After he left there was no sign of the little party that we had except for the wet patch on the sand where we had washed our hands with the water that he carried in a plastic bottle. The only plastic items about the man were the little black plastic bag and the plastic bottle.

Untreated raw sewage from urban settlements and industrial effluents are discharged into rivers with impunity, which ultimately carry them into the sea. The Central Pollution Control Board has identified 351 contaminated river stretches which have high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from sewage dumping across 323 rivers. BOD refers to the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms when they break down organic matter in water sample. It is a vital measure of water quality, where higher BOD levels indicate higher organic pollution and less oxygen available for aquatic life.

As per an affidavit submitted by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board before the National Green Tribunal nearly 50 per cent of the 2,814 million litres of sewage generated in the city daily is discharged into the Arabian Sea untreated. This is not just repulsive to the senses, which affects the tourism industry, but is a major cause of water borne diseases and toxin accumulation in the human food chain. It fuels rapid, unnatural growth of algae and habitat destruction of seawater organisms disturbing ecological balance. This in turn has socioeconomic repercussions on the coastal communities which are dependent on marine life for their livelihoods.

Dumping waste into waterbodies is punishable under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment Protection Act 1986. However, weak local governance along with regulatory delays and loopholes have diminished the effectiveness of these laws. It is easier for corporations to pay higher fines and continue polluting waterbodies.

The case of Vedanta Sterlite Copper Plant (Tamil Nadu), Hindustan Agro Chemicals Limited (Rajasthan) and Eloor and Edayar industrial zones (Kerala) are just three of the 21,000 industrial pollution cases pending in Indian courts. In a travesty of justice, the pollute-pay-profit model for the corporations has become normalised in a society that places economical development way above a dignified human life. Ironically, the enforcement is much stricter and harsher on small business holders and street vendors who come nowhere near to the levels of pollution caused by large corporations.

The individual responsibility to be aware and adopt personal choices, behaviours and habits to minimise ecological impact, conserve resources and promote sustainability has become the buzzword acquitting corporations of their lawbreaking actions. The performative rap on the hands and exoneration of large industries in the name of providing “stable environment to conduct business” is a testimony to the asymmetrical regulations that we have created for proliferation of capitalism and profit mongering. This is done while transferring the obligation of saving the environment to the already marginalised communities which participate the least in polluting the environment and already have the traditional eco-friendly wisdom and practices in place.

In a twisted sense of justice, the adivasis who nurture and preserve forests and make their living from forest produce are branded as criminals whereas state machinery and large corporations coming together to acquire and deplete whole forests for mining and industrial purposes are hailed to be harbingers of development.

It is no secret that people who are the least contributors to ecological damage pay the maximum cost. The ongoing intense protests of the adivasis in Rayagada district of Odisha against the proposed Vedanta Limited bauxite mining project in the Sijimali hills is one of the many protests ongoing in the different parts of the world where smaller communities of people are standing up against entire state apparatus to protect their environments.

Highly power-intensive data centers are being actively banned or severely restricted in many US cities due to massive protests by local populations because of enormous strain on local resources such as water. India, on the other hand, is actively inviting data center investments in a bid to create jobs, deliberately blindsiding the fact that clean drinking water is a luxury for many communities within the country itself.

When governments participate and ratify global environmental treaties, it is obvious that they should be accountable for the climate justice for all citizens. The discriminatory nature of policies, legislations and judicial structures which treat people fighting for climate justice as lawbreakers and shields lawbreaking business firms from sanctions is deeply mortifying.

The juggernaut nature of the state apparatus should be effectively used in protecting the interests of its people, particularly those from the most deprived communities. Instead, the state is teaming up with private interest groups to exploit nature and penalise those who oppose the exploitation.

Climate justice will not be realised if it is viewed as a personal choice of individuals. It has to be the collective responsibility of the state and its citizens else the retribution will be punishing for all, sparing none.

Sankalpa Satapathy is an assistant professor at the Institute of Public Health, Kalyani, West Bengal. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.

Holy cat

Related Stories

The world’s oceans are the hottest on record for June — and El Niño is set to turn up the heat even more

Highlights from the issue

Beyond the milestone

Are environmental movements an individual responsibility?