A magician is never seen to use the traditional cape to cover-up any of his movements. But, we all know how important it is for some of the crucial sleights of the magic movements to be performed.
The state seems exactly like a magician in intent and purpose as we will watch intensively into some of the government's disparate moves. These are actually part of the overall acts, away from public scrutiny, to keep the shortcomings and hidden agenda.
the state's champions the role of a "knight in white armour" to protect the environment for the people against defaulting industries. But At the same time the state wants to remove statutory conditionality of the impact assessment notifications on selective projects.
The fire work industry and the green field projects cases bring out the contradictory aspects. In the case of the firework industries it justifies the abatement of environmental strictures, by the Supreme Court on the banning/display of fireworks to improve air quality, on the pretext of stopping the loss of poor workers jobs.
While In the case of public hearing of major projects it justifies exemption of public hearing for "public importance projects". OMG, what are "non public importance projects"? Are they differentiating between private and government projects? What is the real intention and purpose of such a blatantly discriminatory request?
They claim that public hearings are unruly and cumbersome and an impediment for quick implementation of projects. It again sets you wondering, why they are unable to complete scores of departmental work within allotted time and budget, that neither is hindered by the environmental or public resistance in any form.
The truth is brought out when one looks at the recent spate of rulings by the courts on these issues.
The madras HC directed the CBI to take over the SIPCOT police firing case during the protests at the tuticorin Collectorate on May 22, demanding the closure of the Sterlite plant. The court's caustic comments in the directive is sufficient confirmation of the facts. The bench noted " It can hardly be expected that any investigation either into the wrong doings of the protestors or of the police or administration would inspire confidence if entrusted to agencies of this state"
Here lies the crux of the problem. The state has no public credibility as the court rightly observed. This permeates right through most departments, bureaucrats and officials working under the dictate of the government. Impartiality and public service attitude is a scarce virtue. This is precisely the reason for public to get agitated during public hearings. when officials of the state ride rough shod over public views as biased and respond with concocted reports under eternal influence of vested interests.
The above fact may summarily be rejected by proponents of the government view. Hence I will refer to the another ruling by the madras high court when it lambasted the state government handling of the salem-chennai corridor case, for not furnishing information sought by the court. It noted "every time the court has to compel the state to provide necessary information. Government advocates are doing nothing except coming to the court. the case documents can only be kept in museums". The damaging observation should leave no further doubt on the veracity of our proposition.
In most of the times government delays and procrastinates submission of full and complete information, adding to purposeful delays & subverting the public interest of the project itself. This is especially true, when the required information is uncomfortable or renders the government position untenable. These are standard delaying tactics adopted in courts.
You can well imagine the common man's predicament and frustration, when genuine public interest conflicts with private motive. No guess on who the loser will be financially, materially and socially along with great personal risk and public safety. Who will not vouch the nightmare experienced in getting simple documentations done from a government department?
The final nail in the coffin is the reasoning for exemption - for a special list of projects exempted from mandatory public hearing. The danger is that later by a mere administrative stroke of the pen, the list can be modified to included favored projects. The second danger is that projects of "great public importance"( no guesses on who will decide this) will go unscrutinised for obsolete technology and poorly defined, non quantified environmental impacts. The capacity and ability of the state agencies to evaluate advanced pollution control technologies is highly restricted and in most cases not available at all.
Hence if the admission of the government's inability argument is accepted in its entirety and honesty, they should voluntarily abdicate its monitoring and supervisory role. They must allow approved professional institutes /agencies to completely manage the whole gambit of environmental project management under strict enforcement of 3rd party audit and compensatory rules for default of mandatory standards. Only such a non interference by power obsessed state can energise developmental agenda and also ensure environmental protection compliance in its true sense.
Lets draw up courage to admit that the PCB is a dysfunctional body. The case being made out is simple, the government has no case to be the sole non- functioning custodian of the people will and right to a safe and healthy environment synchronised with industrial and economic development. "Lead follow or get out of the way" is an apt conclusion.
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