Environmental, Social Justice & Governance Initiatives
PIL raises grave concerns on prevailing weaknesses in Biodiversity Act that is contributing to biodiversity loss and associated traditional rights
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At a time when the meeting of minds is so very rare, this effort by the All Saints Church congregation, BMRCL, Government of Karnataka, and various supporters of the cause, including ESG, stands out as representative of the enormous possibilities of democratic engagement. The conciliation mechanism organised by EIB helped in this process. This also helped ensure that the contestations did not end up in Court, burdening further the judiciary, and without a clear outcome in sight.
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The CNDP, therefore, demands that the Government of India, as the first step, provide a credible explanation regarding the mislaunch and about its failure to alert the Pakistani Government immediately thereafter in violation of agreed norms.
We also urge the governments of India and Pakistan to immediately work out credible and effective confidence-building measures (CBMs), revive the multiple channels of communication to avoid any misunderstandings and set up a functioning joint monitoring mechanism to avert the possibility of a disaster arising out of any accident in future.
Report of the workshop organised by Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (Chitradurga division), Deputy Commissioner – Chitradurga, District Lake Protection Committee – Chitradurga and Environment Support Group
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Directs Authorities to Address Deficiencies in the Integrated Management Plan for Wise Use of Loktak Lake, particularly in the Absence of a “Brief Document” as required per the Wetland Rules, 2017
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Demand immediate and complete withdrawal of proposed Biodiversity Act Amendment Bill 2021. A Statement issued by Coalition for Environmental Justice in India on the occasion of 73rd Republic Day of India, 26 January 2022
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As part of the Pan-India Awareness and Outreach Campaign proposed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), and Environment Support Group (ESG) organised a virtual Legal Awareness Workshop relating to the functioning of Lake Protection Committees at Municipal, District and Apex Levels constituted in accordance with directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in WP 817/2008. The workshop was organised from 25 Oct to 28Oct 2021 for members of the Apex Lake protection Committee and administrators of Bangalore Division, Kalaburagi Division, Belgaum Division, and Mysore Division.
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The undersigned unequivocally, and in a single, strong, and clear voice absolutely condemn this assault on the honour of the High Court of Karnataka, on the rule of law, and on those who are working tirelessly to protect lakes as commons for the sake of present and future generations. At a time when the world is grappling with the critical importance of saving such biodiversity-rich wetlands as a means of tackling the adverse consequences of climate change
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In a most shocking development, officials of the Bangalore Development Authority, backed by Bangalore Police, destroyed about 10 houses of villagers of Doddabettahalli. Each and every one of the families affected were from Dalit communities. In a similar drive, about 22 houses had been demolished at Somashettahalli, Meda Agrahara and Lakshmipura villages of the same region a few days ago, which resulted in widespread protests.
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On 15 June 2021, the Principal Bench of the Karnataka High Court headed by Chief Justice Abhay Oka pronounced an order that will significantly change lake governance across Karnataka state, in rural and urban areas. This order will now pave the way for truly decentralised governance of lakes as commons, allowing the local public direct access to these Committees. The order was issued in response to an application made by Leo F. Saldanha, Coordinator of Environment Support Group, who sought modifications to the landmark 2012 judgment in ESG’s Lakes PIL Environment Support Group v. State of Karnataka (W.P. No. 817/2008), to strengthen lake governance from the ground up.
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The entire world has been afflicted with COVID. But nowhere has a landfill been used to cremate loved ones. We must all work together to ensure there is dignity and grace in conducting final rites of the unfortunate departed, and in a place appropriate for such terribly sad occasions. It has to be a place worthy of a sacred ritual.
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Release of “The Anatomy of a Solar Land Grab”. Report of a Fact-Finding Committee relating to Human Rights Violations, and Environmental & Social Impacts of 15 MW Solar Power Plant being established by Azure Power at Mikir Bamuni Grant Village, Nagaon, Assam .
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“Commons bring people of the city together. It gives an opportunity to mix people from various communities…In a public park you will find people from a diverse set of communities; people from across caste and class economic status and so on and that is important for us to broaden our minds also. Otherwise we are just limited and living in our own silos”
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Download Report Date: 13 April 2021 Week 4 of “Bengaluru’s Climate Action Plan: Making it Participatory and Inclusive” Recording Background Earlier this year, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) voluntarily committed that the metropolis of Bengaluru would take steps to achieve the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement: i.e., to take local action that would help the world contain global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. On the occasion of World Water
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Download Report 8 April 2021 Week 3 of “Bengaluru’s Climate Action Plan: Making it Participatory and Inclusive” Recording Overview In January, the then commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Mr. N Manjunatha Prasad, IAS wrote to Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, the Chair of ‘C-40 Cities’, voluntarily committing the metropolis of Bengaluru to take steps to achieve the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement: i.e., to take local action that would help
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Public health, sanitation and waste management sectors are intricately linked in not only ensuring all are healthy, but that the toxic impacts of our living are not a burden for future generations. It has been argued time and again that centralised response strategies are resource heavy and cause societal dysfunctionality, and the way forward is to ensure ward-level governance becomes real in every way, especially in securing public health and sanitation for all.
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The series is a process of engaging with multiple thematic issues, concerns and imaginaries of leading officials of various agencies whose functioning impacts the city, with subject matter experts, youth, representatives of various sectors and residents from diverse sections of the city. And it is also a process of collectivising diverse views and solutions with necessary nuance.
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Communities demand Wetland International’s problematic ‘wise use’ plan for Loktak be withdrawn
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ESG Press Release: 23 February 2021: Bangalore Yet another explosion has taken place in a quarry in Karnataka, this time in Chikkaballapur, killing six people. Just about a month ago, eight people had died in another quarry explosion in Shimoga, the Chief Minister’s own constituency. The Principal Bench of the Karnataka High Court headed by Chief Justice Mr. Abhay Oka has taken cognizance of the seriousness of systemic lapses that cause such disasters, and has
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The Chamoli avalanche flood is starkly reminiscent of the Uttarakhand flood of 2013 and is a strong indicator of the impending high risks associated with reckless development of such fragile mountainous regions. This event highlights the harsh truth of how little the Government of India and various regional Himalayan states are focussing attention on appreciating the fragility of this range. There will be wide-ranging political arguments claiming it to be a natural disaster, but it is anything but that.
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Fisher unions and farming communities of Manipur commemorated the 2021 World Wetlands Day (2nd February, 2021) at Tonoma Chingjin, Mamang Ching, Pumlen Pat – a wetland devastated by the Ithai Barrage of the Loktak Hydroelectric Project.
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The culture, identity, life and livelihood of Karbi and Adivasi farmers of Mikir Bamuni Grant are under grave threat
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Introduction 2020 was a year that brought unprecedented challenges for the whole world. The COVID pandemic not only upended lives, it also forced us to adjust to a new normal. It presses on, challenging us to live with a new world order replete with massive restrictions and constant adjustments that contest our assumptions of fundamental freedoms and rights. Covid-19 has impacted the way we work at ESG. It has been a year of big learnings
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“The lockdown worked like a chemical experiment where hidden injustices were brought to the surface, and we saw the scale of migration which we hadn’t seen during the partition”, activist and writer Arundhati Roy said
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Press Release: 7 June 2020 On the occasion of World Environment Day, Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), Environment Support Group (ESG), and Movement for Advancing Understanding on Sustainability And Mutuality (MAUSAM) organised a national consultation on Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020: Focus on environmental protection and justice. We were joined by speakers Dr. Sharadchandra Lele-ATREE, Bengaluru, Mr. Leo Saldanha-Environment Support Group, Bengaluru, Mr Rohit Prajapati-Environmental Activist, Baroda, Mr Alok Shukla-Chhattisgarh Bachao
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