[Reader-list] Posting-III

[ranu ghosh]

*Hi all apologize for delay in posting*

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*The Changing Industrial Landscape of Kolkata: documenting the
transformation of a half a century old factory, Joy Engineering Works into
Kolkata's South City Project, "Eastern India's largest mixed use real estate
development".*
  POSTING 3



*Legal Battles:*

* *

·          2nd January 2006        : Vasuandhara an environmental group
sends a report and a set of

                                              photographs about filling of
Bikramgarh Jheel by the South City developers to

                                              different government
departments.


·         24th January &              : West Bengal Pollution Control Board
conducted hearings on the issue.

        17th February 2006

·         8th March 2006            : West Bengal Pollution Control Board
engineers visited the site and reported

                                             about filling up of the
waterbody.

·         29th March 2006          : Fisheries department of Govt. of West
Bengal and Kolkata Municipal

                                             Corporation informed about the
filling up of Bikramgarh Jheel in the hearing.



Following these actions on 5th April 2006 West Bengal Pollution Control
Board formed an independent committee headed by P.N. Roy to look into the
matter. The committee observed that the South City project has encroached
part of Bikramgarh Jheel. It submitted a report recommending stopping of all
work in South City and restoration of Bikramgarh Jheel. In July 2006 Chief
Secretary of the State formed a subsequent committee which has submitted
it's findings in August 2006: ''on inspections, it is evident that the South
City project has encroached on a part of the said Bikramgarh Jheel at
present with the construction of a basement''. The committee has recommended
the creation of a 1.41-acre waterbody by South City as "compensation" for
the encroachment on Bikramgarh Jheel.  On the other hand D.J. Chakraborty,
Manager (Corporate & PR) of South City told newspapers and the court, "We
are not yet aware of the Chief Secretary's committee report, but we have not
encroached on Bikramgarh Jheel in any manner".



Followed by Chief Secretary Committee's recommendation of re-creation a
1.41-acre of waterbody by the South City Project as "compensation" for
encroachment of the Jheel West Bengal Pollution Control Board and the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation have told the developers that they will have
to create an artificial waterbody within the South City complex equivalent
in size to the natural waterbody they have usurped. Then only the official
clearances for completing the construction would be given to them!  I found
the recommendation ridiculous as it indulged the demolition of a natural
water body which would lead to the loss of a huge biomass.



Additional solicitor-general, R. Mohan has opined that the board does not
have any power to allow filling up of the water body and give direction to
create another water body. Both committees have recommended as recently as
August 2006 that the construction work of SCP must cease. SCP is blatantly
ignoring all these directives, and the government's inaction in the matter
indicates their silent collusion of, and support to the "development".



Apart from the court case filed by Sambhu Prasad two other High Court cases
are going on now:

-          An application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, by
Bhaskar Gupta Roy & Another (petitioners) versus The WBPCB and others for
giving illegal permission for construction of South City Project (SCP) and
its cause of environmental pollution.

-          MLA Javed Khan (Trinamool Congress) vs. South City Projects on
the cause of Environmental pollution of the surrounding areas.

At present, Dates of final hearings of these court cases are awaited.



* *

*Meeting a Solitary Soldier: *



Sometime in the beginning of March 2006, Ramesh, one of the employees of Joy
engineering Works, told me about Sambhu Prasad Singh, a colleague of his who
along with 13 others refused to accept the voluntary retirement scheme which
Jay Engineering authority tried to force on them. Not only Sambhu refused to
accept the scheme but he was the only person who didn't leave his staff
quarter which fell inside the under construction South City project. Once I
heard about Sambhu I decided to meet him personally. Very soon I visited the
displaced workers who have been staying outside the boundary wall of the
South City project, to find information about Sambhu. I was asking them how
to meet Sambhu as I would not be allowed to meet him inside the complex. One
of those workers told me that Sambhu's quarter inside the complex was close
to the boundary wall where we were standing then. I made a desperate
attempt- climbed up the wall and started calling Sambhu by his name. From
there I could see Sambhu's den, a two-storied forlorn quarter, covered on
three sides by under construction gigantic concrete towers of South
Cityprojects. A dark lanky man might be in his mid forties, came out
from his
top floor room within a minute. He was visibly flabbergasted seeing me on
the top of the wall. Sambhu came down running and stood there beside the
wall where I was standing. It was such a strange situation! I narrated him
quickly about my interest in following the transformation of Joy Engineering
to South City and it's displaced labour force. Shambhu took no time to
respond, "You get down and wait there. I am meeting you in two minutes."



Then he came out from the complex and met me outside the complex. A long and
revealing interaction took place where I remained a listener most of the
time. Sambhu talked about eviction in details. He told me about how he had
been resisting continuous pressure, which had been put on him from various
corners, starting from union leaders, builders, to local police authorities,
for accepting the voluntary retirement scheme and then evict his quarter.
Sambhu was lured, diverted and even threatened for life many times, in many
ways, but nothing could break his determination. He dealt everything with
firmness and integrity. Sambhu explained to me, how the court case, which he
issued against his ex-employer, Joy Engineering, had saved him from being
evicted. Sambhu made his stand clear in that very first interaction with me
- he was not ready to leave his rights as a worker so easily. "We are a
family of workers and have been serving this company for three generations.
I am not going to accept the meagre hand out the company is trying to offer
me. I am going to stay in my quarter until and unless I receive my dues". I
was thrilled meeting such an individual who has challenged the destructive
development while resisting his own victimisation. Since then my project got
a new turn as I have decided to follow various developments in Sambhu
Prasad's life along with the stages of developments in the South Cityprojects.





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*END OF POSTING 3*
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