etc. Delhi's, and urban India's, particular predicament today is not the environmental degradation.

tion. Democratic governance requires that

dispute over the wider meaning of the expression 'the right to life' but
the conflicts internal to it - between the livelihood of workers and public
health, between dignity and the desire for a 'clean' city.
This is not Delhi's first cleansing. Congestion, ventilation, drainage,
conservancy and concerns about noxious trades are to be found from
the mid-19th century onwards, ofgten dealt in an authoritarian
manner. Post Independence, democratic norms required that the
reform from above be mitigated by greater sensitivity to local
aspirations, community participation and greater inclusiveness in
urban planning, only to be violently undone in the slum clearance
drives of the Emergency. Contemporary debates on Delhi's
environment both reinforce these longer trends and simultaneously
depart from them. The continuity is evident in the violence that always
lurks near the surface in the processes of urban transformation, but
there are significant departures too that need to be considered.
In terms of change, there is first the greater pervasiveness of the
discourse of urban environmentalism itself. It is no longer about
slums alone or an epidemic in isolation or the need to plan the
location of industries but a combination of all these (and more)
elements. This combination, in turn, gives rise to greater
relentlessness and speed through which the city is spatially modified
and inhabiting it becomes an act of constant negotiation of daily
routines. Plague scare in 1994, dengue in 1996, interim orders on
closure of hazardous factories the same year and then another
round beginning 2000, CNG and conversion over the last two years
and all through it a constant demolition of slums that supposedly
'rob' the citizens of Delhi of their due share of water and electricity,
together provide a heightened sense of urgency to the issue of
environmental risk and give it a larger public profile than earlier.
Second, there has been a shift in the languages that frame the
environmental issue, a shift on two levels. The first shift may be seen
as being from the symbolic to the scientific, with a new vocabulary on
offer - pH levels, clean fuels, suspended particulate matter, common
effluent treatment plants etc., that increasingly saturate the media and
public spaces around us. At another level, the 'public' language sits
uneasily with the discourses of individual conduct. From refusal to use
plastics to campaigns in schools to encourage students to desist from
bursting firecrackers and voluntary drives to clean the Yamuna, there
is a new optimism that managing the environment can be made an
individual responsibility. This is, as yet, a minor strand compared to
debates around regulatory issues. However, its importance may lie
elsewhere, in the synergy that obtains between environmental self-
help and a new emphasis on 'caring for the self'.
Tied to the shifts in language is the third noticeable characteristic of
urban environmentalism today, viz. a new institutional framing in
which the courts have come to play a major role. There are two
related issues here, the innovation in legal principles and the use of
expert committees in dealing with environmental issues. Significant
advances here relate to the use of public interest litigations as an
instrument of justice, adoption of 'precautionary principles', ensuring
that the 'polluter pays', and considerations of inter-generational
equity. All these have played an important role in recent
environmental legislation and have invited significant critical
commentary. In contrast, scientific management of environmental
risks and the role of experts have invited far less comment, a critical
lacuna if we consider the extent to which uncertainly prevails in
these domains. There is nothing self-evident about what constitutes
an environmental risk, how to prioritise among competing risks or
indeed about what constitutes an 'acceptable' level of pollution or
we find creative ways in which expert opinions (including
disagreements among them) on these issues can be brought in
synergy with social aspirations for a just society, including issues of
class, gender and inter-generational equity.
Conclusion:
The effect of the 'democratisation' of the environmental issue and its
greater public presence, we argue, has paradoxically served to
cloud the varied interests at stake. The debate on Delhi's
environment manages to be both too general and limited
simultaneously. Even as the health and environmental needs of an
abstract urban public are being foregrounded, there is limited
appreciation of how the needs of specific publics can be addressed
or indeed how the conflict between the environmental needs of
different publics be resolved. In other words, there is little
acknowledgement that 'the environment' in the singular splits up into
many 'environments' and following from this, that spaces need to be
created for community actors to define and prioritise environmental
risks for themselves. Risk definition, as much as risk management,
needs to become a democratic choice if we wish to create a more
just and equitable cities in the present.
Awadhendra Sharan is a historian presently working with The Sarai Programme, CSDS.
THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENT :
Towards Indo-German collaboration
A seminar to explore environmental education and media
relationships
Organised by the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata
and Khetro in collaboration with Humboldt Club Calcutta.
September 21 to 23, 2006. All programmes will be held at the Max
Mueller Bhavan auditorium.
Speakers at the Seminar: Prof Dr Gerhard de Haan (Freie
Universität Berlin, Germany), Prof Madhav Gadgil (Ecologist),
Michael Greif (ECOMOVE International, Germany), Sunita Narain
(Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi), Dr R Mehta (Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Govt of India) Dr Shyamla Mani
(Representative, Centre for Environmental Education,
Ahmedabad/Delhi), Lima Rosalind, (WWF-India), Dr. Silanjan
Bhattacharya, (Khetro, Calcutta), Pradip Saha (Down to Earth
magazine, Delhi)
22 September, 6.30 pm
Panel Discussion: Is Our Media Environment Shy?
(The mainstream media's role in spreading environmental
awareness)
Panelists: Ratikanta Basu (Chairman, Broadcast Worldwide), Bonani
Kakkar (PUBLIC, Kolkata), Jayanta Basu (The Telegraph), and
Michael Greif (ECOMOVE International, Germany). Moderator:
Sunita Narain (Director, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi)
20 September, 5 pm & 21 September, 6 pm
Film screening on environmental issues
Editorial
The new thrust of "global development" seems to have finally
arrived with a big bang in West Bengal. As the capital of the state,
Calcutta has entered a phase of resurrection. Of late, the
widespread declaration that we are heading towards becoming a
'neo-city' which will be at par with any other major city of the world,
is being heard. To achieve that status, Calcutta needs to lure global
business investors to the city as well as the state. The city therefore
needs a complete facelift to provide the right infrastructure for
investors to feel comfortable. With this, money will pour in and soon
the city will be elevated to a level which Calcuttans have only
dreamed of. It is now the new dictum of the state government that
we should all subscribe to this dream and cheer the way Calcutta
is changing. Enthused by this way of thinking, many have
responded to the call and joined hands with the government's new
"development" programs as active collaborators. Government-
private collaboration and privatization of the public sector is the
new trend here.
The phenomenal boom in the real estate sector has significantly
changed the cityscape, and now seems to be the prime indicator of
development here in Calcutta. The city has a glossier look because
of these new urban constructions, unfortunately happening mostly
through the encroachment of paddy fields and wetlands on the
city's fringes, and by closing down factories without caring too
much about the economic or environmental impact. What dream
are we actually chasing? And what is the price we will eventually
pay for its realization?
Being a Calcutta based organization involved with issues related to
community culture, ecological existence and media explorations,
Khetro cannot avoid critiquing the disastrous changes taking place.
We have initiated a study, "The Changing Landscape of Calcutta"
to document the transformation of landscape which is happening at
a random and reckless pace. Through this study we intend to learn
and understand the
consequences of these changes in the ecological fabric of Calcutta
and offer potential sustainable alternatives. In tandem with this,
another segment we are exploring is the "Transforming Industrial
Landscape" which will look at the eroded industrial scenario of
September 2006
Calcutta
Calcutta, its displaced labour force, and its socio-economic impact
on the city. We believe both these studies are in synergy and will put
forward the possibility of conceptualizing and implementing a
sustainable developmental plan for Calcutta.
Khetro looks forward to having a wider discourse on this issue.
Editorial Collective: Dr. Silanjan Bhattacharya, Patrick S L Ghose,
Ranu Ghosh, Nilanjan Bhattacharya, Mrityunjay Chatterjee(Sarai-
CSDS, Delhi)
Kalikata=> Calcutta=> Kolkata=> What next?
Calcutta is situated in the highly dynamic delta region of the
Hooghly-Brahmaputra Rivers. A few hundred years ago there were
mangrove swamps where the city now stands, a part of the greater
Sunderbans. A rural agricultural landscape emerged in this frontier
as the delta matured above the inter-tidal level. A vast area,
especially towards the east, remained under swamps which
originated from the moribund courses of river channels. Though the
name Kalikata has been mentioned in the rent-rolls of the Mughal
emperor Akbar who reigned between 1556-1605, as well as in the
Manasamangal of Bengali poet Bipradas (1495), the very credit of
establishing Calcutta as a city is attributed to Job Charnock, an
agent of the English East India Company. He established a British
trading post here in the year 1690, and Calcutta grew along the east
bank of the river Hooghly defining the city's spatial limit to the west.
Calcutta was the capital of British India from 1858 to 1912, and till
India's Independence in 1947 it was the capital of unpartitioned
Bengal. After Independence and post-Partition, Calcutta remained
the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal.
Interestingly, the city High Court recently ruled that Job Charnock is
not the founder of the city and Calcutta has no birthday. According to
the Court, the city has its genesis in the Maurya and Gupta period,
and it was an established trading post long before the Slave Dynasty
of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Portuguese, the French or
the British established a modern township there. References to the
existence of an ancient riverine port named Kalikata exist in the travel
journals of Chinese scholars and Persian merchants dating from

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khetro, an open space for interaction, innovation, and implementation in the field of community culture, media, and ecology.
 centuries BCE. Possibly following a similar spirit of reinvention, the
ruling Marxist government in the state decided to change the city's
official name from Calcutta to Kolkata in January 2001.
When the British set up Calcutta, the eastern part of the city was
covered with salt-water marshes. These salt-water marshes lay
between the River Hooghly to the west, and the now dry Bidyadhari
River to the east. Post independence Calcutta grew by leaps and
bounds. The city spread to the southern fringes and industries
started dotting the skyline. With the 2nd Five-year plan stressing on
the development of heavy industry, industrialization in and around
the city got a tremendous boost. Major industrial belts developed in
what were once the outskirts of Calcutta. With industrialization the
city saw an upsurge of urbanization. Settlements emerged around
the industries and they spread to join with the other parts of Calcutta
giving the city a distinct shape, with industrial belts merging with
residential areas to form a cohesive, structured society.
Calcutta is now a multicultural, cosmopolitan city with a population
of 4.6 million, while the total urban agglomeration population is 13.2
million according to the 2001 Census of India. Calcutta's slum
population is 1,485,309 - 32.5% of it's total. The density of
population in Calcutta is 24,760 per sq. km while the India average
is 933.
Over the last few decades, industrial growth in West Bengal has
been declining. Agriculture too has reached a point of stagnancy.
After ruling the state continuously for 29 years, it is to the discredit
of the Left Front Government led by the Communist Part of India
(Marxist) that the agricultural scenario is distressing and the
industrial base is rapidly eroding. Seeking a makeover, the
government has adopted a new policy for economic development
which primarily looks like a U-turn from their original policy preached
for so long! The mandate is no more in favour of agricultural growth
but for a so-called resurgence of industry, and that too with the help
of foreign investors and multinational companies. This new policy
has encouraged aggressive urbanization in the state of West Bengal
in recent times. Consider the impact, as the word 'development' is
now being equated with real estate construction and creating
infrastructure for business groups, bringing drastic changes in the
city's existing landscape. Land has become the most sought after
commodity and real estate the buzzword in Calcutta today. From the
eastern wetlands to large industry compounds, the axe of the
realtors has fallen on them all.
Since the construction of the highway known as the Eastern
Metropolitan Bypass on the eastern fringe of Calcutta, a slew of real
estate developments has come up in that area. Luxury hotels, a
convention centre, specialty hospitals, condominium complexes,
malls and multiplexes have mushroomed. The city's expansion on
the eastern flank is spearheaded by the construction of New Town -
Rajarhat Township, adjacent to Salt Lake City, and claimed as one
of the largest planned urban developments in India. The large
wetland network in the eastern part of the city, identified as one of
the world's prime wetland sites of tremendous ecological
significance, is under great threat because of many illegal
constructions in and around that area. While this chaotic
urbanization takes place in the eastern fringes of the city, the
government is yet to come up with comprehensive ecological
The suspension bridge at Alipore over Tolly's Nullah
painted by Charles D'Oyly, 1848
2 7
planning for that area which is essential to save and maintain the
wetland ecology as well as the city's environment.
The city has relaxed its rules on high rise constructions recently.
Twenty and more storeyed buildings are becoming far more
common. Industry compounds are giving way to high rises and
multiplexes. Jay Engineering Factory (a unit of the Usha Shriram
Group of Industries) on Prince Anwar Shah Road in south Calcutta
has been closed down. Workers were forced to take voluntary
retirement and the whole place was sold to a real estate group. Now
in that very place, the tallest residential complex of eastern India -
the three thirty-five-storey and one twenty eight storey towers of
South City, (the latter one being illegally constructed by encroaching
a huge water body adjoining it) are under construction.
Such are the stories behind the changing face of Calcutta. Everything
is being done to "accommodate global investments" and if that were
all to fall in place then "we" will soon become the proud residents of a
"global city". Going by the resurgent ethics of the leftist government in
West Bengal, to achieve that status one shouldn't even hesitate to
snatch the livelihood options of farmers, push a huge force of
industrial labour into helpless uncertainty, and wreak havoc on a
stable ecology. It is now up to us to choose.
The successful implementation of a participatory method of
documentation and sharing of knowledge by the children, and the
use of various media forms for biodiversity documentation in the
Ecological Mapping of Kalikapur revealed an innovative way of
learning about our own environment.
II. Changing Industrial Landscape: The South City Project
Khetro is exploring a new angle to study the changing landscape of
Calcutta by initiating an audio-visual study-documentation work on the
eroded industrial state of the city. While documenting factory property
already demolished, or ones soon to be demolished, the team is also
recording the newer developments in those areas. These are mainly
real estate construction replacing the demolished industrial property
and thereby transforming the immediate environment. The socio-
economic impact of such transformation is being studied, along with
the status of the unemployed labourers who used to work in those
factories. This project is coordinated by Ranu Ghosh. Here is a report
about one such ongoing case study.
Jay Engineering, commonly called Usha Factory, a subsidiary unit of
the Usha Shriram Group of Industries, started operations
manufacturing electrical consumer durables like fans and sewing
machines in the 1950s. The labour force of this reasonably large
manufacturing unit was mostly comprised of migrants from Bihar
and UP, and refugees from East Pakistan. In the south, the South
City project area is flanked by Bikramgarh jheel, one of the largest
natural water bodies of south Calcutta. Prince Anwar Shah Road is
the main road bordering this locality on the north. Jay Engineering
Works was closed down, made defunct and the land was handed
over to the real estate group in 2003. Immediately after the
handover, demolition of the factory buildings began and the
construction of South City, "Eastern India's largest mixed use real
estate development", started from Feb 2004. This example of
replacing an operational factory with a real estate construction is not
isolated, but only one example of many such proposed and ongoing
"developments" all over the city.
Since the latter half of 2004 the documentation team from Khetro
has been following and documenting the stages of development at
the construction site as the construction work progressed. The study
also tracks the continuing debates on various legal issues related to
the South City project. Documentation on the status of the
unemployed labour force that were very much a part of 'the
production' once is in progress. The documentation team is also
trying to study and document the improvised 'strategies of survival'
of those displaced labourers of Jay Engineering Factory.
Documentation Work
Video documentation: It will include interviews with local people
from the neighbouring areas affected by the South City construction.
Through extensive interviews with some of the ex-labourers from
Jay Engineering the story of their displacement and present struggle
for existence will be
recorded. The video
documentation includes
the development process
from Usha factory to
South City and its socio-
economic as well as
environmental impact on
the locality.
Still documentation: Old
photographs of that
locality will be collected while the new look of that area will be
captured on still frames. The widespread advertisement campaigns,
mainly on outdoor media in the city will also be documented on still.
Text/print Documentation: It will include old records, personal and
published memoirs and local maps. An outline of the local history of
that area will be done. The paper documentation will also present
the chronological developments of various court cases related to the
South City construction. Newspaper clippings focussing on the
debates related to the South City construction will be collected.
Outputs
> A long documentary of approximately 50 minutes and a number of
small films of 8 to 10 minutes each will be made to reach out to the
public to generate awareness about the reckless "developments"
taking place in the city of Calcutta.
> A dedicated website will be developed which will carry all relevant
details and documents related to the South City project. The idea is
to connect to a broader base by presenting this very issue in the
public domain.
> A compendium on urban transformation with special reference to
industrial closures and 'development refugees', with data and
photographs will be published.
> The material from the project in the form of installations, audio and
pictorial exhibitions will be displayed in various public spaces.
Claims on Cleanliness.
Environment and Justice in Contemporary Delhi
Awadhendra Sharan
Contemporary Delhi oscillates uneasily between the desire to live and
to work. There is a sense of urgency that makes the life-work struggle
a zero-sum game - healthy air for the 'public' even as there is job loss
for workers, cleaner fuels in the interest of the city even as the long
queues of autos imply longer nights for their owners/drivers. The desire
for a clean environment, in other words, is fraught with the possibilities
of conflict. Over the past decade or so Article 21 of the Constitution that
guarantees Right to Life has been interpreted such as to ensure the
right to health, to clean air and water, to a pollution-free environment
Photo by Ranu Ghosh

14 years grow up with a wealth of knowledge regarding the
ecosystem in the locality and its uses: a unique example of resource
use and sharing, and indigenous knowledge in a semi-urban
ecosystem.
Kalikapur has somehow survived the onslaught of urbanisation till
now. While the surrounding localities were merrily transforming into
full-fledged urban colonies, Kalikapur refused to transform. It still
stands there in stark contrast. Over the last two years despite a few
multistoreyed buildings have come up in the locality with some
depletion in Kalikapur's ecology having taken place, Kalikapur
retains almost seventy percent of it's original vegetation. It can be
considered a model of an original ecosystem enriched by various
local plant varieties of which a large number have medicinal
qualities, a number of bird and insect species, and indigenous breed
of fish. Religious rites, rituals and other cultural practices of the
South City Project profile:
# Where: 375 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Calcutta 700068, opposite
Jodhpur Park
# What: Three 35-storey and one 28-storey residential buildings, the
tallest in Eastern India
# No. of flats: Around 1,600 (above 30% bought by NRIs) Facilities: Mall,
Cineplex, club, swimming pools, sports fields and courts, school
Investment: Rs.1, 500 crores Area: 31.14 acres
# Work started in: February 2004 Completion Deadline: December 2008
# Present Status: Tower 1 and 2 almost ready, foundations for Towers 3
& 4 laid and initial construction started
# Current status of legal cases in Calcutta High Court:
1. An application under article 226 of the Constitution of India, by
Bhaskar Gupta Roy & Another (petitioners) versus The West Bengal
Pollution Control Board and others for giving illegal permission for
construction of South City Projects (SCP) and its cause of environmental
pollution.
2. Trinamul Congress MLA Javed Khan files a PIL in 2005 against South
City Projects on the cause of environmental pollution of the surrounding
areas.
Dates of final hearings for these court cases are awaited.
One Civil Court case is also going on.
Petitioner: Shambhu Prasad Singh Vs Jay Engineering
Shambhu, a bona fide employee of Jay Engineering (Usha Group), who
has refused to take the VRS forced on all such employees living in the
official staff quarters inside the factory compound and has moved court
to be allowed to remain in his appointed quarters until such time that JE
agrees to pay him the compensation and benefits officially due to him as
an employee. This case is under injunction and the next date for hearing
is 10th November 2006.
Photo by Ranu Ghosh
6 3
people of Kalikapur are no longer connected to rituals in vogue in
the city any more. In a sense, Kalikapur is a refuge in that urban
ambience of eastern Calcutta. However, if the present trend of
urbanisation continues then it is quite certain that Kalikapur will no
longer be able to resist the pressure of aggressive modernisation.
The greens are going to disappear and the saga of Kalikapur will
soon fade away.
The Research: The research was aimed at studying and
documenting the indigenous knowledge associated with biodiversity
and the unique practice of resource use and sharing in a semi-urban
ecosystem using local children. The project also aims at exploring
the possibilities of different media implementation in the field of
biodiversity documentation.
Methodology: The pilot project study documentation work was
done in a participatory mode. Five kids from Kalikapur in the age
group of 10 to 14 years, mostly illiterates or school dropouts were
identified. They were vagrants of sorts who possessed an intimate
knowledge about the ecological resources of their surroundings. We
included two girls in the group from Purba Diganta, a locality
neighbouring Kalikapur who have formal education and computer
skills but no real knowledge about the ecological resources of their
surroundings. It was planned, guided and designed by an ecologist
and a media professional. This team went on field trips and
collected data during which the Kalikapur kids acted as research
guides while procuring the local bio-resources. During the field visits
they imparted their knowledge and information to the urban kids of
the group. On the other hand, during the data storage process on
the computer, the urban kids created an awareness of the computer
among the Kalikapur kids. In the beginning, we identified a few key
locations in and around Kalikapur as our main study spots. GPS
data was generated to get the exact geographical positions of our
study locations, helping us to learn the interrelationship among the
various components in a unique ecology like Kalikapur.
Output: An astounding variety of flora available in Kalikapur has been
listed, of which much is used by the locals for various medicinal
purposes. A list of common and migratory birds with their
behavioural patterns has been generated. With the help of
a cartographer we have developed a basic map of
Kalikapur.
After interviewing long-time residents, tracing local maps,
land records and old texts, an ethnographic history of
Kalikapur has also been drafted. In addition to this, a
visual documentation of the urban transformation along
the eastern Bypass was initiated.
In Conversation with Dr Dhrubajyoti Ghosh
Dr Dhrubajyoti Ghosh is a pioneer in incorporating ecological
principles into engineering design. He received the UN Global 500
Role of Honour for his achievements in conserving the East Calcutta
Wetlands, and promoting innovative waste water treatment and
reuse. He is a member of the National Wetland Committee and the
Regional Vice-Chairman (South Asia) of the Commission on
Ecosystem Management, IUCN. He is presently a Senior Fellow in
Development Studies at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in
Calcutta as . The following are excerpts from a conversation Dr
Ghosh had with Nilanjan Bhattacharya in August 2006.
N: What is the significance of the East Calcutta Wetlands in relation
to the city of Calcutta?
D: The East Calcutta Wetlands have become reasonably well
known all over the world except that Calcuttans don't seem to know
much about it. The rest of the world seems to be much more
informed about the significance of the East Calcutta Wetlands. Why
I start with such a difficult note is because I am doubtful about the
way things are moving at the East Calcutta Wetlands, and
essentially because the people of Calcutta are not really interested
about its impact. So I feel that it is important to notify citizens about
the strange lack of concern for this novel wealth which they
possess.
Now let's get back to the question - the significance of the East
Calcutta Wetlands.
We all know that Calcutta is relatively a cheaper city, a cheaper
metropolis. But there can't be anything 'absolutely cheap' or
'absolutely costly', someone is paying somewhere which needs to
be understood. In fact I have defined Calcutta as an 'ecologically
subsidised city'. There is possibly no other metropolis in the world
which is as subsidised ecologically as Calcutta is. To me the most
important component for this is the Wetlands. Another component of
course are the two rivers, Ganga or Hooghly, from which the city
takes water while the city's wastewater goes to the river Kulti. One
single city having two rivers, one for abstracting water and another
for releasing its drainage is to be considered a tremendous gift
which no other city in the world has. And there is copious ground
water. Thereafter we have a wetland system that can treat the entire
city's sewage water and provides the city with tons of fish and
vegetables. Such a system has taken place naturally and the
knowledge to manage this ecosystem is with the agricultural and
fish farmers. They have the knowledge to purify wastewater and
produce fish and vegetables by using that water. Moreover, a large
number of farmers produce vegetables by using solid wastes. It's no
magic. It's all about the philosophy of the local people. Where we
look at sewage as a pollutant alone, these fish producers and
farmers who are uneducated, do not really share our views. Their
world view is different. For them the sewage is a nutrient! And you
know it's a scientifically valid point. Yes, sewage is a nutrient as
much as it is a pollutant. They have the knowledge to trap that
nutrient brilliantly in the fishponds through the stages of natural
biological reactions.
N: So you think that these fish producers and farmers are the real
managers of the East Calcutta Wetlands, not the government?
D: Absolutely. When you say that we have a Ramsar site in the
eastern fringe of our city, a wetland network of international
importance, then the entire credit should go to these people who
make it so. They are supporting the city in many ways - by neutralizing
the cost of the sewage plant that is very high and producing fish and
vegetables. What is very significant is that these fish and vegetables
are being produced at a stone's throw away from the city. So
transportation cost is minimal. Its 'urban agriculture' and the city
consumers are the winners here. There is more - it provides a very
stable city fringe, which many of the metropolises in the world do not
have. Dhapa, the solid waste dumping ground for the city is perhaps
Photo by Nilanjan Bose
the richest area where the microbial population is very dense, which
can serve tremendous scientific research interests. In short the East
Calcutta Wetland is one unique ecosystem that offers possibilities of
any amount of research pending on sustainable development.
N: What about retaining or furthering the knowledge of the local
people?
D: It's quite unfortunate that no one has ever thought of getting back
to this knowledge base or furthering it. No one has ever said with
pride that 'it is our technology, take pride in the East Calcutta
Wetlands'. No, I haven't heard such a slogan at all. Here I must
mention Bhabanath Sen, a brilliant scientist who took a square mile
of Dhapa land in the year 1880 and produced vegetables on the
garbage. He used intermediate ponds filled with wastewater to
produce fish and then took water from those ponds to irrigate
vegetable fields. In fact it was the first ever example of planned co-
recycling in the world, but he never got due recognition for that
innovation. Everyone now talks about traditional knowledge. In this
connection we should refer to the knowledge base which we still
have in the East Calcutta Wetlands. It's unique, and extremely
valuable, and if we lose that then we won't ever be able to recreate
it. This not just about losing a wetland; it's about losing a heritage.
Here in Calcutta we only talk about old buildings and monuments as
heritage sites but we never consider the East Calcutta Wetlands as
part of our heritage possessions. It's sad.
N: There is a cause for concern among many scientists and others
in Calcutta about metal deposits in fish and vegetables produced in
the wastewater, and by using garbage. Is this a valid point to worry
about?
D: Although there are areas of fear, but that does not pervade the
entire system. About the vegetables, as in the case of cauliflower,
scientific studies reveal that the flower doesn't attract metal deposits
while the leaves are affected. Here I should point out something
which needs to be addressed seriously. This very wetland
ecosystem wasn't faulty; we ourselves have polluted the ecosystem.
While the domestic or municipal wastes is not supposed to carry
metal deposits that is exactly what is happening because of the
release of industrial waste into the municipal sewage. The drainage
line in Topsia-Tangra area was set up by Calcutta Metropolitan
Water & Sanitation Authority to be used for monsoon water disposal
but the industries around that area use the gully pits to discharge
their toxic and untreated effluents to outflow their sewage to the
outfall canals. That's how the polluting happens.
N: So the problem lies at the core. Isn't there any government
control over this unruly act?
Photo by Nilanjan Bhattacharya
4 5
D: There is a law that says that industries should treat their
wastewater at the source at their own cost but you know... the
Pollution Control Board of the state is there to look after this. They
could easily stop this illegal act just by serving strong notice to these
industries: either you treat the sewage or you close down. But that
doesn't happen in most cases. It's very easy to raise a signal of
horror but if that signal goes on saying that a particular ecosystem
is wrong then the voices raising that specific complaint become a
party to remove or destroy that very ecosystem. And it's possible
that the real estate groups who have a vested interest in doing so
could very well use this false allegation.
N: Whatever the reasons are, the city is expanding towards the
east. There are lots of so-called developmental activities happening
in and around the region of the East Calcutta Wetlands. What do
you think about it?
D: In the year 1992, a judgment of the Calcutta High Court clearly
stated that any construction inside the area of the East Calcutta
Wetlands would be considered illegal. One can clearly see how that
judgment has been violated in the recent past.
N: Did the Court issue any modification of that law later?
D: No. The situation is quite critical and what we are losing is time.
We are actually taking too much time to come up with a proper
wetland management action plan. As far as I know, we still don't
have that plan ready and this delay is actually helping those who are
interested in conserving the wetlands. There is of course a very
strong real estate interest, which the government concedes to. I am
not giving out any secrets, everyone knows this. There is a
committee preparing the plan but as far as I know the plan is not yet
ready.
N: I was amazed seeing the reckless development activities
happening in and around the East Calcutta Wetlands in the recent
past, but till date I haven't heard or read anything which indicates
that some sort of comprehensive ecological planning or survey is
being done in the East Calcutta Wetlands. So, there is no scientific
information or report available to understand the impact of these
new developments.
D: The impact of these reckless urban constructions will be
disastrous. The remarkable symbiosis between the main city and
the city fringe will be lost which will affect the city of Calcutta in many
ways. Calcutta will definitely become expensive. Thereafter, what
will happen to those twenty thousand people who will be done out
of their livelihood options?
N: Despite being declared a Ramsar site how is it that such
interventions continue to take place in the East Calcutta Wetlands?
The Changing Landscape of Calcutta
A two-fold on going study-documentation project by Khetro: 1. "The
D: You know, the Ramsar body doesn't have a legal arm. They were
Changing Ecology of Calcutta" 2. " The Changing Industrial
given a commitment from the government of India that the East
Landscape of Calcutta". Here are two recent case studies:
Calcutta Wetlands would be protected. Now if India, or the
government of West Bengal fails to keep this commitment, then the
I. Changing Ecology: Community
East Calcutta Wetlands will be simply chucked off from the Ramsar
Ecological Mapping
site list. What's so big about it? We might not have a Ramsar site
With aggressive urbanization taking place
but after all we are developing! I don't think losing a Ramsar site will
even in the city's fringes with no
create much of an impact in Calcutta. Who bothers?
comprehensive ecological planning, Khetro
realised that the documentation of the
N: What about the media's role in this particular issue?
city's biological diversity, related local
knowledge and sustainable
D: The media has played a brilliant role in bringing to the surface the
resource-use practises by the
debate in this case. If they hadn't done so then the situation would
local people was an
have worsened by now.
important task. This
is much needed for
N: 'Population is increasing fast, so Calcutta needs to expand'. This
Calcutta's
is a line often given by the city developers and the officials of the
conservation and also for
state's Urban Development Ministry which in a way justifies the
generating references for
eastward expansion of Calcutta. What do you feel about the need
sustainable ecological planning
for the city's expansion?
for the city. Under these
circumstances, Khetro initiated a study
D: This was debated at State Planning Board meetings sometime
documentation work as part of its 'The
around 1994. It was then decided that the city could expand towards
Changing Landscape of Calcutta' project.
the north, south and even the west, but not in the east. But you can
Nilanjan Bhattacharya, with support from the
clearly see that the commitment has not been kept. Things are quite
Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellowship Grant,
clumsy.
continued this particular study documentation work as a
pilot project in the year 2004.
N: What do you anticipate? What will happen finally?
Kalikapur is a densely populated locality in the eastern part of
Calcutta, mostly inhabited by the original people of this region.
D: I wouldn't like to anticipate anything at this point of time. The case
Kalikapur holds a unique ecosystem, a very rich mosaic of original
is beyond anticipation. These things happen too fast in Calcutta
vegetation, a number of small and big community and private ponds,
nowadays. It's quite clear that Calcutta is heading towards disaster.
swamps with reeds, and groves of indigenous trees and plants. The
We will lose most of the ecological subsidies. The city will be costlier
majority of Kalikapur residents are from the poorer economic strata
and it will lose its uniqueness as a
and a significant portion of them live much below the poverty line.
destination for the learners of
This poorer section has a significant dependence on the local
sustainable cities. This self
wilderness for their dietary supplements, fuel and fodder. These
destructive journey can't be stopped
people rear their cattle on empty land, collect dry leaves and plants
until and unless the government
from roadside bushes, collect saag, catch crabs and fish from
takes strong action immediately to
ponds, roadside canals, and waterlogged shallow lands, not only
protect the wetlands.
from Kalikapur but also from the adjacent localities which are
already more urban in all respects. Interestingly enough, the
children from this marginalized section play a leading role in these
activities. They satisfy their own hunger instinctively. They roam this
unique environment, not only gathering edibles or collecting fruit
during the day, for their own consumption, but also collect fuel and
fodder for their homes. In the process, these children usually of 4 to
Photo by Ranu Ghosh