature. Hence, they are personal too, and have lots of stories behind them.

It is an appeal and demand from people who are going to spend the rest of their lives dealing with the crisis. It involves people of any age group who sleep with anxiety and wake up with the apprehension of what they may have to face next. That should be considered in any narrative addressing the movement, regardless of the narrative’s leanings.

It is unfair to target specific individuals in a people’s movement. The movement should be judged for the purpose it is trying to achieve and not for other things which it does not address. The movement is one way to draw attention to solutions and changes required to face the bigger global issue we are all experiencing. It does not even claim to be the only one solution. And yet, it has already proven its mettle.

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The terms ‘Climate Justice’ and ‘Uniting behind Science’ and recognising the current circumstances as a ‘Climate and Ecological Crisis’; all appear to be fair claims given the facts and current climate impacts.

The movement has helped bring these universal issues to the forefront. People from different regions have united for a common cause and are expressing their concerns and solidarity. It may be noted that, most of them are also involved in individual and community actions when they are not striking. However, they also have a realisation that the momentum required for urgent action is much larger than what an individual or some scattered efforts can achieve.

The terms ‘Climate Justice’ and ‘Uniting behind Science’ and recognising the current circumstances as a ‘Climate and Ecological Crisis’; all appear to be fair claims given the facts and current climate impacts.

The movement has helped bring these universal issues to the forefront. People from different regions have united for a common cause and are expressing their concerns and solidarity. It may be noted that, most of them are also involved in individual and community actions when they are not striking. However, they also have a realisation that the momentum required for urgent action is much larger than what an individual or some scattered efforts can achieve.

Nevertheless, the mere fact that people are noticing the demands made by the Climate Activists, irrespective of whether they are supporting or opposing them, marks the success of the movement.

I sincerely recommend just 3 considerations for anyone writing or reporting about Climate Strikes or Climate Strikers – 1.

2.

3.

Empathise with the agony of the individuals who are going to spend the rest of their lives (sometimes, 75% or more) worrying about and facing unprecedented climatic events.

Participate in the strikes near you to understand the points raised by the strikers and converse with them to learn and share the knowledge that exists.

Give, at least, some benefit of doubt to the Climate Strikers, that they may know more or have a better realisation than what they are given credit for.

Any comment, criticism or compliment which is given after these 3 considerations will ensure a more robust analysis of all the aspects of the movement.

This Climate Movement is big enough to survive on its own, even in the face of criticism. However, it will be a loss to anyone who cares for people or environment to not use its momentum or make it stronger with personal wisdom.

As an individual who has attended three Climate Strikes, the only recommendation I would like to give the Climate Strikers is – You are going to face steeper hurdles as the movement grows bigger, so sharpen your knowledge of the global and local context to strengthen your cause. Once the movement accelerates Climate Action, this will also help you distinguish between the bad, the good and the best climate-friendly activities.

Ultimately, more than on which Climate Action one chooses, our survival as a species and as a society will depend on whether or not we are able to recognise a crisis and act on it.

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Voice of Nature: Workshop on SDG and Wildlife Habitat Conservation at Kolkata

By Exploring Nature

While definition of sustainable development and nature of ecological movement has changed in last three-four decades from the ideology of radical “deep ecology” to Post Rio - neoliberal “sustainable development” few enthusiasts of Kolkata participated in a brain-storming session at Kokata’s one of a kind Vegan restaurant Ubuntu Community, on 24th December, of 2019.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

Now the question is… Whether this Sustainable Development is an Oxymoron!!!

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Key points discussed during this session were: 1.

2.

3.

Pre neoliberal radical discourse of sustainability; a. Green Movement of 1970s; b. Deep Ecology of Arne Naess & Social Ecology of Murray Bookchin Big 4 Environmental Conventions - Rio Process – neo-liberalized articulation of Sustainable Development a. Brundtland Report : “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987)” Re-radicalization: The critical reversal of neo-liberalized sustainability to prevent it from being an “Oxymoron” !

Quite a few radical and out of the box opinion came out during the session:

During a three hour long discussion session, seven participants Pooja, Arkoprovo, Tanveer, Rathin, Avinabh, Dwaipayan and Arnab shared their thoughts.  





 

Arnab explained the transformation of Sustainable Development concept, in last four decades, from radical green movement to neo-liberalized articulation of SDG; According to Pooja, the goal 1,2,3,6,13,14 and 15 of SDG cannot be achieved without agro based and animal industry, and that's where SDG becomes oxymoron. She said, system itself has normalized violence against and exploitation of nonhuman animals. In our schools we only talk about pollution problems and as solution it only comes out as plantation of trees. “Don’t plant trees, instead stop cutting them”, she said. Pooja also emphasized on increased usage of sustainable products and limiting buying of unnecessary stuff; Tanveer, mentioned there is a thin line between needs and luxury, and it’s important to either redefine luxury or redefine needs. Only redefining needs, luxury and demand can stop supply of non-sustainable products. He emphasized more on increasing awareness among school children and came up with an idea of new teaching model which could change life and pre conditioned mindset about needs and luxury. His idea was to give right awareness to people and incorporate SDG in school syllabus. Tanveer planned for some teacher parents meets across schools to identify right parenting technique, which would influence children to take decision on their needs, make their own foods and learn life ethics; Arkoprovo, focused on practicing “commoning”. Also he came up with idea of promoting city wide hydroponic farming, which has multiple aspects like sewage treatment and reusing of plastic waste, reforestation of farm land etc. He also proposed giving more thrust on common property, hackers’ press or makers’ press concept; Abhinabh talked about sustainable eating and Ubuntu’s role in promoting that concept through Vegan eating practice; Rathin, shared his experience on sustainable practices he observed by local villagers, during his bike ride through 50 tiger reserves in India.

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In another significant workshop, Exploring Nature in collaboration with SAGE and WE Wild delivered another brain storming session on importance of wildlife habitat conservation and basics of human-wildlife conflict on 19th January, 2020 at Ubuntu community in Kolkata.

Film show and discussion in the workshop

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Theme Poster

Comply or Close by Vijay Penagonda

A government water supply pipeline in an industrial area of Maharashtra

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