Opinion - Editorials   

Long overdue

THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT'S draft notification requiring urban property developers to obtain environmental clearance for large projects is a welcome step. Under the terms of this notification, developers of building projects for more than a thousand people, or those that will produce more than 50,000 litres of waste every day, or that will cost more than Rs.50 crores to build, must now submit their plans for an environment impact assessment (EIA) by the Ministry of Environment. The main aim of the notification is to curb the dumping of untreated sewage into rivers. Real estate development, a euphemism commonly used for construction, has become one of India's fastest growing industries but has so far escaped close environmental scrutiny. Property developers, blinkered by the money-spinning nature of their business, have had little time for issues such as effective sewage disposal systems, the need for open spaces, and other environmental niceties. The results are there for all to see: disappearing green belts, unmanageable waste dumps, polluted and choked waterways from where diseases germinate and spread.

The notification has arisen from a Supreme Court directive in 2001 on a writ petition seeking to stop the Delhi Government from releasing raw sewage into the Yamuna. Only 22 kilometres of the Yamuna pass through Delhi, yet the capital accounts for most of the pollution caused to the river. Domestic sewage holds the majority share in this pollution. Asking the Ministry to amend the Environment Protection Act rules to bring town planning into the ambit of EIA, the Court said it was issuing the directive to prevent the Yamuna from becoming history. There is a view that the Court's activism in this matter is `elitist' in that it will have the effect of preventing migration into cities and the `democratisation' of housing. That view would be acceptable were the construction industry busying itself with low-cost housing schemes for the poor. In the nearly two years it has taken for the Government to move on the Court's directive, the number of homeless people in urban areas and the number of slums without access to any urban services have risen while fancifully designed residential townships and buildings, mega shopping malls and cinema multiplexes intrude into urban spaces unchecked. These are projected as symbols of the new, globalised India. But behind their shiny facades, many of these Gotham City constructions violate even basic urban regulations such as those requiring parking space or protection against fire. Their impact on urban infrastructure and the fallout for the environment is an aspect that is not even considered. In this respect, the notification is the way forward for socially responsible and accountable town planning. It might even create greater citizen awareness and participation in domestic waste treatment, much like water shortages have done for rainwater harvesting.

Well-intentioned though it might be, the notification will meet its real test in implementation. The EIA clearance is given by the Ministry of Environment. Experts have pointed to the logjam this can create in the issuing of clearances if the Ministry now takes on urban building projects. In Mumbai, for instance, almost every construction has a cost outlay of more than Rs.50 crores. If the EIA requirement is not to become just another hurdle that unscrupulous builders will eventually learn to handle the way they have numerous other urban regulations, there may be a need to create an agency dealing only with this. But for now, the Government needs to be commended for finally bringing in this notification. Implemented properly, it will have far-reaching implications, not just for urban aesthetics but for the health of the people as well.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Retain the initiative
• Long overdue
• The unfolding Indian role in Sri Lanka
• A tycoon is taken down
• Throwing POTA out
• Pak. response
• Meaning of Ramzan
• Duty to vote
• Stringent law
• On The Hindu

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu