Take the case of Sunita Narian > Why she doesn't come out and say in open if Coke / Pepsi concentrate has pesticide or the water which they use has the Pesticide. That pesticide got percolated by indescrminate use of pesticides by the farmers. And we as indians need to do something about that.
let me make it clear I am not a fan or supporter of Coke or Pepsi. India is worlds largest fruit producer and I will love if all companies ( Coke / Pepsi / Dabur) etc gear up to bring fruit juice price at par with Coke / Pepsi.
Similarly with so much of Money at her disposal why MedhaPatkar can not paste the names and photographs of all those Narmada project affected families on the Internet. What she thinks is fair deal for them. Just stopping a project worth Billions of Rupees is not a solution. She is starving many others to death. Gujarat need to Block the sweet Rain water before it goes back to see. It will help generating electricity through Environmental friendly means. No one from Congress will speak that as Gujarat has Mr Narendra Modi
Here in India anyone goes and take PIL and Court goes ahead with Stay order,huge projects are stalled in a matter of days.
Mamta Benerjee should come out with the names of those affected and what she thinks they should get and place it on a WEBSITE.All those on the net can understand what is really at stake and debate it with others too.
All the environmentalists should join hands and help cities make a check on polutants being added to water / air or solid waste being dumped. instead of stalling a project altogether. Court should fine Industry if they overstep the norms and distribute to those affected and to Environmentalists for a job well done. I do not see any Environmental lobby coming out and saying : 1) How much Ground water is being pumped out by a industry and what is current international norm. 2) How much polutants are added to water by industry and dispatched to Ganga / yamuna or any other River. 3) How much Sulfur Dioxide or Hydrogen Sulphide has been dumped into atmosphere by Indian Refineries and what is current international norm. 4) How much Benzene is getting mixed in River water from our Petrochemical Plants.
Why Sunita Narian / Mamta Benerjee / Mredha Patkar are silent on such issue.
They can do lot more if they are true to India and have a love for the country.
RE:What Environmentalist should / can do;
by santanu sengupta on Apr 15, 2007 12:31 AM Permalink
Mamata has already done something , that is making us all aware of what is going on . But it must be said that the movement was entirely grassroots to start with. the author asks the Medha Patkar, Mamata and the likes to come forward and put the names on the website but as far as I know Mamata and others in the front has mentioned names over and over again . Even if the names are put on the web by someone web savvy do you mean to say that right thinking citizens should make a move only after that ! YOu don't really have to wait for some environmental lobby to come out and talk about international norms! You can find it out on your own by some diligent web search of the international agencies. Why do we want to be spoonfed all the time waiting for Medhas to do everything ? exactly what do you mean by being true to india and love for the country ? How is it manifested? By flying the tri color when we have a miss universe or win a cricket match or win a war in Kargil ? Or by caring for the poorest of the poor ?
RE:What Environmentalist should / can do;
by ASHOK on Apr 15, 2007 04:14 AM Permalink
OK Your point is well taken, keep on propogating on the name poorest of the poor, without coming out with a solution for their problems. So far what you have said?? You are more after authors credentials instead of recognising if we need SEZ and if Yes than how to help the displaced.Have Bare footed Indians walking on Dirt Roads as that is environmental friendly. You dont need Petrochemical plants to produce Plastics and you dont need tar roads. By the way India has not seen any new petrochemical plant after Haldia and it I dont see any new refinery coming in Eastern part of India, in next 10 years. That will make many of us comfortable. Indian politicians should not cry when Indian bussiness people go and invest abroad. Let us wait at western union counter for money sent home, while our children toil in Middle east, 10 to 15 persons bundled in 1 room like sardines.
RE:[object]
by ASHOK on Apr 15, 2007 04:48 AM Permalink
If Himadari chemicals pays 30,000 RS per acre,8 years ago as Compensation for land just across proposed Tata factory, than Mamta was sleeping. Now when Tata pays Rs 8 lach per acre than it is a underpayment. You give me this sort of appreciation, I am ready to vacate next day. Do you know how many farmers sold their prized land in Panjab and resettled in UP, in the process tripled their land and agricultural output. refer >> http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/09tata.htm I am comparing farmers vs farmers.( That too both,in India)
RE:What Environmentalist should / can do;
by santanu sengupta on Apr 15, 2007 09:53 PM Permalink
Indeed you are comparing farmers with farmers but you should also compare the agricultural productivity of the two different regions and the land held by individual farmers in those two areas . Compared to the farmers in Panjab those in Singur are small fry with much smaller holdings. if anybodu sells his land in his own voliation I don't think politicians like Mamata can have much to say about it , the trouble arises when they are coerced to do so by the local cpim part machinery . Actually over here in Singur most of the land acquired was by the government shortchanging the farmers in the process. Tata comes in and gets the land on lease from the government. By the way do you know that the stamp duty has been waived for the Tatas' and also the money they will be paying back will be with an interest rate below the going rate ? Tell me is this how a democracy is supposed to run ? Where the big business arm twists the government and forces it to use draconian laws set up by the British in 1894 ?
As for solutions ,indiscriminate SEZ is not the solution . Like I repeated before even people like Swaminathan, Amartya Sen among others are against it . You keep talking about Petrochemicals , I hope you haven't forgotten Bhopal? Now here in West Bengal they have diluted the say of the Pollution Control Board with the industrialists having more say in matters. Pollution is a tangible measurable thing why should the people who pollute have a say on that ! Nobody wants to walk on dirt roads but nobody wants to have carcinogenic stuff dumped in his backyards either . Granted you and I would be safe and yeah cliche as it sounds its the "poorest of the poor" who suffer because of this kind of unchecked unmonitored indistrialisaion. As for middle east workers surely they are better off than the landless in the rural India? Finally give me one moral, ethical reason why people have to be displaced for big business . As you know the central government announced that each displaced family should atleast have one member provided with jobs. Let them first resettle the folks displaced by Narmada Dam before driving more people for SEZs.
RE:What Environmentalist should / can do;
by ASHOK on Apr 15, 2007 10:44 PM Permalink
Bhopal was a pesticide plant, not a petrochemical plant.
You dont need a million Rs to move up. You can be hand to mouth when when you can be still planning for a better tomorrow. Many of Panjab people have seen riches to rags in 1947 partition and moved on. I think BBC coverage on a Panjab farmer planning to buy land in Vancouver selling Panjab land at a premium is another example of moving ahead. one thing >> TATA's should pull out and go elsewhere in Bengal. I am sure they can have many other options within Bengal.Instead of wasting time on Singur. But Didi doesnt want to suggest alternates , she wants votes.
But fact remains we need Industry or else our youth will become lawless,I have seen a lot of young people moving around aimlessly in Bengal and so to say many other parts of India also. We do not want our youth to join non productive ventures. I am really proud of TATA's. Why do you single out TATA's on stamp duty. Atleast it is across the board. Talk of Telgi and political nexus on Stamp issue. Such incentives are nothing when you want a better industry. Gujrat has maximum petrochemical Raw material production capacity as compared to rest of India. Even than Tupperware went to Hydrabad ( Reason >> Gujrat could not match the incentives and agressive appraoch of Chandrababu Naidu). If Tata's get incentives, why should we worry about that. In future Bengal may give similar incentives to Reliance also.
you maybe aware how many airports Gujarat has and compare that with Bengal or UP. We need more than what we have in Bengal. You are also aware Bengal's contribution to Education / arts / science. Why should Bengal be left behind and be left at the mercy of people like Mamta Benerjee. She is a part of the problem not solution.
