PILs

Some positive outcomes of ESG’s public interest litigation efforts

ESG has spearheaded a variety of Public Interest Litigations advancing environmental and social justice in India with path-breaking outcomes. For instance, the effort to resolve solid waste management crisis in Bangalore, by promoting segregation and management of waste at source and securing occupational rights of solid waste workers is an outcome of ESG’s PIL (WP 46523/2012) in the Karnataka High Court. As a part of this litigation process, governance of Bengaluru was also decentralised with the court directing Ward Committees must be set up.

ESG’s PIL (WP 817/2008) advancing community centred and decentralised protection and comprehensive rehabilitation of lakes found support with the Karnataka High Court which directed Karnataka State to constitute the District Lake Protection Committees to ensure 40,000 lakes and their interconnecting canal systems running into 1000s of kilometres are protected from encroachment, and rehabilitated in ecologically wise and socially useful ways. This litigation also resulted in the creation of the Karnataka Tank Conservation Development Authority by a special law.

ESG’s PIL initiatives in the Karnataka High Court, National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court exposing biopiracy by Monsanto (in the B.t. Brinjal case) is the first such case in India. This has pushed National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards to become functional and stem the loot of bioresources. Besides, it has contributed immensely in conservation of biodiversity in India and associated traditional knowledge.

In another PIL initiative, ESG drew the attention of the National Green Tribunal to the systemic and statutory lack of protection of arid grassland ecosystems, habitat to such critically endangered species as the Great India Bustard, by questioning the legality of diversion of Amrit Mahal Kaval grasslands to a ‘science city’ in Chitradurga district of Karnataka.

ESG has filed a PIL before the National Green Tribunal questioning the need for the Elevated Corridor in Bangalore.