Environmental, Social Justice & Governance Initiatives
REIMAGINING THE URBAN LOCAL PARKS OF BENGALURU CITY by Janani S, ESG. Everyday, we traverse from task to task, point to point in a set of linear pathways, many times our day is merely a to-do list to be completed. Whether for recreation or exercise, one wishes to access the city’s parks, and here again, we are met by a closed rectangular path on which we walk. The parks of Bengaluru miss free-flowing pathways intercepted
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Alternative sources of energy like solar is the way ahead but going forward in this realm requires a need to understand that mega power plants spanning thousands of acres, commissioned by converting habitable lands may not be the right way to do it. Solar plants can coexist with farming, animal rearing and other rural livelihoods. It just needs more dialogue and local people’s participation to suit the local landscapes.
Read moreAs the world has become predominantly urban, with the impact of climate change being experienced worldwide, protecting forests everywhere, particularly close to urban areas, is critical.
Forests, especially those near cities, serve in regulating local temperatures, cycling water and nutrients, as repositories of biodiversity, and as a critical resource for the sustenance of rural, pastoral and forest dependent communities. Forests are also sacred spaces for communities that continue to revere shrines inside such spaces.
Read moreIn its final order in a PIL filed by the Environment Support Group advancing the cause of wise use and appropriate protection and rehabilitation of lakes, the Karnataka High Court had, on April 11, 2012, directed an end to the policy of privatisation of lakes. It supported a participatory scheme to ensure protection and rehabilitation of lakes and canal networks, not only in Bengaluru but across Karnataka.
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ESG’s Leo Saldhana in “Vulnerabilities of Indian Governance: in handling Climate Crisis
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சூழலியலைத் தகர்க்கும் #EIA 2020draft: காணொலிக் கருத்தரங்கு. Posted by M. K. Stalin on Thursday, 3 September 2020 Leo Saldanha shared ESG’s views on what the #drafteia2020 Notification means to all of us in a webinar organized by DMK – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party on “Law that destroys Environment”. The meeting was chaired Mr. Elangovan MP and presided over by Mr. Stalin, Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and DMK Party chief. Mr N Ram ,
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Govt vs activists over Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020 Justice Mr. Deepak Gupta who recently retired as Judge of the Supreme Court, Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group, Kanchi Kohli of Centre for Policy Research and Vishwaja Sambhat, public health researcher and youth activist discuss with Nabila Jamal of India Today why the Draft EIA Notification 2020 is environmentally and socially disastrous, against the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and violates several Constitutional guarantees.
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The most unfortunate victims of these human trials would be the ones who would unknowingly surrender their bodies to be ‘guinea pigs’ – signing consents, or just putting their thumb impressions without fully realizing what they are doing. An analytical article by Leo Saldanha, published on 8th July 2020 in Gauri Lankesh News. Read the article here: https://gaurilankeshnews.com/icmrs-miserable-adventurism-with-our-lives-icmr/
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This article, by Bhargavi Rao, argues that it is time to allow farmers to make the choice of what to cultivate and how, rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all approach.
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By The Bastion Staff, Published on March 31, 2020 “Planting trees’ is a rather sexy way of getting the super-rich and powerful to donate some of their money to certain foundations, while accruing tax benefits, and yet creating for themselves an image as ‘green warriors’ tackling climate change. Implicit is the idea that nothing structural needs to change, and the world can then return to business as usual, without worrying at all about what caused climate change
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By Leo F Saldanha, Published in Deccan Herald on 05 April 2020 His way is to be sparing with the truth but high on hyperbole. His solutions for resolving complex problems are simple and sometimes even simplistic. But his ability to communicate in ways that is accessible to a majority of the population, relying on entreaties of sacrifice for the greater common good proclaimed as fundamentally transformative, is what Modi has done in all his
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By Leo Saldanha Published in Bangalore Mirror; April 1 2020 “More and more people are travelling all over the world which exposes the whole world to epidemics. As our society is in a state of flux, novel pathogens emerge to pose challenges not only at the point of primary contact but in far removed locations. The increased interaction between humans and animals has increased the possibilities of zoonotic diseases emerging in epidemic form.” These lines are from
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My dear brothers and sisters,The global pandemic of COVID-19, a viral flu, has cost thousands of lives and made thousands more sick. It has brought the world to a grinding halt. As humanity faces its gravest challenge in recent decades, it is a time for the world to reflect on what we must do right, from now on. While India joins the community of nations to tackle the pandemic, this requires us to take effective steps
Read moreIn the past 4 months, 4 workers have lost their lives at a construction site of Namma Metro. Neha Hebbale from Mirror Now reports:
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Speaking in a panel discussion on Mirror Now TV, Leo Saldanha of ESG said, “These people are taking Democracy & throwing it down the gutter. This man has been criminally incriminated under serious charges. We’ve lost a huge chunk of forest in #Karnataka & it’s because of people like this”.
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“The delay has a lot to do with non-compliance with the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which in any case is not in tune with the Town and Country Planning Act”, notes Leo Saldanha from the Environmental Support Group (ESG).
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NALSAR’s Environmental Law and Practice Review is a peer reviewed journal. See Leo Saldanha’s publication entitled “A Critical Examination of The State of Environmental Governance under Prime Minister – Narendra Modi” published in Vol 6, 2018 of the journal. In this essay, Saldanha “warns that the Environment has taken the figurative backseat on the incumbent governments priorities. The paper argues that the BJP-led government has used the obfuscation of logic (in a field where science
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Karnataka has demonstrated that standard budgetary allocation for agriculture can be rechannelled to promote agroecological farming. It is now clear that Andhra intends to move ahead with CRZBNF, with support from BNP Paribas and BMGF, as Kumar dismisses concerns raised about their involvement stating “we do not subscribe to your description of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and BNP Paribas Bank. We are clear that in the interest of the farmers and in reaching objectives
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Why is the state blind to the needs of a small but significant community of street vendors? Why is there a delay in implementing the provisions of Street Vendors Act? What does it take to conduct surveys, identify street vendors, issue ID cards, form Town Vending Committees, allot vending zones and make the city vibrant for these self-sustaining low-carbon-emitting livelihoods? Bhargavi S. Rao brings context to these questions.
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The high levels of air pollution in Bengaluru is the outcome of serious failure in governance and investment in false solutions over time. A shift needed is to build awareness and develop solutions that can be locally understood and managed, are economically feasible, and socio-culturally just. There has to be a healthy marriage between science, law, economics and common sense in addressing this challenge, with an intergenerational perspective and ecocentric view. With such a resolve, it is possible for Bengaluru to beat air pollution and truly join the World Environment Day celebrations, not just for a day, but every day.
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Public consultations about tree felling or Metro construction can be just an eyewash if the authorities don’t care enough. What is needed, therefore, is eternal vigilance on the part of the citizenry to enforce the law that protects Bengaluru’s greenery and living heritage for now and posterity, writes Leo Saldanha in the Bangalore Mirror.
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THE SUPREME COURT AND THE MODI GOVERNMENT ARE FAILING INDIA 6 February 2017 ; Time: 4.30 pm to 7 pm ; Venue: Environment Support Group – Workshop Space, 1575, Ring Road, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore 560070 Downloads: Talk by Armin Rosencranz at ESG Invite you to talk on ENERGY, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT: THE SUPREME COURT AND THE MODI GOVERNMENT ARE FAILING INDIA Public Lecture by Prof. ARMIN ROSENCRANZ Monday, 6th February 2017, 4.30 pm
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Government Must Establish and Make Functional District/Metropolitan Planning Committees and Ward Committees in all cities of Karnataka 13 May 2016 Downloads: Statement: Scrap BBPAG Progressive Groups Demand Scrapping of Bangalore Blue-print Action Group Around 120 people representing various progressive civil society organisations, trade unions, workers federations, resident welfare associations, artistes, street vendor associations, environmental groups, etc. came together in protest against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s 28th April 2016 decision to form the Bangalore Blue-print Action Group
Read moreEight year old PIL seeking to protect lakhs of trees and rights of thousands of urban residents, dismissed in minutes 8 June 2015 Downloads: Release: ESG’s Road Widening Case dismissed Kannada Release: ESG’s Road Widening Case dismissed The Principal Bench of the High Court of Karnataka constituted by Acting Chief Justice Mr. Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Mr. Ram Mohan Reddy dismissed today W.P. No, 7107/2008, a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group
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