People's Democracy

Withdraw Draft Environmental Policy: AIPSN

THE All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN), a mass organisation of over 30 state-level people’s science movement organisations, demanded the reformulation of the Draft National Environment Policy (NEP), 2004 through a process of transparent consultations with people’s organisations and movements.

In a memorandum submitted to the ministry of environment and forests on November 29, the AIPSN and its member organisations have pointed out that the draft NEP is part of a larger design to open up the nation’s natural resources sector for penetration of trans-national and industrial capital. It felt that this will lead to the further destruction and marginalisati on of the livelihood of poor and marginal communities whose concerns have been ignored in this draft document.

In a statement released on November 30, AIPSN president, C P Narayanan and general secretary Gautam Ray demanded that this policy be withdrawn and a new policy be formulated with the involvement of people’s movements and organisations.

That the concerns of the poor and marginal communities have been ignored is reflected in the fact that the draft policy lays the blame for environmental degradation on the dependence of the poor on natural resources for their needs and on "institutional and policy failures". It does not recognise the well- acknowledged fact that the main perpetrators of environmental destruction is the current development paradigm and the unbridled policy of neo-liberal capitalist indus trialisation in post-independent India, stated the AIPSN in its memorandum. "The draft policy lacks in an alternative vision of development and would not be able to promote sustainable and people-friendly resource use practices. It seeks to create conditions for deregulation and case rules for the sake of corporate interests especially as far as Environment Impact Assessments and Coastal Zone Regulations are concerned. This clearly is a dangerous trend that the AIPSN and its member organisations will oppose. The policy interventions outlined in the documents are informed by an extremely narrow approach to regulatory reforms. The policies are required for technological and institutional change", stated the AIPSN.

While demanding that this policy be withdrawn and a new policy be formulated, the AIPSN emphasised that public consultation must be held to ensure that the process of consultation is as participatory as possible. It felt that the process of consultation should also adopt people-friendly methods and ensure that those people who do not have easy access to internet and English media also have a say and are able to make an informed choice about the type of environmental policy frame work that India needs at this juncture. (INN)