PLACHIMADA, once it was celebrated as the “rice bowl of Kerala”, is a legal battle that everyone should know for a better understanding of the knowledge of human rights, environment, and property rights. This beautiful village became the centre-stage for the multi-decade conflict between an industrial giant and its own residents. For those of us in the legal profession, this case is a haunting reminder of how the rule of law often struggles to balance the justice between the sufferings of the communities and of the corporate atrocities.
In the year 2000, Hindustan Coca-Cola (HCC) established its plant in Plachimada and started extracting nearly 2 million litres of groundwater daily. As a result, within 6 months, the entire ecological balance got disturbed. The greenery-filled land turned desert brown. The local wells became dry. Due to the mixture of industrial waste with the land water, spoilt it by becoming milky-white and non-consumable. The damage went beyond scarcity.
All these happened inconspicuously, the worst part was
that the HCC distributed the sludge as “free fertilizers” to the local farmers.
The local community, without knowing the aftereffects of the sludge used in
their fertile lands, later turned into an impotent land because of the
poisonous contents like lead and cadmium.
THE HOPE, one Mrs.MAYILAMMA, age 62, an Adivasi woman,
who started her landmark satyagraha against the giant coca-cola company in the
year 2002. Her physical burden of walking kilometers to find the drinking water
made her think to fight for the welfare of her community, which led to the
establishment of the resistance movement against the greedy corporate.
In the year 2003, the entire nation witnessed a clash
of legal doctrines. On the piling up of PIL against the corporate atrocities,
the single bench of the Kerala High Court ruled based on the Public Trust Doctrine,
asserting that the State should act as a trustee and cannot allow the
over-exploitation of natural resources for commercial gain.
However, a division bench of the Kerala High Court immediately
reversed the application of the Public Trust Doctrine by relying on the principles
of the private property rights written in the Indian Easements Act, 1882, that
groundwater belongs to the owner. At that time, there was also a long debate
between the supremacy of the colonial-era property laws and the constitutional guarantee
of the right to life under Article 21.
Mayilamma’s continuous protest at the factory gates of
the HCC awakened the local, national, and international audience about the
issue of environmental damage. In the year 2004, the entire factory was forced
to stop its production. In the year
2005, her 1000th day, the audience turned into vehement protesters. Though there was no record of any attempt of assault or murder against her. Unfortunately,
in 2007, the legend died and her leadership came to an end.
But HER legacy of protest continues. In the year 2010,
a high-power committee was constituted by the State of Kerala, also known as the
Jayakumar committee, to estimate the environmental damage caused by the greedy corporate industry to Plachimada. Shocking, not surprising, that to restore the damage
the compensation amount calculated was around 216 Crores. The bitter truth of our Indian legal system is the
long wait for restitution. Like, a Bill from Parliament, which is used to get
stalled for years due to several reasons. Here in the case of the Plachimada
Tribunal Bill, 2011 suffered due to constitutional hurdles and president’s
assent. We all must know one thing first, the object and purpose of the bill,
it is to establish a tribunal to recover the calculated 216 crore amount from the
evil corporate. Sadly, No Bill, No Tribunal, No Justice. Till date!
The legacy of Mayilamma and the dry fields of the
Plachimada shake our conscience. We all need to rethink the role of law and the
justice delivery mechanism in the globalized world.
The question to all of us? Does our legal framework prioritise
the property rights of the corporates or the fundamental right to life for the marginalised
people of Plachimada?
The pursuit of Justice remains an unfinished job if we don’t fix the gap between the abstract statutes, ecological reality, the State-corporate crime.
Once Again, a Huge
Salute to Mayilamma!
Prof. Akbar
Principal i/c