Karnataka should ensure a livable environment in Bengaluru: Activists

The new proposed steel flyover by the state government is also set to impact the greenery in the city.

By Kapil Kajal

Recently, despite huge protests, the government removed the eco-sensitive zone around Bannerghatta in Bengaluru and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa wrote to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to further reduce it by 100 square kilometres. Environmentalists and activists say it would disrupt the ecology of the city and have unprecedented impact on the pollution levels in the city, eventually making it unlivable. The state is responsible for providing clean air and living conditions to the citizens as enshrined in the Constitution of India, say environmentalists.

Dr TV Ramachandra, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, stated that the Constitution of India provides the right to a healthy and pollution-free environment to its citizens. The citizens should know that they can go to the court if they think the decision of the government will impact them and their health by increasing pollution, he added.

The new proposed steel flyover by the state government is also set to impact the greenery in the city. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation (KRDCL), has marked 8500 trees for felling to widen the roads and the final numbers may exceed 10,000 trees, inviting the ire of citizens and activists alike.

Civic activist Sandeep Anirudhan worries that the citizens are not empowered or are unaware and this state of disempowerment is bred by keeping citizens out of public life, by systematic indoctrination that citizens have no role in governance, by keeping citizen engagement out of all law-making, and day-to-day governance.

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, mandates the Government of India to take appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property. Under Fundamental Duties of Indian Constitution, Article 51-A (g) of the Constitution makes it a duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

The Directive Principles of the Constitution also directs the government for a good environment. Article 47 deals with the improvement of public health which also includes the protection and improvement of the environment without which public health cannot be assured. Article 48-A of the Constitution says that “the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.”

Fundamental rights under Article 19 and 21 in the Constitution also give the right to clean the environment to the citizens. Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution makes it a fundamental right on every citizen to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business but a citizen cannot carry on business activity if it is a health hazard to the society.

Article 21 guarantees the fundamental right to life and the right to environment, free of the danger of disease and infection is also included in it. The right to a healthy environment is a part of the right to live with human dignity which was interrelated with article 21 and it was also proved by M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India case where the Supreme Court ruled out that the right to live in a pollution-free environment is a part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Despite the rulings by the Supreme Court and the presence of guidelines to reduce air pollution and preserving the environment in the Constitution, the government (state and central), politicians, bureaucrats and various departments dealing with the environment protection are not doing enough for it, experts say.

Anirudhan highlighted that even when laws have been passed, the implementation of laws promoting citizen participation is absent. “It is the contempt of the Constitution when the citizens are not able to engage and involve themselves in the governance of their neighbourhoods, the culture of engaging with governance is never cultivated, leading to a disconnected and disempowered,” he added.

Dr Yellapa Reddy, the Governing Council Member of the Foundation for Ecological Security of India, stated that the rules before starting any project, be it road, infrastructure or anything, an environmental impact assessment should be carried out but pointed out that it’s missing in most projects. He criticised the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB), which is the authority, for failing to carry out its responsibilities.

Environmentalist Vijay Nishanth mentioned that people should really understand the importance of being aware of their rights because ignorance is also playing a huge role here.

People should know that even for cutting a single tree, the government needs their permission, he added.

He urged the citizens of Bengaluru themselves to protest and take legal route against the bureaucrats and politicians responsible for failing to ensure a living environment.

(Author is Bengaluru - based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)