Freedom of Information Victory in India

Lalanath de Silva — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:48:38 -0500

For the first time in its ten-year history, the National Environmental Appellate Authority* (NEAA) has overturned a decision by the Government of India, quashing an environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In its decision, the Appellate Authority cited a failure of public participation and access to information.

On December 19, 2007, the NEAA quashed environmental clearance for the Polavaram Multipurpose project granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The project, which would have displaced close to 3000 families (totaling about 200,000 people) in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chattisgarh, was to have included a hydroelectric power component of 960 MW and irrigation facilities. The project was proposed by the State of Andrah Pradesh.

The project was opposed by civil society organizations on the grounds that the required Environmental Impact Assessment had been performed inadequately, and the Ministry of Environment and Forests had failed to conduct any public hearings in the affected States of Orissa and Chattisgarh.

During the hearing, both States contended that the legally required environmental clearance was granted by the Ministry of Environment without considering the opinion of the states though they were affected by submergence.

Immediately after the Appellate Authority’s decision, the State Government (Andrah Pradesh) filed a petition for the Andra Pradesh High Court (the highest court in the State) to review the case. The Court has now temporarily suspended the decision of the Appellate Authority and fixed a hearing for February 11.

The NEAA found that:

People to be affected by the project had no access to the executive summary in the notified place
People to be affected by the project had no opportunity to participate in public hearings and express their view on the likely environmental impact of the construction of the project

The Appeal against the clearance was filed by Dr R. Sreedhar of Academy for Mountain Environics and represented by Ritwick Dutta. Dutta is a leader of the TAI network in India, and is preparing to launch a formal, TAI assessment of access to justice, public participation, and access to information in Northern India.

*The National Environmental Appellate Authority is the only competent Authority set up by Parliament through an Act to hear appeals from aggrieved/ affected persons against the grant of environmental clearances by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to different projects across the country.

Hungary Joins Partnership for Principle 10

Heather McGray — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Hungary becomes the 8th country to pledge better access to information, justice and participation in environmental decision-making.<!–break–>

On Friday, October 27th, the Government of Hungary committed to improving its nation’s environmental governance and public access to information. The country will soon become the 8th national government to join the international Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10), an international coalition of governments, international organizations, and civil society groups committed to translating Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration into action by promoting transparent, inclusive, and accountable decision-making at the national level. The Partnership provides a venue for interested parties to work together to implement practical solutions that provide the public with access to information, participation, and justice for environmentally sustainable decisions.

Hungary’s commitments were announced by Dr. Gábor Baranyai, Head of Department, Ministry of Environment and Water. The specific commitments by the Government of Hungary need to be reviewed by current members of the Partnership before Hungary is formally admitted as a full member.

Hungary’s recent commitments included:

Expansion of the Greenpoint Network: The Government recently established a “greenpoint” or “green dot” system made up of 29 offices of the Ministry of Environment and Water. The PP10 commitment means this network will be further expanded. The original network was created partly in response to an assessment of Hungary performed by the Hungarian nonprofit Environmental Management and Law Association, a member of The Access Initiative (TAI).
Trainings on Aarhus for the Greenpoint Network staff: The Aarhus Convention (more formally known as the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) was adopted in 1998. The Convention links environmental rights and human rights, and acknowledges an obligation to future generations. While extremely visible across Europe, even government officials tasked with honoring this committment often lack the capacity to implement it. Hungary has committed to training the staff of its Greenpoint Network to be able implement Aarhus in their everyday work.
Improvements to the Ministry of Environment and Water’s web portal: The Ministry has committed to further develop its web portal in order to provide more up-to-date information for the public and support public participation in legislative drafting. The improved web resources will also expand the information available in English.
Allocation of staff time to PP10: In order to make its commitment to PP10 meaningful, a government must assign staff and other resources to manage the commitment and ensure that commitments are honored. Hungary has committed such staff.
Putting Aarhus on the agenda of an inter-ministerial committee on environmental programs: Hungary has committed to expanding the purview of the committee of the National Environmental Program of Hungary to include attention to Aarhus commitments.

Hungary joins the Governments of Bolivia (in process), Chile, Mexico, Indonesia (in process), Uganda, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom as formal members of PP10, for which the World Resources Institute serves as the global secretariat. PP10 partners, including national governments and civil society organizations, make specific commitments and partner on initiatives to improve access and participation within member countries. A full list of the partners, and more information on PP10, can be found at www.pp10.org.

Hungary’s announcement occurred almost simultaneously with the release of a long-awaited report (pdf) compiled by TAI partners on environmental democracy in select European countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, and Ukraine. In addition, the report draws on pilot water case studies from Estonia and Ireland.

The summary of the TAI findings in Europe are:

Legal frameworks strongly support meaningful implementation of access rights.
Access to information is generally satisfactory in practice.
Participation in decision-making exists, but can not guarantee that the public is heard.
Access to justice is gradually opening up for environmental matters.
Capacity building is severely needed but constantly struggles with resource shortages.

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Freedom of Information Victory in India

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Hungary Joins Partnership for Principle 10