Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society

Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society - Webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmA1rIFKBGU  Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung India Jan 27, 2022  Rajni Bakshi , (Journalist/Writer), Kanchi Kohli, (Senior Researcher @Centre for Policy Research), Dolly Kikon, (Anthropologist @University of Melbourne)

Dossier - Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society, bringing together different approaches and perspectives to infrastructure development in India.  https://in.boell.org/en/investigating-infrastructure-ecology-sustainability-and-society 

 

Project potential and sustainability is in question. In the public debate are the extreme and unviable forms of infrastructure financing with a dependence on controversial models such as public-private partnerships. Then, there is a critique of the enormous scale and the extreme ‘kind’ of capitalist production and consumption promoted by ‘big-infra’ as ‘race to the bottom’. The elitist top-down politics in the planning and governance of massive projects has been known to sideline democratic local processes. There is fear of regulatory dismantling and harmonization of policies and of technological ‘lock-ins’. Not in adequate focus, and thus increasingly given short shrift are land, livelihoods, environmental and social impacts. Local concerns over these now plague India’s infrastructure landscape resulting in project disruptions and disputes.

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For an alternative paradigm of development https://in.boell.org/en/2019/02/25/alternative-paradigm-development  By Rajni Bakshi  25 February 2019 In terms of tangible steps forward, perhaps, the most notable one is to make regeneration of local economies the cornerstone of Sarvodaya.

The emerging discourse on ‘Degrowth’ calls for a new framework in which the emphasis shifts from gross domestic product (GDP) to that which generates actual social, material and ecological well-being. It also prioritises the values of sufficiency and subsistence rather than equating development with the fulfilment of endless wants.

Degrowth or re-growth has broadly five dimensions:

Development is equated with actual well-being, not just throughput of materials

Steady-state economics are prioritised, instead of systems in which growth is a survival imperative

The aim is to foster a solidarity economy through sharing and cooperation so that the same resources can serve far more people

Consumption is reconfigured to make more judicious use of resources with social pressure and laws to discourage or prevent business models based on planned obsolescence. Instead products are designed to last and be reused.

Value is redefined so that the value of anything is not just what it is worth to a potential buyer in monetary terms, but rather in terms of the actual well-being it generates immediately as well as in the long term.

‘Indianisation’ of country’s legal system

CJI N V Ramana calls for ‘Indianisation’ of country’s legal system  https://indianexpress.com/article/india/justice-system-colonial-not-suited-for-indian-population-says-cji-7517470/

“When I say Indianisation, I mean the need to adapt to the practical realities of our society and localise our justice delivery systems. For example, parties from a rural place fighting a family dispute are usually made to feel out of place in the court. They do not understand the arguments or pleadings which are mostly in English, a language alien to them. These days, judgments have become lengthy, which further complicates the position of litigants. For the parties to understand the implications of a judgment, they are forced to spend more money” .

The CJI stated that it is the duty of lawyers and judges to create an environment that is comforting for the litigants and other stakeholders. “We must not forget that the focal point of any justice delivery system is ‘the litigant-the justice seeker’,” he said, adding that “in this light, usage of alternate dispute mechanism such as mediation and conciliation would go a long way in reducing the friction between parties and would save resources. This also reduces the pendency and requirement for having lengthy arguments with lengthy judgments”.

Comment: Beyond pious words, the SC can easily lay down guidelines for recording and storing at the Panchyat level including some minimum information on the data and documents, oral testimony at any alternative dispute mechanism including Khaps.  This will help litigants to approah the higher courts if needed, at the same time record their receipt of the verdicts.

 

Indian Judiciary: Chalenges of Future

CJI: Executive’s tendency to ignore court orders a worry    Dhananjay Mahapatra / TNN / Dec 27, 2021,

unless there is cooperation and assistance from both the executive and legislature, justice to people cannot be ensured by the judiciary single-handedly.

 “A popular majority is not a defence for arbitrary actions taken by a government. Every action is mandatorily required to comply with the Constitution. If the judiciary does not have the power of judicial review, then the functioning of democracy in this country would be unthinkable.”

“Courts do not have the power of the purse or the sword. Court orders are only good when they get executed. The executive needs to assist and cooperate for the rule of law to prevail in the nation. However, there appears to be a growing tendency to disregard, and even disrespect court orders by the executive,” the CJI said.

“There is a need to liberate the institution of public prosecutors. Total independence must be granted to them and to make them answerable only to the courts. Historically, prosecutors in India have been under the control of the government. Hence it is not a surprise that they do not act independently. They do nothing to prevent frivolous and non-deserving cases from reaching the courts,” he said.

Full lecture: https://www.youtube.com/embed/5f15_-vtz4E?start=1565&end=3185 &

https://www.youtube.com/embed/5f15_-vtz4E?start=4058&end=17549  

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