A River Rubbished

In the chemical heartland of Gujarat, Rohit Prajapati and the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti both are not exactly popular. It8217;s not difficult to see why.

In the chemical heartland of Gujarat, Rohit Prajapati and the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti PSS both are not exactly popular. It8217;s not difficult to see why. Prajapati has single-handedly taken on the chemical industry in a bid to check industrial pollution and ensure workers get compensation.

His present fight is over the city8217;s solid waste dump site run by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, that, he says, is clogging the Vishwamitri river and ravines.

Prajapati is not new to this kind of combat. The 40-year-old activist got together with a group of like-minded people while he was studying mechanical engineering in Maharaja Sayajirao University in the late Eighties. 8216;8217;We formed a group called Manthan. All of us got interested in different environmental issues, but after my post graduation in alternative energy sources from Germany, issues of occupational health and industrial pollution became my chief concern,8217;8217; remembers Prajapati.

But he and his group became a force to reckon with only after the Hema Chemicals case. They took up this pollution issue to the Supreme Court monitoring committee for hazardous waste in 2002. Two years later, the Supreme Court ordered a detailed investigation into the impact of the hazardous waste dumped by the unit in Vadodara city and also asked for a rehabilitation plan for the affected people. A medical study was also announced to evaluate the impact of the chromium waste on human health.

Finally, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board GPCB ordered the factory8217;s closure and also a fine of Rs 17 crore in August 2004.

But the fight is not over yet. 8216;8217;I feel sorry for the workers. While rulings are favourable, implementation is a problem,8217;8217; observes Prajapati. Though he admits that the battle on the street is more important than the legal battle, he maintains that the latter has to be fought. 8216;8217;Legally the issue of environment and pollution is only seen as a compensation issue, but it is through petitions and legal fight that proper representations can be only done, and even the authorities be made aware,8217;8217; believes Prajapati.

For now, he is concentrating on the city8217;s solid waste dump site, that he says, is clogging the Vishwamitri river and ravines.

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Referring to one of the Gujarat High Court8217;s ruling in preserving and protecting water bodies, Prajapati has taken the matter to the GPCM. The board has served notices to the Vadodara municipal council, which has now promised to develop a scientifically developed landfill site somewhere else.8217; Prajapati is keeping a close watch.