Letters

Environmental safety and industrialisation

The Union industry ministry clarified recently letters of intent for establishing delicensed industries in some places will be considered only on the basis of environmental safety, land use and allied factors. The government, however, has still not realised that the public health hazards arising from the Bhopal gas tragedy were the inevitable consequence of locating a pesticide plant in violation of siting guidelines of the Union ministry of environment.

The stipulation that industrial projects should not be located within 25 km of an urban area with a population of 1 million does not prevent the growth of fringe settlements. Hence, the government should amend relevant town planning acts to maintain green belts or buffer zones and strictly prohibit the construction of residential quarters in these areas as has been recommended by the Supreme Court. Because the siting distance of 25 km can be relaxed in the case of an urban centre with a smaller population, it virtually kills the very concept of public health and environmental protection. An example is the indiscriminate industrialisation of the Patancheru area near Hyderabad, which has resulted in serious public health hazards, loss of cattle and damage to agriculture and fisheries to the tune of Rs 40 crore.

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Suspect credentials

With only a small investment in the Chilika marine project, Tata Iron and Steel Co Ltd (TISCO), the country's largest industrial undertaking, aims at taking over the natural resource base of a lake that has provided balanced sustenance to the people of the region for centuries. All that is relevant to the TISCO management is utilising this valuable resource base for its personal benefits. It is not concerned with the tribulations of the marginalised fisherfolk. The TISCO project raises the pressing question: Must the poor be deprived of their sustenance so that the rich can get richer?

A senior official in the Orissa government -- which is co-sponsoring the Chilika project -- agreed with me that as locational exclusivity was not involved, the TISCO project could be located 50-100 km to the north or south of the lake, but the costs would increase as many facilities would have to be created. Nobody expects the Tatas to look beyond their self-interest, but they should stop mouthing conservation of the environment and the public good as justifications for their unsustainable projects.

Building a block of toilets within Bombay's historic Gateway of India and just one metre from the seawall is neither environmentally friendly nor ethically correct. But that has not stopped the Tatas from pressing such a construction proposal so that a well-shrouded public toilet that has existed more than seven decades near their famous Taj Mahal Hotel need not offend the tender sensibilities of the hotel's well-heeled patrons.

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Stop NDDB

You have drawn attention to the non-clearance of a National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) proposal for import of bovine somatotropin (BST), a milk-promoting hormone (November 30, 1992). You may like to know that the US General Accountin Office (GAO), which is similar to but far more robust than our own meek Comptroller and Accountant-General's office, has called for a ban on sale of milk from cows treated with BST (also known as bovine growth hormone in USA) as it increases the incidence of mastitis and poses health risks to consumers.

One can only hope that the government will put its foot down on ill-conceived proposals by NDDB, which is seeking a way out of the collapse of its milk production programme despite inputs of Rs 2,000 crore in the 22 years since it was started.

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Defending environment

The Pacific Energy and Resources Center (PERC), a non-profit environmental education and policy research centre in California, has recently launched a visiting fellows programme for lawyers. The programme will provide visiting fellows with four months of academic and vocational training in environmental law.

Upon returning to India, PERC fellows will be required to apply their training by committing half of their time to one of several public interest advocacy organisations that focus on environmental cases in India. A stipend will be provided for the first year of service and PERC fellows will be encouraged to engage in teaching environmental law or undertaking research at established universities.

For more information and the application form, lawyers may send a self-addressed, stamped (Rs 2) envelope (24x12cm) to me.

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