[Urbanstudy] Urgent Appeal to endorse Petition to Indian Prime Minister to Stop the environmentally disastrous National Investment Board from being set up

[ESG India]

Dear Friends,

Indian Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram with characteristic 
confidence declared couple of weeks ago that the National Investment 
Board (NIB) that he proposed to the Cabinet would be a reality in a 
matter of weeks.  Little did he realise then that the first major 
opposition to this idea would come from his Cabinet colleague, Indian 
Environment and Forests Minister Mrs. Jayanti Natarajan.

In a five page letter that Mrs. Natarajan wrote to the Prime Minister 
Dr. Manmohan Singh, she argued that such a Board substantially leverages 
corporate interests over human rights and the environment and that 
giving projects worth"Rs. 1,000 crore (approx. USD 200 million) or more 
a route for fast-track appeal,...does not contemplate giving a hearing 
to citizens, stakeholders, or NGOs, who may be aggrieved by the impact 
of the project."  She strongly opposed the proposal asserting that the 
NIB will "be used for the benefit ONLY of large investors, but not 
ordinary people, local citizens and stakeholders dedicated to preserving 
environmental integrity."  Her emphatic opposition to this proposal is 
evident in this statement: "/This concept is unacceptable. The NIB has 
no constitutional authority to decide on the failure of any minister... 
when the Minister of a Ministry takes a decision, there is absolutely no 
justification for an NIB to assume his/her authority. Nor will the NIB 
have the competence to do so."/(The full text of the Environment 
Minister's letter may be read at:***http://tinyurl.com/8ttfpbx)*

Soon after another Cabinet colleague of Mr. Chidambaram, Indian 
Panchayat Raj and Tribal Affairs Minister Mr. Kishore Chandra Deo, 
opposed the proposal stating: ""No environment clearance should be given 
to any project until there is total compliance with the Forest Rights 
Act (FRA) and also unless the provisions of Panchayat Extension to 
Scheduled Areas (PESA) are fully met,"

NIB is the most preposterous pro-investment proposal that has emerged in 
India in recent times.  It essentially argues that it's /okay/to accord 
mega projects super fast clearances even when their mega environmental 
and social impacts and mega economic risks aren't fully comprehended and 
assessed.  Besides, the idea is to bypass statutory procedures of 
reviewing such projects, thus subordinating constitutionally mandated 
Rights to politically expedient investment priorities.

Because of staunch opposition from within the Union Cabinet, Mr. 
Chidambaram has not been able to push ahead with his NIB proposal in the 
Cabinet meeting that took place on 11 October 2012.  But there is every 
likelihood that with support from many other Cabinet Ministers he will 
pursue the NIB idea in next week's Cabinet meeting.

*If there ever was a time to stop a very bad idea, it is now.*This is 
why we request you to immediately endorse our Petition to the Prime 
Minister of India to nip the NIB proposal in its bud. Kindly do this 
before 16^th October, Tuesday, in time for the next Cabinet meeting. The 
Petition may be accessed at: *http://tinyurl.com/9on4vbf*(Full text of 
the Petition is attached, but please  endorse only online.)

Every time you sign the petition, a copy will be delivered to the email 
IDs of the Prime Minister and most Cabinet Ministers. The more people 
that endorse this petition, the more likely the chances for our 
collective action ending this environmentally destructive, socially 
unjust and undemocratic NIB idea. Therefore, kindly share this petition 
widely with your contacts.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.


ESG Team


-- 
Environmental, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives
Environment Support Group - Trust
1572, 36th Cross, Ring Road
Banashankari II Stage
Bangalore 560070. INDIA
Tel: 91-80-26713559~61
Voice/Fax: 91-80-26713316
Web:www.esgindia.org
Email:esg at esgindia.org




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