I am horrified that we wait for a disaster before acting: Saldanha

Leo Saldanha, coordinator of Environment Support Group, a Bangalore-based NGO that opposed construction of the second runway at Bajpe Airport, says the top-down decision-making process is destabilising our country.

How does it feel to see what you feared would happen at the Mangalore airport?
I am horrified that, in our country, we always wait for a disaster before we act. But I’m not confident that even disasters disturb our lackadaisical attitude to conforming to standards.

Would you have had more success if you had argued on safety grounds from the beginning instead of the displacement-of-people angle?
The two are not unconnected issues. We argued that a wrong site was selected for the second runway in Mangalore because it is easy in this country to dislocate the poor. A more appropriate site was not chosen in Bajpe because it would have dislocated influential and landed communities.

Is the bureaucratic mindset to blame for the apathy towards activism?
The bureaucracy, unfortunately, assumes a lot, including claims to its own competency. If it made its decisions transparent and if it’s accessible to people, and importantly, if decisions are made after public participation, this disaster could have been averted. In fact, Mangalore’s second runway project was slipped through the environmental clearance system without the mandatory public hearing by manipulating the budget in the application to show that it was a small project, and thus, exempt from public consultation.
With the benefit of hindsight, one can see that if a public hearing was held, all these facts would have been made public a long time ago and this dangerous air strip may have not been selected.

Should civil society be more involved? Should a new kind of activism emerge?
Civil society is already very involved and engaged in high-quality activism. We have seen plenty of this in rural areas and cities, including Bangalore.  Unfortunately, vested interests always ridicule sincere efforts and limit the possibility of advancing the wider public interest.

Do you feel helpless to know that despite having approached to the Supreme Court, the matter was neglected?
Not at all. In fact, we feel it’s because of efforts by groups such as ours that the political and bureaucratic decision-making systems are held accountable to a degree. There is very little or no support for our kind of work. Yet, there are so many who keep emerging to take up these challenges and promote the interest of the public.

You have said activists are seen as ‘nuisance-makers’ by authorities and courts. Should activists change their strategy?
I’ve had the privilege of arguing cases in the Karnataka high court and my arguments have been respected. It is important that corporates in general and government agencies in particular do not view voluntary public interest organisations with prejudice.

What changes in the project-sanctioning process would you suggest to make the process systematic?
Fundamentally, all decisions have to be made bottom-up. It is the top-down decision-making structure that is destablising our country. There is a need to devolve genuine decision-making powers and to apply standards strictly — be it a road project or airport development. Decision-makers who compromise must not be spared.

Should international agencies be allowed to inspect and certify the airport, considering it (Mangalore airport) is an international airport?
I think we have the capacity to do it ourselves. Political compulsion is disallowing competency in decision-making to become the basis of critical decisions. Business and corporate pressure on key decisions are compromising public interest and it is high time we address this malaise. In the case of Mangalore airport, corporate pressure is pushing the government to promote airports without appreciating the high risks involved.