Water

India legal news reports indicate that all’s not fizzy with Coca-Cola in Kerala. The company is facing a serious legal charge in Kerala. The Kerala government will soon set up a tribunal to recover Rs.216.26 crores from the world famous soft drink giant. The amount is sought as a compensation, for environmental harm and violation of environmental laws, by the company. The damage was caused because of their bottling plant and it affected the people of a village called Plachimada of Palakkad district. The company is reported to have caused serious environmental harm through its bottling plant, which is already closed, following sustained protests and stand taken by the court. The state government’s cabinet decided to set up the tribunal based on the report submitted by a panel headed by K. Jayakumar, the Additional Chief Secretary.

Environment laws are doing little to implement actual changes in the way a society conducts its activities. Rising pollution and increasing levels of deforestation continue to play havoc with our environment.  Be it air or water, pollution is prevalent everywhere. It puts us in danger, each and every one in this country is affected by it. In recent years, water pollution has become a serious problem across the country, mostly  due to the presence of untreated effluents, chemicals and pesticides in it.

Punjab, which is one of the richest states in India, is battling acute water pollution, particularly attributed to chemical toxicity. There has been an increase in the number of deaths due to cancer in the Malwa region, which has sent shock waves throughout the state. Remember, Erin Brockovich? This is a classic real life case in Punjab for us to delve into.

The purpose of coastal regulations in India is to preserve the coastal environment by regulating the use of land near the Indian coastline. Developmental activities along the Indian coast are governed by the provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 1991, under the Environment Protection Act 1986. This notification provides guidelines for protection and use of the land within 500 meters of the coast and 100 meters along the tidal influenced water bodies. The notification classifies India’s coastal stretch into CRZ-I (ecologically sensitive areas), CRZ-II (built up municipal areas), CRZ-III (rural areas) and CRZ –IV (the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar); and has been amended 19 times.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) now proposes to replace the existing notification with a Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) Notification based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee Report. Concerns have, however, been raised about this move on account of its impact on:  coastal communities and ecosystems, conservation and sustainable development. 

Numerous uses of water make it necessary for the survival of human life. In its pure form, water is usually tasteless, colorless and odorless. Due to all kinds of pollution, it is seldom found in its pure form. Several impurities are found in it mainly due to careless human activities.