India Program
Project Overview
Since 1998, ELI has developed its India Program to promote environmental
law, policy, and management in India. The Institute works in conjunction with
Indian NGOs to strengthen the legal, policy, and institutional infrastructure
for cleaner, more resource-efficient industrial development and natural resource
conservation in India. Toward this end, ELI has worked with its partners to
build the capacity of the judiciary and enforcement agencies for sound environmental
decision making, to build the capacity of Indian civil society to participate
in environmental decision making, and to strengthen implementation of environmental
law in India.
In 2003, ELI’s India Program broadened the scope of its work to encompass
the burgeoning private sector in India. With support from the GE Foundation,
ELI initiated a project to improve implementation of environmental law by
Indian industry. The project focuses on training industry managers in environmental
law in order to improve their capacity for compliance. ELI conducted extensive
research on the training needs of Indian industry managers, developed a plan
to meet these needs, and conducted a pilot training project in 2004.
Additional support from US AID-India allowed ELI to conduct a second pilot
training program.
ELI’s India Program also remains active in its judicial capacity-building
work. In October 2003, ELI conducted a three-day workshop on environmental
law for magistrate judges from the state of Uttar Pradesh with support from
the Ford Foundation. The high profile workshop featured an inaugural address
by Justice Tarun Chaterjee, Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
ELI’s India Program team consists of Senior Attorney John Pendergrass and Visiting Scholar Usha Wright.
Removing Obstacles to Compliance: Industry Capacity Building
Though India has environmental regulations in place for industry, many managers, particularly those in charge of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), are unaware of how to comply with them. There are numerous SMEs in the regulated universe, many of which contribute large amounts of pollution due to managers’ lack of knowledge about compliance methods. ELI partnered with local NGOs to develop training workshops that build the capacity of industry to comply with Indian environmental law.
Karnataka Environmental Compliance Training Program for Industry Managers (2004-2005)
In November 2004, ELI joined with the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) to hold part one of a two-part training program on environmental compliance for industry managers. Participants attended a two-day workshop, during which they received extensive training materials, such as a modified checklist for use by managers on-site. During part two, in February 2005, participants returned for a one-day session and shared their experiences implementing what they learned. ELI and EMPRI extensively evaluated the effect of this program and used participants' evaluation results to shape the second training program held in Karnataka. The first part of this program took place in late February 2005, with the follow-up one-day workshop held in June 2005. The response from participants were overwhelmingly positive, with all but one participant rating the course as excellent or good overall.
Mathura Training Workshop in Environmental Compliance for the Electroplating Sector (2004)
ELI and its local partner, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) completed a one-day workshop in Mathura. This workshop included sessions on environmental regulation in general, management of hazardous waste, technological solutions, successful initiatives in India and the U.S., and environmental management. ELI sought and FICCI obtained active participation from electroplating sector managers by structuring the agenda to focus on the sector’s most pressing issues, such as hazardous waste management, while meeting its goal of training managers in environmental compliance.
Building Judicial Capacity for Sound Environmental Decision-making
When administrative avenues for environmental enforcement fail, the public
often turns to the judiciary to uphold environmental law. In India, where
the executive has sometimes abdicated its enforcement responsibilities with
respect to the environment, the public has relied heavily on courts to enforce
environmental requirements. The surge in public interest environmental cases
in the past decades has afforded courts in India the opportunity to take an
active role in environmental protection. It also has highlighted the informational
and technical challenges faced by the judges when presiding over these cases.
Building the Indian judiciary’s capacity to take on these challenges
has become critical to its ability to effectively redress environmental harms
through sound environmental decision-making.
Uttar Pradesh Judicial Enforcement of Environmental Law Workshop (2003)
Although the High Courts and Supreme Court have decided most high-profile
environmental law cases in India, the subordinate courts have considerable
authority to address environmental issues. However, the subordinate judiciary
has been reluctant to exercise this authority, due in part to a lack of awareness
of its ability to address environmental issues and a lack of familiarity with
environmental law. Because of the potential for the lower courts to hear far
greater numbers of environmental cases than the few that make it to the higher
courts, ELI has most recently focused on building the capacity of lower courts
to address environmental law issues.
Most recently, ELI joined with the Center for Environmental Education, North
Regional Cell and Judicial Training and Research Institute of Uttar Pradesh
in conducting a workshop on environmental law for Uttar Pradesh trial court
judges October 19-21, 2003. In addition to the inaugural address by Chief
Justice Chaterjee of the state’s High Court, seven High Court judges
addressed the thirty trial court judges emphasizing the duty of the trial
courts to enforce India’s environmental laws. Scientists from the Ministry
of Environment and Forests, the Central Pollution Control Board, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Industrial
Toxicology Research Center, and U.P. Pollution Control Board discussed the
technical aspects of pollution control and environmental protection. Distinguished
judges, professors, and advocates from the Judicial Training and Research
Institute, Law Faculty of Lucknow University, Indian Institute of Management,
Law School of BHU, and WWF India - Center for Environmental Law, as well as
ELI, covered legal issues of environmental protection.
Karnataka Judicial Workshop on Environmental Law (2002)
In August 2002, ELI, in conjunction with its local partner, the Environment
Support Group, conducted a workshop on environmental law for the subordinate
judiciary in Karnataka. This two-day long workshop focused primarily on issues
of Indian environmental law, including forests and wildlife laws; pollution
control regulation; municipal administration and land use; public involvement
and right to information in environmental decision-making; and environmental
justice issues.
Karnataka High Court judges participated as moderators for the sessions,
emphasizing the vital role of the subordinate judiciary in environmental protection,
and sharing their knowledge and expertise in deciding environmental law cases.
The keynote speaker was former Supreme Court justice Krishna Iyer, author
of the Ratlam v. Vardichand judgment, a key case on the authority of
the subordinate judiciary to address environmental wrongs. Other distinguished
faculty stemmed from academia, the bar, and the government.
Study Tour in U.S. Environmental Law and Policy (Judicial Training Component)
(2002)
In March 2002, ELI conducted a two-week long study tour on U.S. environmental
law and policy for a group of judges and lawyers from India. The judicial
participants in this program included a High Court justice from Chennai and
two magistrate judges from Orissa. The study tour provided these judges with
extensive exposure to aspects of environmental law relevant to their work,
including enforcement, evaluating technical evidence and environmental harms,
post-decisional compliance, and the role of the courts in protecting the environment.
In addition to meeting with many individuals from environmental groups, industry,
and the government, the Indian judges were able to meet with and learn from
an administrative judge from the U.S. EPA and a federal district court judge.
Seminars in Environmental Law for Subordinate Judiciary (2002)
In January 2002, ELI helped to train judges at an environmental law conference
in Orissa sponsored by the Center for Advancement of Environmental Law, an
Orissa-based NGO. Over fifty district and magistrate judges from across Orissa,
as well as members of the Orissa Pollution Control Board, participated in
this two-day conference. ELI provided training sessions on the topics of “Concerns
and Crises in Environmental Law,” focusing on problems relating to enforcement,
access to information, and access to courts, and “Environmental Justice,”
sensitizing judges to the disproportionate impacts of environmental law on
poor and minority communities.
Mumbai Judicial Workshop on Environmental Law and Development Issues (2000)
ELI, in conjunction with its local partner, the Lawyers Collective, conducted
a judicial workshop for High Court judges in Mumbai in 2000. This two-day
workshop addressed comparative constitutional law and general principles of
environmental law; international developments in environmental law; solutions
to environmental problems under Indian environmental law; and scientific,
social and economic aspects of environmental problems.
ELI and the Lawyers Collective recruited leading Indian public interest lawyers,
health care professionals, industry representatives, scientists and academics
to serve as faculty members for the workshop. The two organizations also collected
various resources, including journal articles, U.S. case law, Indian environmental
decisions, and international law materials, which they distributed to participants
at the workshop.
Judicial Workshop on Challenges to Environmental Justice Delivery (1999)
In 1999, ELI held a preliminary planning workshop with sitting High Court
judges from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka
to assess the obstacles for environmental justice delivery in India. In conducting
this workshop, ELI worked with colleagues on the bench and a number of Indian
partner organizations, primarily the National Law School in Bangalore. Participants
at this workshop identified various areas for environmental law capacity-building,
including preparation of basic resource materials, documentation of judicial
orders relating to environmental law, and judicial training. This workshop
set the stage for ELI’s first judicial training program in Mumbai.
Building Capacity of the Public to Participate in Environmental Decision-Making
Effective public participation is critical to India’s development and
conservation efforts. Including citizens’ voices in decision-making
promotes governmental accountability and increases the likelihood that decisions
will take into account the concerns of those directly affected by them. Promoting
public participation is, in effect, promoting the democratic process -- fostering
transparency and utilizing a wide base of opinions to strengthen the decisions
ultimately made. Moreover, public participation in the process is more likely
to generate public support for the eventual outcomes of that process.
Promoting public participation also can help to overcome deficiencies in
regulatory oversight associated with the government’s limited resources.
Local citizens have an intimate understanding of local environmental threats
and violations of applicable laws, and can offer this knowledge to broaden
government consideration and heighten awareness of these local issues. In
addition, citizens can utilize their numbers to supplement scarce government
resources for monitoring and enforcement, ultimately saving the government
time and money.
Effective public participation requires the recognition of environmental
rights and a citizen cause of action, standing before the courts, clear environmental
standards, access to information, genuine opportunities for participation
and clearly defined procedures for such participation, and an independent
and well-informed judiciary. ELI, through its judicial training programs and
through workshops and study tours for NGO activists and environmental lawyers,
has worked to foster the conditions in which public participation can thrive.
Study Tours for Indian Environmental Activists (1998 - 1999, 2002)
In 1998 and 1999, ELI sponsored study tours for a number of Indian public
interest advocates, government officials, researchers and others, allowing
them to gain insights into the U.S. experience with public participation in
environmental decision-making. In the course of the study tours, these individuals
were able to discuss the challenges they face in making public participation
more effective in India, and to learn how their counterparts in the United
States approach similar issues. The study tours included a variety of panel
discussions, site visits, and other exposures to strategies and tools for
better citizen involvement in environmental decision-making.
In March 2002, ELI conducted a similar study tour for Indian environmental
activists, this time also including Indian judges as participants. Although
this study tour had a broader focus on environmental law and policy in the
U.S, there was a continued emphasis on public participation in environmental
decision-making. In addition to the topics discussed in the description of
the judicial component above, this study tour included various sessions relating
to public participation, including right to information, environmental impact
assessment and access to courts. Moreover, study tour participants attended
a public interest environmental law conference in Oregon, where they were
exposed to a range of tools, including grassroots advocacy, litigation, lobbying
at various levels of government, and market-based campaigns, to promote better
environmental decision-making.
Workshop on Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making (1999)
In 1999, ELI and its local partner, the Center for Science and the Environment,
held a two-day NGO Workshop on Public Participation in Environmental decision-making
in New Delhi to identify strategies for more effective involvement of civil
society in environment and development decisions in India. More than forty
public interest lawyers, NGO representatives, and journalists participated
in this workshop. Workshop participants considered four topics in focused
sessions on Access to Justice, the Right to Information, the Right to Natural
Resources, and Civil Society Interventions. The workshop provided a valuable
opportunity for participants to share strategies for more effective public
participation and to develop ideas for collaboration towards this goal.
Prior to this workshop, ELI and the Center for Science and the Environment
jointly prepared and distributed a background paper entitled “Public
Participation in Environmental Decision-Making: Opportunities and Obstacles
for India.” This paper addressed the basis for public participation
in environmental decision-making in India and provided recommendations for
ways to improve citizen involvement.
Strengthening Implementation of Environmental Law in India
India has an elaborate framework of environmental legislation, policy statements,
rules and notifications. Yet the principles and designs on paper do not always
reach the day-to-day practices of the industrial managers, government officials,
and local communities who are closest to the problems. ELI has worked with
local partners towards finding ways to translate Indian legal environmental
principles into meaningful action.
Environmental Enforcement Workshop for Pollution Control Boards (2002)
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards
(SPCBs) are charged with the statutory duty to implement and enforce the air
and water pollution control laws. However, the law officers in the Boards
lack many of the basic legal skills necessary to bring enforcement actions
against violators. In order to enhance these skills and sensitize the law
officers to the need for effective environmental enforcement, ELI, in conjunction
with its local partner, the Centre for Environmental Law (CEL), conducted
a two-day workshop in environmental enforcement for the CPCB and SPCBs
Over 20 officials from the CPCB and 11 SPCBs (including Bihar, Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Orissa, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and
Haryana) participated in the workshop. The workshop covered a wide array of
topics relating to environmental enforcement, including enforcement authority
of the Boards under the pollution control laws; enforcement of judicial orders;
identifying enforcement objectives; conducting inspections; and drafting effective
affidavits.
ELI and CEL assembled resource materials for the participants, including
a binder containing key case law, articles, and sample legal documents; and
a manual on the Board’s enforcement authority under the various pollution
control laws.
Assessment of State Implementation of Environmental Law (1999)
ELI, in conjunction with local partners the Tata Energy Research Institute
(TERI), the Center for Symbiosis of Technology, Environment, and Management
(STEM), and the C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC) developed detailed
case studies on the implementation of environmental law at the state level
in three Indian states. These studies analyzed Karnataka’s efforts under
the 1989 Hazardous Waste Rules, the Environmental Audit Statement requirement
in Tamil Nadu, and implementation of Supreme Court-ordered air pollution measures
for foundries in West Bengal. Each of these studies not only diagnosed implementation
problems at the local-level, where they are the most important, but also provided
recommendations for improving the effectiveness of environmental law through
implementation. Results of all three case studies were featured at a National
Conference on implementation of environmental law and subsequently published
and distributed by ELI and its NGO partners.
Related Conferences, Seminars and Workshops
- Environmental Compliance Training Program for Industry Managers — Karnataka, India (2005)
- Training Workshop in Environmental Compliance for the Electroplating Sector — Mathura (2004)
- Judicial Enforcement of Environmental Law — Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India (2003)
- Environmental Law Workshop for Subordinate Judiciary in Karnataka — Bangalore,
Karnataka, India (2002)
- Workshop in Environmental Enforcement for Law Officers of the Central
Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards — New Delhi,
India (2002)
- Training Sessions in Environmental Law for Subordinate Judiciary and Members
of State Pollution Control Board — Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, India (2002)
- Study Tour in U.S. Environmental Law and Policy for Judges and Environmental
Professionals from India — Washington DC and Oregon (2002)
- Mumbai Judges Workshop on Environmental Law and Development Issues —
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (2000)
- NGO Workshop on Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making:
Opportunities and Obstacles for India — New Delhi, India (1999)
- Public Participation in Environmental Law and Policy Study Tour for Environmental
Professionals from India — Washington DC and Oregon (1998, 1999)
- Environmental Technology and Business Conference — New Delhi, India (1999)
- Preliminary Planning Workshop on Challenges to Environmental Justice Delivery
— Bangalore, India (1999)
Related Publications
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