Original Query: Arati Davis, Svaraj, Bangalore
Posted: 21 August 2006
I work with a Bangalore based NGO which focuses on Integrated Water Resource Management in South India. We cover the four southern states with eleven local partner organisations to promote community management of natural resources, specifically water. Since the aim of our intervention is to provide sustainable community platforms for conflict resolution, our programmes give considerable emphasis to enable rural and urban communities to engage with existing government frameworks.
While working with these local field organisations, it has been my experience that more and more partners see the judiciary rather than the government as a promising venue for fostering change. For example, a lot of our work is focused around urban and peri-urban areas, where drinking water for communities is being directly impacted by industrial water use and pollution. Our partners increasingly view Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a key solution for resolving local conflicts in the short term, and equitable distribution in the long-term.
However, the problem in using the PIL as a strategy for equity and conflict resolution is that small field NGOs lack resources for research and adherence to the legal process to sustain the PIL against typically larger and more 'powerful' opponents. Additionally, judgements by courts may offer short term, shortsighted or inappropriate solutions. For instance, closing down offending industries in a specific locale, with strict conditions on reestablishment, does not resolve the issue of relocation of the same industry to a different area or state. Finally, depending on the time taken for the case to be heard and resolved, NGOs who have filed cases are barred from continued agitation on the issue, which can ultimately work against the NGOs.
In the above context, I request members to please share experience on :
- Examples where PILs have resulted in tangible benefits to poorest stakeholders or where PILs have proved to be barriers for ground level change.
- Experiences, reactions, and opinions on the use of PIL for resolving water related conflicts and questions of distribution between multi-stakeholders with different inherent negotiating powers.
- Mechanisms and processes by which time, reach and enforcement of legal decisions can be made better.
Please see attachment below for the responses.
