DICTATION EXERCISE-69

            The gas leak from a chemical factory in Vizag on 7^th of May killed 12 people. It is the most serious of three industrial disasters that have taken place since the national lockdown was eased on 3^rd of May. The other two were in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh. The Vizag leak happened within a kilometer from a coronavirus disease red zone which means that people have breached restrictions to escape the effects of the gas that has spread over a five kilometer area. Though the numbers are far smaller, the tragedy brings back memories of the Bhopal gas leak, the worst industrial disaster in the world, which killed more than 3,500 people. The Vizag plant leak was styrene, a benzene derivative used to manufacture plastics and resin. Exposure to it causes headache, loss of hearing, and irritation to the mucous membrane.¹⁴⁰ It can stay in the air for weeks and¹⁵⁰ combine with oxygen to form the lethal styrene dioxide. The¹⁶⁰ Centre for Science and Environment said that the leak seems to have happened because of the haste to restart the plant without carrying out proper maintenance work. While the government must focus on rescue and relief for now, what is also required is a time-bound investigation to ascertain how safety was compromised. Reports suggest that the plant has functioned without proper environmental clearances for a substantial period since it was set up. It must also be asked how the South Korean petrochemical giant, which owns LG Polymers, the site of the accident, did not ensure that qualified people were in place to check systems and open the plant. What happened in Vizag should be considered a warning for other industries²⁸⁰ which are resuming operations after a lengthy lockdown. India’s industrial safety record has been patchy at the best of times.³⁰⁰ Now in the aftermath of the lockdown, it is likely to get further eroded. While it is necessary to kickstart the³²⁰ economic engine, it cannot be at the risk of compromising the safety of workers and those who live in the vicinity of industrial plants. With shortage of labour and monetary challenges brought on by coronavirus disease, it becomes even more necessary to strengthen both public and occupational safety systems. Industries must comply with regulations, and the government must ensure that they are strictly enforced.

          The question we ask after every disaster is whether it could have been avoided. An even better question to ask is: How can environmental damage be avoided before it happens? India has said that protecting⁴²⁰ the environment is desirable, and has led by hosting international meetings such as the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2012, the United Nations Conference⁴⁵⁰ to Combat Desertification in 2019, and the Convention on Migratory Species in 2020. But we are yet to decide what constitutes damage to the environment. This assumes greater significance as the⁴⁸⁰ Government of India is reworking its Environment Impact Assessment Notification. Such assessments are done to find out the impact a project has on the environment. Getting environmental clearances depends on this assessment. The 2020 EIA draft introduces a host of changes, introducing the concept of post-facto clearance. This means that projects that started construction without applying for EIA and environmental clearances will be appraised and may receive clean chits. If they are found to be running in a sustainable⁵⁶⁰ fashion, they will be allowed to apply for environmental clearances. If they are found to be damaging the environment, closure of the project or other actions will be recommended. But what is environmental damage? The 2020 draft says the Central Pollution Control Board should set the criteria for damage assessment⁶⁰⁰ and remediation. The Central Pollution Control Board was created in 1974. Its mandate relates to maintaining clean water and air and preventing their pollution. Though pollution or leaks are one of⁶⁴⁰ the most visible indicators of environmental damage, they are not the only ones. In this regard, the NGT order is illustrative. The order found illegal mining to be harmful to the environment on counts of waste dumping, proximity to residences, causing the drying up of ponds, air pollution through poor transport of coal, loss of groundwater, lack of provision⁷⁰⁰ of healthcare, and loss of ecological services.

          In the case of long-term damage, the most significant thing is the loss of ecological or ecosystem services. Ecosystem services refer to the services provided by healthy nature, which include things like pollination, quality of life, bio-filtration and more. A few things should be kept in mind. First, the EIA notification draft should⁷⁵⁰ broaden the scope and understanding of environmental damage beyond just pollution. Environmental damage, including purported long-term damage to ecological services should be part of the assessment and the EIA notification. Second, the world after the coronavirus pandemic has shown us⁸⁰⁰ that several human-led activities create novel interfaces that further lead to consequences that we cannot control, such as viruses caused by the disturbance to wildlife. We are also seeing how pristine the environment is without our interventions. The images released⁸⁴⁰ by NASA reveal that the air over the northern Gangetic plain is the cleanest it has been in 20 years. This clear view gives us a chance to plan projects in a way that actively protects the environment rather than balances it against political goals. Finally, if we can put India under lockdown, and run offices remotely, it means we can indeed do the impossible as long as political and societal⁹⁰⁰ will exists for it. A clean environment is a social goal, as much as one mandated by international conventions. This is the time to put trust in science and technical expertise, and create a broader understanding of what environmental damage is. Once we fully map it, we can set about⁹⁶⁰ preventing it. We tend to pray after environmental castrophe strikes. But we need more than thoughts and prayers to⁹⁸⁰ institutionalize environmental protection. This is the best time to understand how environmental damage impacts ecological services, and how this should reflect in the EIA processes. As we pick up the pieces left behind from a virus, we must plan to avoid more environmental grief.

          Migrant workers are like nowhere people. Yet, they are everywhere. From high-rises to highways, who builds them? It is a silent army of migrant workers, working day and night with no job security, no social safety¹⁰⁵⁰ net, and poor living conditions. Yet, we do not see their names on the billboards or the foundation stones of these shining symbols of India’s economic progress. From domestic helps to drivers, from the vegetable seller to the roadside food stall- their names are not on any payroll or pension plans or tax registers and yet, without them the life¹¹²⁰ in urban and semi-urban areas would be paralyzed. They are invisible; they are taken for granted; they are treated with indifference in the best of times and with callousness and cruelty in the worst. We think that the capital is the engine of growth. But capital cannot generate output on its own; it needs labour. In a country like India, it comes mainly through migrant labourers from rural areas. The engine of growth runs on the fuels of migrant labour, which moves from less productive sectors like agriculture to more productive sectors¹²⁰⁰ like manufacturing and services. Without this fuel, the engine will sputter and stop because of upward pressure on wages in the limited pool of local labour markets. What drives the flow of migration is the prospect of better opportunities in urban areas. Interestingly, research on migration shows¹²⁶⁰ that there is significant under-migration compared to the potential labour supply from rural areas. The main factor cited is risk-aversion. ¹²⁸⁰ While average incomes are lower in rural areas, villages can eke out a living easily and rely on strong informal safety nets based on social networks. Very poor households may be unwilling to incur the financial and psychological costs of migration and brave the subsistence risk of things not panning out. The horrifying experience of migrant workers during this crisis will only magnify such fears and reinforce the tendency towards under-migration.

What does this imply for the post-lockdown period? Could we simply press¹³⁵⁰ a button and restart the engine of growth? In a developing country like India, informal institutions and social networks play a much larger role in the economy than in a developed country. While trust and reputation are important¹⁴⁰⁰ in every economic sphere, these are the only currency in the informal sector where there are no contracts and regulations, and hiring is based on word-of-mouth referrals.  Therefore, social networks play a big role as reputation in the community¹⁴⁴⁰ acts as a bond against potential malfeasance or low productivity. But trust takes time to build, as do social networks once they are disrupted. Therefore, the assumption that after the crisis subsides, things will return to normal and an unlimited supply of labour will flow in from the countryside is unrealistic. Wages will have to rise significantly, and networks that underpin informal labour markets will have to reform for the process to resume. ¹⁵⁰⁰ Employers are clearly seeing the writing on the wall. Therefore, we see attempts like the construction industry lobbying a state government to cancel trains to stop migrant workers from heading back home. The logic of the market is often invoked to say that there are no free lunches when talking about relief packages for the poor. But the same logic also says that the only way to induce labour to work is through improvement in wages and living and work conditions, not coercion. Given that 90 per¹⁶⁰⁰ cent of the Indian workforce is in the informal sector with no job security or benefits, the safety net provided by the government must be strengthened to attract migrant workers back after this ordeal. ¹⁶³⁴

 ---------------------------  

https://youtu.be/Idqfsr8JwEQ