Dr. Arvind Kumar*
Everybody agrees that we are living through unprecedented times. The nature and scale of what the triple planetary crisis has led to is unparalleled. In such a scenario, solutions are unlikely to come from past experiences or best practices. The biggest source of strength now is the partnerships we have built over the years. The situation at hand calls for stakeholders to come together, work side by side and support each other. The state plays a significant role for bringing together aware and awakened citizens and organizations through provisions for their legitimacy and contribution to the country’s development. Therefore, the government and citizens in India are key stakeholders for one another. However, this engagement varies based on the openness, willingness, and context of such partnerships, as well as the alignment of goals and interests. Good governance is a citizen-centric government that aims to guarantee justice, empowerment, employment, and effective service delivery to society in a specified time frame. But sometimes there are barriers which disable to deliver complete citizen-centric governance like lack of awareness, red tape, poor public faith, weak civil society structure, etc. widens the gap between citizens and governance.
We have created proper institutions, drafted policies rules and frameworks still they are not enforced or adhered to adequately. For instance despite polluters pay principle our industries still put their waste in rivers and water bodies. Despite banning Single use plastics they are still in use. The Jal Jivan Mission, has it actually achieved what it was created for? The number of assets built under JSA, could they be inflated as they are based on self-reported data? Similarly the validity of the rankings, can they be taken seriously or is it just to create competition among the districts? We framed the wetlands rules still cities are losing 40% of their wetlands to encroachment, inefficient waste management, pollution and unchecked urban development. According to the Environmental Performance Index India currently ranks 177 out of 180 countries. Environmental law in India truly faces an implementation crisis. With rapid industrialization, deforestation, increase in population at a booming rate and lack of knowledge amongst people about the environment and pollution our natural resources are decreasing at a terrifying rate. Environmental laws in India are strong but it lacks obedience from the people. Despite having a specialized court which deals with environmental cases. India still ranks high in terms of pollution around the world. Why? What are we doing wrong?
Is creating laws, rules and frameworks enough?
Unfortunately, some of the excellent initiatives in this country are being compromised by a countervailing set of moves. This is precisely why we need individuals and organizations who can take more comprehensive action and integrated response to crises, find solutions and hand hold stakeholders. This includes collaboration to design, implement, and monitor programs, policies, and legislation. The government assigns many roles to such individuals and organizations as those of innovator, problem solver, implementer, trainer, service provider, mobilizer, and advisor. However it is being widely noticed that the government only supports some individuals for the same and maximum leverage in government projects, committees and platforms is given to those few. In the last decade, it has gradually witnessed significant changes (shrinking of space) in the operating environment.
Non-governmental organizations play an important role in India because of their ability to provide feedback and act as harbingers of change for economic and social systems to thrive. They can reach out to the government to support their work, seek approval, and further their own and the communities’ objectives. They are ‘Jagrit Nagriks’ (awakened citizens) working through ‘integrated and whole of society approach’ understanding the pulse at the grassroots and engaging closely with communities. They stand out because of their socio-economic support, knowledge dissemination and generating alternate livelihoods especially at the grass root level. Given their passion for society, if they are incentivized and galvanized, can’t they play an instrumental and sensitized role to bring change and support ‘Rashtra Nirmaan’ efforts?
There are only two reasons which motivate an individual to be part of any sector one for monetary benefits and second as a result of their passion for a sector. The same goes for CSOs also, few of us are there because we are passionate for the cause, for the nation and take it upon us as a duty towards the country. We as a sector always have struggled to acquire space on the table, which remains fragile most times. The current situation forces us to reflect on the need to have a permanent structure beyond the event-based approach of these newly created global platforms. The changing socio-economic and political tableau in India has affected us all. The roles, relationships, and strategies of working are changing in response to these socio-political and economic changes. It’s worth mentioning here about the G20’s C20 working group are not experts on the technical themes or engaged in service delivery. They primarily convene, mobilize and collectivize the sector to have a constructive engagement with external stakeholders. So, under this new composition of the C20 secretariat, people and NGOs actually doing work do not find any place that adds substance to the ongoing process. Actually, this situation is not new for the global civil society.
Way Forward
Sometimes for development sake the government pushes the natural environment to the brink of catastrophe by building four-lane roads in environmentally sensitive mountainous areas or setting up hydropower projects on rivers beyond their capacity. The government should increase the area under forests and prepare nature-friendly development plans to make the environment of the country clean so that the status of the country’s environmental performance indicator can be raised and the quality of life of our people can be improved. To do so, the government must adopt a pro-people and nature-friendly economic development model and take immediate measures. The ability and experience of trained individuals and organizations to reach out to the most vulnerable groups are extremely valued, especially when formal institutions may fail to do so. Changing our lifestyles may not meaningfully impact the environment, because individual lifestyle choices are not the problem, mass production and consumption is, but who will bring this behaviourial change? NGOs possess specialized knowledge in these areas, given their connection to the ground. Another major strength is their implementation model of local best practices and models. Inputs from them also help make public infrastructure and other policies more inclusive, specifically regarding responsiveness to the elderly, women, children, people with disabilities, and transgender groups, as they ensure their participation in government planning. They have played a demonstrative role in participatory engagement by including such public interests into important discourse.
Proactive citizens and voluntary organizations are the eyes and ears of government and showcase a repository of ‘good samaritans’ amongst public noticed especially during the COVID-19 crisis. In brief, local pollution, climate damage and new economic opportunities tied to climate and environment are all important to our national interests. India needs more, not less, engagement and energy around environmental issues. Government may not always agree with the answers activists come up with. They may sometimes disagree with the way in which they frame questions or seek attention for their cause. But as a society, we will be poorer if activists are silenced. Good governance represents the most significant determinant of top-tier results. Real public participation in the policy process, a carefully structured regulatory strategy, open debate over goals and programs, the presence of a lively media and vibrant non-profits, and a commitment to the rule of law all correlate with out-performance over time.
*Editor, Focus Global Reporter
