The CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program has recently come up with a compilation of articles written by barefoot advocates, also called as “Enviro-legal Coordinators”, about the cases they have worked on with affected communities. The publication titled ‘Making the law count: Ten environment justice stories by community paralegals in India’ chronicles its conviction that putting law in the hands of ordinary people can shift the balance of power in support of justice.
The case ‘Saving Sangam from mining’ by Vijay Rathod deals with how with enough legal evidence of the violation in hand and clearly articulated demands supported by law, the local community could save the Triveni Sangam in Gir Somnath district, Gujarat from sand mining. There was illegal mining in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three rivers–the Hiren, the Kapil and the Saraswati–before they flow into the Arabian Sea. The area once rich in biodiversity was being destroyed by the local mafia that was soaking up all the sand. This adversely impacted 200 people from the fishing families directly. This was because large rocks and sand were being removed, causing sea erosion resulting in less space for fishing shelters.
Rathod helped assist the community build evidence about the impacts, approach relevant institutions and seek practical remedies for their problems. In this process, communities were legally empowered to lead the dialogue with the regulatory bodies to address these environmental challenges. In this case, the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification, 2011 prohibited activities within the CRZ, i.e. 500 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL), include mining of sand and rocks (except those rare minerals not found outside this regulated zone) as well as the exploration of oil and natural gas. As per this law, extraction happening at the river bed at the Triveni Sangam was illegal.
Evidence was collected especially the visual images of the damage to the riverbed. The community then reached out to the District Level Coastal Committee (DLCC) that is mandatory under the CRZ, 2011. DLCCs in Gujarat have several powers including monitoring violations of the CRZ law and bringing it to the attention of the CZMA. This has been clarified in the Gujarat CZMA circular no. ENV-10-2011-800-E dated October 14, 2013. The collective push by the community to end illegal sand extraction finally helped and the collector who is the chairperson of the DLCC finally put an end to this in March 2016.
The case ‘How we used the law to reclaim the inter-tidal area’ by Vimal Kalavadiya deals with a case of contestation for space between small/ artisanal fisherfolk and commercial owners of saltpans whose “bunding” and “water drawl” was impacting the livelihoods of fisherfolk. This case of Bavdi bander, a fishing harbour in the Mundra block of Kutch district, Gujarat shows how the construction of the bunds also destroyed approximately 20 hectares of mangroves. That the salt producer did not have the clearance required under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011 came to light by accident when a committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest was visiting the area. In spite of the committee’s recommendations the bunding continued unabated. The community had approached the court and later approached the Gujarat Costal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA). They were backed by evidence like Google maps to plot the area, photographs and copies of notices that had already been issued to the salt producing company. The GCZMA ruled in favour of the community and rejected the salt producer’s application for renewal of license.
The case study by Vinod Patgar in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka deals with the work with local communities in 45 coastal villages and the District Level Coastal Committee (DLCC) to understand the CRZ and help communities apply for CRZ clearance for their houses. Street plays were conducted to create awareness on the CRZ 2011 notification and the importance of community participation in Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) preparation and 25 families helped to obtain CRZ clearance for house construction. The people in the area found it difficult to navigate government routes effectively to wrest the necessary permissions and were faced with the problem of procedural delays and confusion for getting CRZ clearances for local housing.
The CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program has developed a strong network of grassroots legal advocates or paralegals across four states in India. These paralegals are equipped with knowledge of basic law, relevant regulatory institutions, administrative processes and skills such as mediation, training and community organization. They work directly with the affected communities to help them to know the law, use the law and shape the law.
The full report can be downloaded here
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