Concern about Social Environment and Human Rights
JICA necessitates the inclusion of social and institutional conditions of the host country and actual site conditions while examining environmental and social factors likely to be impacted through the project. JICA also upholds internationally established human rights standards and pays special attention to the human rights of vulnerable social groups including women, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and minorities during the decision-making process.
In most places, police were deployed in large numbers during the EIA and SIA public hearings and, at places, activists and local participants...
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were detained creating an atmosphere of terror. The intimidation through use of police in guise of maintaining law and order has acted as a deterrent in ensuring meaningful public dialogue and clearly indicates that authorities and instruments of Government of India intend to browbeat any dissent or relevant queries.
Laws Regulations and Standards of Reference
JICA confirms that the project complies with environmental and constitutional / social laws of the central and local governments of host countries. The project must also adhere to the government’s policies and plans on the environment and society. JICA necessitates that projects comply to a large extent with the World Banks’s Safeguard Policies and refer to the standards of international finance organizations, internationally recognized standards, treaties declarations, and such. JICA also emphasizes the importance of good governance of projects and encourages the proponents to raise the performance levels, where inferior local regulations exist.
The MoEF&CC officials are found to be completely missing in all the public consultation processes, even as JICA officials are participating diligently. The complete absence of Indian officials from the MOEF&CC, despite required by the Indian laws is unprecedented and also very disturbing as it appears that it is absolving itself or is being made to absolve itself of its inherent mandatory duties, especially the ones required for such projects of massive and grim environmental and social impacts. [6]
Decision – making by JICA
JICA takes into account outcomes of its environmental reviews when making conclusive decisions regarding proposals. In projects where the environmental and social considerations are not adequate, JICA insists that project proponents rectify their approach. If the proposal still does not comply with required standards, JICA will not undertake or support the project. For projects that necessitate enforcement of environmental and social considerations or rules, the project proponents must report to JICA on the measures and monitoring they undertake related to environmental and social considerations. Project proponents are required to hold discussions with local stakeholders regarding any problems related to environmental and social considerations and reach consensus.
JICA can make changes to the agreement or suspend loan aid, grant aid, or technical cooperation in case the project proponents do not meet the guidelines set out or the project will have adverse impact on the environment because of the failure of the proponents to supply adequate and correct information during the review process. In cases where JICA concludes non-possibility of environmental and social considerations despite adequate measures, it will recommend the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) to discontinue the project.
As all levels and kinds of the Indian authorities are violating all the basic norms, procedures, and requirements of the JICA Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations 2010, in letter and spirit, this attitude clearly invites necessary, appropriate, and prompt action from JICA.
In 2014, the Government of India introduced amendments to ‘The Right to fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013’ (a Central Act) diluting the stringent provisions of social impact assessment and consent clauses in the 2013 Act by the promulgation of the Land Acquisition Ordinance under Article 123 on the last day of December 2014. The provisions of the ordinance were sought to be kept alive by repeated promulgation on April 3 and May 30 of 2015. The Central Ordinance eventually lapsed on August 31, 2015. The stage then shifted to the states. Several states including Gujarat and Maharashtra then sought to implement the content of the Ordinance by routing it through their respective state legislatures. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, whereby the basic structure of the Original central Act has been unconstitutionally changed to give exemption to large categories of projects from consent provisions, Social Impact Assessment, Objections by affected citizens and participation of local bodies.
With the advent of the NDA government in 2014, the crisis in environment policies in India has reached unparalleled proportions and worsened by leaps and bounds. [7] There has since been a spate of changes in environmental laws in order to allow for urbanization, industrialization, and unfettered development to the detriment of the environment and, often, the local and regional public.
Ensuring Appropriate Implementation of and Compliance with Guideline
If there is an objection raised regarding noncompliance with the guidelines laid out by JICA, an independent body separate from the project execution departments will be formed that will review the case. JICA also verifies the status of the implementation of the guidelines and revisits its way of procedures within 5 years of their enforcement by way of hearings of the concerned people.
Many objections have been raised by various stakeholder groups regarding the conduct of the stakeholder consultations. However, as far as the stakeholder groups are aware of the situation, no independent body to investigate or address the discrepancies or violations of JICA guidelines or Government of India’s laws and rules has been formed.
Overall, the stakeholder groups assert that the process conducted so far has failed to follow the JICA Guidelines for the Bullet Train Project in its true intent and spirit. The manner in which the project is conceptualised, proposed, and planned, it grossly contradicts the sustainable development promises and policies of the Japanese Government and Indian Constitution. Such a situation will bound to set wrong precedents at the national and international levels.
If serious issues and questions are not raised at this time in the process for this project, all the national or international human rights and environmental values, treaties, laws, and regulations will prove to be paper tigers only.
We owe an apology to the Earth – Air, Mountains, Hills, Valleys, Rivers, Ravines, Tributaries, Ponds, Lakes, Sea, Forests, Land, Farmlands, Wetlands, Grasslands, Deserts, Physical and Biodiversities … Entire Nature, Other Life on Earth and all farm produce for having failed to protect and nurture them from the effects of climate change, human greed and abuses, irreversible damage, contamination, and pollution. The present “Development Model” rests on the severe exploitation of Nature, and the have-nots whose voice isn’t heard. We need to redefine “Development” to be more holistic, comprehensive and inclusive.
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