Balancing
Development and Conservation: The Legal Dilemmas of the East Kolkata Wetlands
ABSTRACT
The East Kolkata
Wetlands (EKW), located on the eastern fringes of Kolkata city, bordering the
Salt Lake township on the one hand and the new township at Rajarhat on the
other, forms one of the largest assemblages of sewage-fed fish ponds. This
research examines the different legal dilemmas related to the East Calcutta
Wetlands. The unique feature of the EKW is sewage treatment through
pisciculture. West Bengal's The East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and
Management) Act 2006 represents an essential landmark for establishing an
appropriate institutional regime for managing the Wetlands. Researchers opine
that East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority is dominated by upper-caste
politicians and bureaucrats engendering inequity, and the real
estate-politician lobby continues to creep into wetlands areas through this
skewed power structure. Since 1950, vast acres of the wetland area have been
encroached upon with the ever-increasing population, industrialisation,
modernisation, and need for residential spaces. The Kolkata Municipal
Corporation (KMC) area generates roughly 910 million litres of sewage daily,
and urbanisation increased the flow of untreated sewage, solid waste, and
pollutants into the wetlands. These pollutants degrade water quality and reduce
the wetlands' capacity to act as a natural purifier for the city. Thus, the EKW
is at risk of losing its essential ecological functions. The widely cited judgement
of Public v State of West Bengal halted the State's reclamation of the East
Kolkata Wetland. The State has led urbanisation in the salt lake, and the
landowners of the East Kolkata Wetlands also aspire for speculative growth in
their area. Conservation should address sociological issues. The present-day
Government should strive to solve the dilemmas of the East Kolkata Wetlands and
balance development and conservation.
Introduction
Justice Umesh Chandra
Banerjee, in his landmark judgement in the case of People United for Better
Living in Calcutta (Public) Versus the State of West Bengal, where the State
wanted to reclaim 900 acres of the East Calcutta Wetlands said, 'There should
be a proper balance between the protection of the environment and the
development process: The society shall have to prosper, but not at the cost of
the environment and in the similar vein, the environment shall have to be
protected but not at the cost of the development of the society-there shall
have to be both development and proper environment and as such, a balance has
to be found out and administrative actions ought to proceed in accordance
therewith and not d’hors the same. Justice Banerjee also said, 'Wetlands, being
a bounty of nature, have a significant role in the proper development of
society, whether from an environmental or an economic perspective. Pollution
wise this metropolitan city of Calcutta tops the list in the country-can we in
this city further endanger the environment by reclaiming the nature’s gift to humanity
when, in fact, such a reclamation is only for expansion of the satellite
township on the Eastern fringe of the city of Calcutta’.
Wetlands are areas
where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the
associated plant and animal life. They occur where the water table is at or
near the land's surface or where water covers the land.
The Ramsar Convention
takes a broad approach to determining the wetlands under its aegis. Under the
text of the Convention (Article 1.1), wetlands are defined as: ‘areas of marsh,
fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary,
with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas
of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres’.[1]
India officially
accepted the Ramsar convention on February 1st, 1982, to safeguard and prevent
harm to Ramsar Sites. As of February 2023, there are 75 Ramsar Sites in India,
collectively spanning an area of 1,326,677 hectares under the List of Wetlands
of International Importance.[2]
The East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), located on the eastern fringes of Kolkata city, bordering the Salt Lake township on the one hand and the new township at Rajarhat on the other, forms one of the largest assemblages of sewage-fed fish ponds.
East Kolkata Wetlands are between 22°27'00"N and 88°27'00"E; they cover an area of 12,500 hectares (Ha). They comprise nearly 254 sewage-fed fisheries distributed across the South and North 24 Parganas districts, covering 37 Mouzas (30 full and 7 part). Besides, small agricultural plots, solid waste farms, and some built-up areas exist.[3]Considering its ecological and social significance, UNESCO designated the EKW area as of international importance in 2002 by adding it to the Ramsar list.[4] This research examines the different legal dilemmas related to the East Calcutta Wetlands.
The Dilemma Regarding Legislation
Kaushik Biswas says
that when the Indian Constitution was adopted, the lawmakers did not include
provisions related to the environment. The environment subject entered the
Constitution through Article 48A and Article 51A(g) because of the Constitution
(42nd Amendment) Act, 1976.
Article 48A states, ' The
State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the
country's forests and wildlife”. Article 51A(g) holds that ‘it shall be the
duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living
creatures.’
The Indian Constitution
has separate lists of the subject matters on which the Centre and the State can
legislate. The seventh Schedule of the Constitution mentions these lists. List
I mentions the subject matters of the Union, List II mentions the subject
matters of the State, and List III is a Concurrent List of subjects on which
both the Union and the States can legislate. There is no mention of Wetlands in
any list.
The State List comprises
public health and sanitation, water supply, agriculture, irrigation, and
drainage. The Union List does not mention the term ‘environment.’ Article 248
of the Indian Constitution gives the Indian Parliament exclusive power to
legislate on any subject matter not enumerated in the State or concurrent list.
Since the State List contains issues like water supply, irrigation and
drainage, and fisheries, the States have exclusive power to legislate on
wetlands.
The Indian Constitution
has Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in articles 37-51 in part
IV. These Directive Principles are ideals meant to be considered by the State
when it formulates policies and enacts laws, but they are not justifiable. According
to Article 51C of the Indian Constitution, the State shall endeavour to ‘foster
respect for International Law and Treaty obligations in the dealings of organised
people with one another.’
Despite being a
signatory of the Ramsar Convention, India could not enact any law to protect
wetlands because of the constraints under the Constitution. However, Article
51(C), read with 253, empowers the Central Government to legislate on
implementing international obligations and decisions in international treaties
and associations. Once the Union is obliged under international law, the global
law also binds the states. So, it becomes the duty of every State to enact
appropriate legislation to protect wetlands in their respective States.
Until the last decade,
India had no legal framework for conserving, managing, and using wetlands
wisely. The Government proclaimed the Wetland (Conservation and Management)
Rules, 2010, as the first regulatory framework dedicated to wetland
conservation and management, notifying it under Section 25, read with Section 3
of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. the rules were defective as there
were No comprehensive suggestions or recommendations to protect wetlands. The
rule attempted to bring the country's wetland resources under official control.
To achieve this, the Government proposed to constitute central and state-level
wetland regulatory authorities comprising government officials. The Rules did
not mention the importance of maintaining the livelihoods of people with low
incomes, nor did it discuss the effect of wetlands degradation on the poor and
vulnerable.
The Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has notified Wetlands
(Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, under the provisions of the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as the regulatory framework for the
conservation and management of wetlands in India. These rules are pivotal to
conserving, managing, and maintaining the wetlands' ecological character
without restricting their wise use. These rules fortify the legal framework for
environmental concerns and strengthen the institutional framework through State
/ UT Wetland Authorities and a National Wetland Committee.
Wetlands (Conservation
and Management) Rules 2017 have enhanced the focus of wetlands management from
a central authority to state bodies. The rules provide an advisory role for the
National Wetland Committee to guide the state bodies on the integrated
management of wetlands based on the wise‐use principle and review the progress
of the integrated management of Ramsar Convention sites.[7]
The East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservationand Management) Act,
2006: The Dilemma of Missing Local Voices.
West Bengal’s The East
Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Act 2006 represents an essential
landmark for establishing an appropriate institutional regime for managing the
Wetlands. The Act took explicit cognisance of EKW as a Wetland of International
Importance and its various ecosystem services, including regulation of water
regime, a mechanism for wastewater treatment, as a source for underground water
recharging and other socio-cultural values.
The Act also recognised
the immense pressure of urbanisation on the wetland and the need to prevent its
conversion to alternate uses. The Act defined the land use within the wetland
as per revenue records, identifying each land parcel to be substantially
water-dominated, under agriculture or settlement. The Act banned further
diminution of the wetland area, change in its (ecological) character, and land
use. It paved the way for establishing the East Kolkata Wetland Management
Authority. The authority has to work for the conservation and management of the
wetlands by the demarcation of the wetland boundaries, enforcing land use
control, preventing any unauthorised development, undertaking measures to abate
pollution, promoting research and promoting conservation principles – like
sewage-fed fisheries and ecotourism.
The authority structure
includes the representation of all line departments and organisations. The
Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal is the Chairman of the
Authority, and the Secretary of the Department of Environment (Government of
West Bengal) is its Member Secretary. The other members include: - Secretaries
of the state government departments of urban development, irrigation and
waterways, fisheries, forests, municipal affairs, land and land reforms,
panchayat and rural development;- Chairman and Member Secretary, West Bengal
Pollution Control Board - Chief Executive Officer, Kolkata Metropolitan
Development Authority - Commissioner, Kolkata Municipal Corporation - District
Magistrates of the 24 Parganas (North and South) - Representative of Institute
of Environmental Studies and Wetland Management - Two nominated representatives
of nongovernment organisations - One representative of fishermen cooperative
societies. The Chief Technical Officer heads the office of authority and
oversees day-to-day affairs and functioning.[9]
The
bare Act directs fourteen out of seventeen offices within the management
authority to be solely occupied by government officials, politicians and bureaucrats
but dedicates only one out of the remaining three positions to a representative
of the fishermen cooperatives upon nomination by the state government. The
remaining two office-bearers, representatives of non-governmental institutions
with expertise in wetland conservation and management, will also be decided
through state government nomination. There needs to be more representation of
other informal sector workers engaged in livelihoods situated within the
wetlands ecosystem, such as waste collectors and workers involved in waste
recycling, apart from sewage agriculturists.[10]
This move to minimise the substantive representation of marginalised communities, or rather the primary stakeholders, in the institutional decision-making process itself underscores how the socially dominant upper-caste politicians and bureaucrats engender inequity. The real estate-politician lobby, which continues to creep into wetlands areas, is encouraged through this skewed power structure in the wetlands management authority, which prohibits adequate transparency and accountability of these institutions to the communities they are supposed to serve.[11]
Section 7 of the Act mentions that the vacancy
of any of the offices within the management authority cannot be a valid reason
to delegitimise or even question the decisions taken by the management
authority, which implies that despite the law initially commanding (tokenistic)
representation of affected fishing communities within the policymaking
institution, it also adds an escape clause by not making the former directive
adequately binding.[12]
Urban Expansion
versus Environmental conservation: a growing dilemma
Kolkata was the first significant
city developed by the British East India Company in the early 1700s. The East
India Company built their first fortified construction, Fort William, to
protect them from the other colonial aspirants. Around this fortified
structure, the city of Kolkata grew and nurtured itself. It was a garrison town
first, then the Company’stown, next a provincial city, and later the
headquarters of the British India government. It stimulated significant growth
in size over the years. The Kolkatamegalopolis began with a population of
100,000 in 1735 and grew to 15 million (KMDA Report 2005), reflecting largely
uncontrolled growth over the past 300 years.[13]
Kolkata grew alongside
the river Hooghly until the middle of the 20th century. The initial settlements
in the town were on the flood-safe levees along the river bank, and the city
grew north and south along the river. Areas to the east and southeast were,
until the 1940s, shown in maps to be marshes and water bodies. Wetlands in the
east and southeast were converted for the Salt Lake Reclamation Scheme in 1956,
forming new townships of Salt Lake in the 1970s. In other words, the wetlands
and water bodies in the eastern and southeastern fringes, which were not tapped
into during the initial period of the city's growth, have now become seen as a
frontier that can be exploited for the access they would give to the land.[15]
With the increase in
population over the years, the second plan of the Kolkata Metropolitan
Development Authority aimed to develop a satellite township in the eastern
fringe of Kolkata, resulting in the Rajarhat Newtown project in the east part
of Kolkata. Kolkata and Rajarhat Newtown, two big industrialised centres, are
juxtaposed with the East Kolkata Wetland between them. Eastern Metropolitan
Bypass and flyovers made the wetland area accessible.
Kolkata surrounds East Kolkata Wetland to the west, Salt Lake to the northwest, and Rajarhat Newtown to the northeast. The Authorities created the East Kolkata Township and Patuli Township in eastern Kolkata. Since 1950, vast acres of the wetland area have been encroached upon with the ever-increasing population, industrialisation, modernisation, and need for residential spaces.
Research findings on temporal change in the east Kolkata wetlands from 1991 to 2021 showa rapid increase in the built-up areas from 6% in 1991 to 20% in 2021. the northwestern part of the East Kolkata wetland and the satellite township Newtown Rajarhat show the most significant conversion to built-up areas. Industrialisation and modernisation in the Kolkata and Newtown area increased the chances of real estate business in the east Kolkata wetland. There has been a deterioration of fisheries in the last 30 years. Fisheries have decreased from 29% to 16%. Selling aquaculture ponds and converting them to the built-up area is the main reason behind the deterioration. This temporal change happened despite the Kolkata Metropolitan agency, the chief planning and development agency for the KMDA region, designating East Kolkata Wetlands as a 'No Development Zone'.
With the increase in
population over the decades, the number of urban landfills has increased.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation uses the East Kolkata Wetland as a dumping ground
for urban waste. With the rich soil fertility, organic farming is practised
here in the DhapaManpur region of East Kolkata Wetland. The real estate
business is one of the main reasons behind the changing pattern of land use, loss
and deterioration of wetlands. Ramsar convention in 2002 designated 12500 acres
of wetland area under protection. Land use changes decreased after the
designation, as the authorities enacted many laws to preserve the valuable
services provided by the wetlands, but the illegal encroachments persisted.
Metro railways, concrete roads, and residential complexes all led to a decrease
in aquaculture farms and open lands. Rural livelihoods in the east Kolkata
wetland suffer a lot.[16]
A range of factors is
responsible for the degradation of the EKW, including the area’s rapid,
haphazard, and unplanned urbanisation and associated infrastructure
development. Real estate housing companies, government organisations, and
related urban development promoters are encroaching on the area, posing a
significant threat to the wetland. The high concentration of urban
infrastructure in the Bidhannagar Municipality has created additional problems
related to water quality deterioration, aquatic pollution, eutrophication, and
wetland degradation.[17]
The Dilemma of Right to Shelter Versus Environment
Conservation.
Homelessness has been a
primary global concern for many decades. Kolkata, the largest megacity of
eastern India, attracts an exodus of rural people from its extensive peripheral
region. According to the 2011 census report, West Bengal (134,040) ranked
seventh in India, and Kolkata (69,798) ranked first in the district-wise
distribution of the homeless population.[18]
Though
not expressly mentioned in the Indian Constitution, judicial pronouncements
guaranteed the Right to Shelter by extending the purview of Articles 19 and 21.[19]
The landmark judgements Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, Shantistar
Builders v. Narayan Khimalal Totame, The State of Karnataka v. Narasimhamurthy,
and Rajesh Yadav v. State of Uttar Pradesh helped establish the Right to
Shelter as a Fundamental Right.
The
population explosion in Kolkata due to refugees and the influx of migrants due
to urbanisation and economic opportunities increased the demand for housing.
The Right to Shelter has become a significant threat to the EKW, putting
immense pressure on this unique ecosystem. Increased construction activities
and residential, commercial, and industrial expansion
intruded into the wetland regions.
Sayantan Das has documented the extent of land use changes in the EKW using satellite imagery. It highlights the transformation of land use in the East Kolkata Wetlands region from 1989 to 2022, primarily driven by urban expansion. In 1989, there was a significant presence of water bodies and farmland, with minimal built-up areas, indicating a relatively less-encroached landscape with a substantial amount of natural or agricultural land cover. By 2001, built-up areas significantly increased, suggesting urbanisation. Farmland and water bodies are still dominant but have started to decrease in certain areas due to the encroachment of urban areas. In 2015, the built-up area expanded further, especially over farmland and fallow regions, demonstrating ongoing urbanisation and transforming cropland and fallow land for development. By 2022, built-up areas dominate the landscape, with only a limited amount of farmland and water bodies remaining. Over time, natural water bodies, farmland, and fallow land have diminished, giving way to built-up, urbanised zones.
Sayantan Das's findings
establish that the proportion of water bodies has decreased over time (32% in
1989 to 21.2% in 2022). Farmland areas also experienced a decrease (23.2% in
1989, peaking at 26.4% in 2001, then dropping to 19.8% in 2022); this indicates
that agricultural areas have recently transformed into built-up regions. Fallow
regions show a similar decreasing trend (36.8% in 1989, down to 22% in 2022),
likely being converted into urban areas. On the contrary, built-up area
proportions increased significantly from 1989 to 2022 (starting at just 3.5% in
1989 and increasing steadily to 32.6% in 2022). Interestingly, the orchard area
proportion remains small and relatively stable with minor fluctuations (4.5% in
1989, decreasing slightly to 3.1% in 2001, then increasing to 4.4% in 2022)
Satellite imagery
analysis revealed a significant decline in wetland areas over the past 35 years,
with about 34% of the total wetlands in EKW lost to urban development,
infrastructure projects, and market-oriented farming activities. This loss of
habitat threatens the ecological integrity of the wetlands and undermines the
livelihoods of local communities that depend on these resources.[20]
The
Dilemma of Pollution vs. Sustainable Use
Nitai Kundu, Mausami Paul, and Sharmistha Saha discussed the evolution of East Kolkata Wetlands as a waste Recycling Region in detail. Kolkata has had a drainage problem since its beginning. Initially, authorities discharged sewage into the river Hooghly. Since the drainage system was against the gradient, it could not clean the town and discharge the annual inundation. In 1857, Mr. William Clark devised a scheme for conveying sewage to the city's eastern side.
In 1891, the authorities
extended the drainage system to the suburbs, redirecting the sewage to the
southeast into the river Bidyadhari, then channelling it into the river Matla
and finally discharging it into the Bay of Bengal. Due to tidal influxes, the
scheme involved a complicated series of canals and lock gates. The system drained
the city via the Beliaghata canal into the BidyadhariRiver, approximately 8 km
east of Kolkata. The sewage was stored in reservoirs and released at low tide.
Due to heavy silt, Bidyadhariwas gradually declared undrainable and dead. Later,
authorities converted a large part of Salt Lake into a reservoir that received
sewage from the urban area and drained the rainwater through the ebb tide of
the Bidyadhari.
Sewage-fed fish farming
emerged in the 1860s. The initial attempts were unsuccessful in this area; some
informal aquafarming began, but Mr BidhuBhusan Sarkar undertook the first
formal effort of sewage-fed aquafarming in 1918. Discharging sewage through the
stormwater flow canal in the brackish aqua bodies reduced the salinity of the water.
Gradually, carp culture started with regular sewage inflows in 1929. In this
way, people gradually colonised freshwater fishing in these ponds.
Sewage-fed aquaculture
was first commercially practised in 1929 and gained momentum. The unique
feature of the EKW is sewage treatment through pisciculture. The wetlands are,
in fact, waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs).
The slow-moving canal
system functions as anaerobic and facultative ponds, while the fisheries are
maturation ponds. The anaerobic character of the canals leads to unsightly and
smelly canals within the city. The fish ponds, however, do not smell and have
the characteristic green algae.
Researchers proved that
Basic WSPs are very effective for removing BOD and pathogens, particularly in
warm climates. Fish ponds further improve the treatment efficiency of WSPs by
stirring sediments trapped in the pond floor and incorporating nutrients and
carbon into their body mass.
The general removal
mechanisms for BOD, nitrogen, and phosphorus are settling into the pond
sediments, incorporation into algal biomass, incorporation into fish biomass,
and Volatilization.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area generates roughly 910 million litres of sewage daily and more than 40000 metric Tons of garbage. The wastewater is led by underground sewers to the pumping stations in the city's eastern limit and then pumped into open channels. There are six terminal pumping stations in the KMC area, viz. Bagjola Pumping Station, Chowbaga Pumping Station, Topsia Pumping Station, Dhapa Lock Pumping Station, Ballygunj Pumping Station, and Palmer Bazaar Pumping Station.
The responsibility of the Kolkata Municipal
Corporation ends with reaching the wastewater to the outfall channels through
these pumping stations. Thereafter, the sewage and wastewater are drawn into
the fisheries of the East Kolkata Wetland by the owners of the fishing, where,
within a few days of detention, biodegradation of the organic compounds of the
sewage and wastewater takes place. The organic loading rate in these fish ponds
varies between 20 and 70 kg. Per hectare per day (in the form of biochemical
oxygen demand).
Networks of channels
supply untreated sewage and drain out the spent water (effluent). The
cumulative efficiency in reducing the sewage wastewater's B.0.D. (a measure of
organic pollution) is above 80%, which lowers the coliform bacteria by 99.99%
on average. The solar radiation here is about 250 langleys per day and is
adequate for photosynthesis. The sewage-fed fishery ponds act as solar reactors—a
dense population of plankton traps solar energy. Fish consumes plankton. While
plankton plays a highly significant role in degrading the organic matter in the
wastewater, it becomes a problem for pond management to tackle the phenomenon
of plankton overgrowth. At this critical phase of the ecological process, the
fish play an essential role by grazing on the plankton.
The two-fold role
played by the fish is crucial—they maintain the proper balance of the plankton
population in the pond and convert the available nutrients in the wastewater
into a readily consumable form (viz., fish) for humans. The fish farmers of the
East Kolkata Wetlands have adopted this complex ecological process and mastered
these resource recovery activities, achieving fish growth and yield at a rate
and production cost unmatched in any other freshwater fish ponds of this
country.[21]
As discussed earlier, Kolkata's population
explosion in the last few decades led to rapid urbanisation. This urbanisation
increased the flow of untreated sewage, solid waste, and pollutants into the
wetlands. These pollutants degrade water quality and reduce the wetlands'
capacity to act as a natural purifier for the city. Thus, the EKW is at risk of
losing its essential ecological functions.
Pollution remains a
critical threat to the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). According to the West
Bengal Pollution Control Board, around 910 million litres of untreated sewage
enter the wetlands daily, exceeding their natural purification capacity. This
influx results in high concentrations of organic pollutants, nutrients, and
heavy metals, severely degrading water quality and ecological health. Lead
exhaust from increased motor traffic and toxic effluents from unmonitored
small-scale industries further exacerbate pollution intensity.
Additionally, solid
waste dumping exacerbates the pollution-related problems. The Dhapa landfill,
located within the EKW, is a significant waste disposal site for Kolkata.
Dhapa, spanning over 60 hectares, is vital to the city’s waste management
system but significantly disrupts the wetland ecosystem.
While the EKW’s
sewage-fed fisheries and agricultural fields exemplify natural waste recycling,
the landfill undermines these processes. Receiving more than 4,000 metric tons
of waste every day contributes to severe soil, air, and water contamination. In
addition to ecological threats, landfills have been expanding due to increasing
urban waste. Unregulated dumping and lack of adequate waste segregation
contribute to the landfill's growth, which poses health hazards to nearby
communities due to air pollution from spontaneous fires and methane emissions.
Additionally, recent studies have documented alarming levels of plastic debris
and other pollutants in water and sediment across the EKW. Rule 11 of The Solid
Waste Management Rules, 2016, prohibits waste processing from degrading
ecologically sensitive areas. Still, theever-increasing solid waste and hazardous
substances conflict with the mandate of these rules, and the sustainability
dilemma of EKW continues.
Kolkata Leather
Complex, established at Karaidanga in 2005, adjoins EKW. It resulted from the
Supreme Court's order inM.C. Mehta v the Union of India. It further contributes
to the deterioration of the EKW by releasing untreated effluents containing
Chromium and other carcinogenic elements. Section 24 of the Water (Prevention
and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, prohibits the pollution of water bodies by
any individual or establishment and empowers the State Pollution Control Board
to act against polluters. In this context, the dilemma of pollution versus
sustainable use is intense as the Government of West Bengal manages the Kolkata
Leather Complex and controls the State Pollution Control Board.
The decline in water
quality within the EKW has serious consequences for aquatic life. Research has
highlighted that the accumulation of heavy metals in fish and other marine
organisms presents a significant health hazard to local communities who depend
on these species for their livelihoods. The presence of these pollutants reduces
dissolved oxygen levels in the water, negatively affecting sensitive fish
species and contributing to declining populations. Additionally, rapid urbanisation
and unlawful construction within the wetland area have caused fragmentation of
habitats, reduction in water body sizes, and alterations to natural water flow
patterns. These changes disrupt critical breeding and feeding habitats for fish
and other aquatic creatures, jeopardising their survival and defeating the
objectives of the Bio-diversity Act of 2002, which promotes sustainable
biodiversity conservation and regulates the use of bioresources.
The combined effects of
pollution, habitat degradation, and human-induced disturbances have caused a
marked reduction in biodiversity within the EKW. Once home to a diverse range
of plant and animal species, the wetlands are now under significant ecological
strain. As a result, the degradation of these habitats not only jeopardises the
survival of native species but also erodes the essential environmental services
that the wetlands provide, such as water filtration and flood control. This
ongoing decline in habitat quality poses a critical threat to both the local
wildlife and the overall ecological health of the EKW.[22]
Section 3 of the
Environment Conservation Act 1986, the umbrella Act of environment protection
in India, empowers the Central Government to protect environmentally sensitive
areas. The state-specific East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Management)
Act 2006 defines permissible and bans harmful activities. The Wetlands
(Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, govern Wetlands explicitly and
prohibit the discharge of untreated waste, solid waste dumping, and
encroachments. Despite these laws and rules, the pollution of the East Kolkata
Wetlands continues unabated, and sustainable use becomes questionable.
The Dilemma of Property Rights vs. Environmental Laws
The East Kolkata
Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Act 2006 restricts land use even though
the locals have property rights. Article 300 A protects the Right to Property
but allows the Government to acquire land for public purposes. Even though the
farmers and fishermen save the Government more than 500 crores of rupees
because of their traditional sewage-cleaning technology, they do not get
compensation from the Government.
Additionally, the
expansion of Kolkata exerts pressure on urbanisation, leading to encroachments,
shifts in land use, and efforts to repurpose aquaculture farms for real estate
development. Economic challenges, including the rising costs of maintaining
these Bheris and diminishing profits from aquaculture, often compel families to
sell or lease portions of their land. The fragmentation of aquacultural farms
undermines effective management, as smaller and scattered holdings become less
productive and incompatible with traditional aquaculture methods. Divisions
among multiple owners erode the cohesive management systems required for
sustainable practices, leading to the gradual loss of aquaculture knowledge and
expertise that has historically relied on unified control. The absence of clear
ownership records and the involvement of numerous stakeholders frequently
result in disputes and legal challenges, further diminishing the efficiency of
these systems. Most critically, the partitioning of ownership incentivises
individuals to prioritise immediate economic benefits over the long-term
conservation of these wetlands. This short-sighted approach not only hampers
the ecological stability of the region but also threatens the sustainability of
the EKW.[23]
The Dilemma of Jurisdictional Conflicts
The
Board of the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority consists of different
line departments. Multiple agencies oversee different aspects, including the
West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Fisheries
Department and East Kolkata Wetland Management Authority. Overlapping jurisdictions
lead to weak enforcement and legal ambiguities. West Bengal has many statutory
authorities with well-defined functions and dedicated technical officers,
unlike the East Kolkata Wetland Management Authority.
The
Dilemma of Legal Enforcement vs. Ground Realities
Kolkata High Court and
National Green Tribunal have passed multiple orders to conserve the East
Kolkata Wetlands. The East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority protects the
wetlands and enforces the Act, but it cannot effectively act because it is
often understaffed, underfunded, and politically influenced. In 2016, the
National Green Tribunal ordered the removal of illegal constructions in the
wetlands. Still, the authorities could not take effective action due to
opposition from locals and legal delays.
Sayantan Das studied
land use changes in the East Kolkata Wetlands using satellite imagery, and his
findings indicate a transition between significant land use types in
EKW—farmland/fallow, water bodies, and built-up areas—across three periods:
1989-2001, 2001-2015, and 2015-2022. The conversion of farmland/fallow to water
bodies declined significantly from 572 hectares in 1989-2001 to 365 hectares in
2015-2022. There is a drastic reduction in the area converted from water bodies
back to farmland, dropping from 765 hectares in 1989-2001 to just 115 hectares
by 2015-2022, which might indicate a reduced focus on reclaiming water bodies
for agricultural use, possibly due to increasing awareness of the ecological
importance of these water bodies. The transition from farmland to built-up
areas has increased from 719 hectares to a peak of 928 hectares in 2001-2015
before decreasing to 507 hectares in 2015-2022. These amounts suggest a dynamic
urbanisation process, possibly influenced by changing economic conditions and
urban planning policies. The area converting from water bodies to built-up land
rose from 472 hectares to 732 hectares but saw a decline to 192 hectares in
2015-2022. This shift may reflect a growing recognition of the need to protect
water bodies amid urban expansion.
These data
representations highlight significant land-use dynamics shifts, emphasising the
interplay between agricultural land, water bodies, and urban development. If
urbanisation continues unchecked, the wetlands could face irreversible damage,
compromising the environment and the livelihoods of local communities relying
on them for fishing, agriculture, and other sustainable uses.
Conclusion
Calcutta, the city
which evolved on the edge of the delta area, has a low surface gradient, with a
relatively high flood-safe levee on the banks of the Hooghly River and with
swamps and spill basins on its eastern side. The city initially expanded to the
north and also to the southwest. This pattern was replaced by south and
southeast expansion in the 1930s despite poor drainage because of the proximity
to the city centre. The massive migration influx after the Indian partition
continued the city's growth in the south and southeastern direction. Eastern
Metropolitan Bypass and other connecting roads improved the access to the area.
This unintended growth in the south and southeast emerged as a significant
threat to the East Kolkata Wetlands and the ecosystem of sewage-fed fisheries
based on tropical climate, solar radiation and shallow water.[24]
that evolved to care for Kolkata's refuse. The widely cited judgement of Public
v State of West Bengal halted the State's reclamation of the East Kolkata
Wetlands, which had already engulfed the salt lake. Since the State has led
urbanisation in the salt lake, the landowners of the East Kolkata Wetlands
aspiring for speculative growth in their area are justified. Any conservation
effort that does not address sociological issues has a remote chance of
success. The order of injunction in the public v state of West Bengal
prohibiting the change in classification of land is bound to clash with the
ground realities, especially when the State does not bother to compensate the
inhabitants of the EKW for the scavenging role they play for the city. As
Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee said, 'the present day society has a
responsibility towards posterity. The present-day Government should be more
committed to solving the dilemmas of the East Kolkata Wetlands and balancing
development and conservation.
[1]Ramsar Convention Secretariat,
'Wetlands and Water: Supporting Life, Sustaining Livelihoods' (2007)
<https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/info2007-01-e.pdf>
accessed March 17th 2025
[2]Pragya Mehta and others, Conservation and Management of Ramsar Sites in India: Challenges and Solutions (file:///C:/Users/ASDSTBT/Downloads/PragyaMehta.pdf) accessed March 17th 2025
[3] East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority, 'East Kolkata Wetlands' (EKWMA) <https://ekwma.in/ek/> accessed March 17th 2025
[4] East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority, Annual Report (2022-23). (EKWMA, 2024) <https://ekwma.in/ek/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Annual-Report-2022-23.pdf> accessed March 17th 2025
[5] Ecology Education Institute, 'Policy and Constitution' <https://ecology.edu/policy&constitution.html> accessed March 17th 2025
[6] Kaushik Biswas, 'Legislative Provisions and Policy Support for Wetland Conservation in India' (2023) 8 South Asian Law & Economics Review 53 <https://thelawbrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Kausik-Biswas-SALER.pdf> accessed March 17th 2025
[7] Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 'Regulatory Framework for Wetlands in India' (Indian Wetlands) <https://indianwetlands.in/our-work/regulatory-framework/#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of%20Environment%2C%20Forest,management%20of%20wetlands%20in%20India> accessed March
[8] Kaushik Biswas, 'Legislative Provisions and Policy Support for Wetland Conservation in India' (2023) 8 South Asian Law & Economics Review 53 <https://thelawbrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Kausik-Biswas-SALER.pdf> accessed March 17th 2025
[9] East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority, Newsletter Volume 1 (EKWMA, 2015) <https://www.ekwma.in/ek/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NewsletterVolume1.pdf> accessed March 17th 2025
[10]Centre for Development Policy and Practice, 'East Kolkata Wetlands: Analysing the Socio-Legal Protections in the Face of Rapid Urban Sprawl' (CDPP, 2023) <https://www.cdpp.co.in/articles/east-kolkata-wetlands-analysing-the-socio-legal-protections-in-the-face-of-rapid-urban-sprawl> accessed March 17th 2025
[11] ibid
[12] ibid
[13] Chandana Mitra, J Marshall Shepherd and Thomas R Jordan, 'Assessment and Dynamics of Urban Growth in the City of Kolkata' in Anjan Dutta and others (eds), Facets of Social Geography: International and Indian Perspectives (Cambridge University Press India 2012) 541 <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289620851_Assessment_and_Dynamics_of_Urban_Growth_in_the_City_of_Kolkata> accessed March 17th 2025
[14] ibid
[15]Priya Sangameswaran, 'Land from Wetland: Nature and Development in the Frontiers of Kolkata, India' (2018) 52(3) Contributions to Indian Sociology 283
[16] Anuska Ray and Ritula Paul, 'Department of Geography' (2022) 3(1) BKGC Scholars 103
[17]Biraj Kanti Mondal, Suchitra Kumari, Arijit Ghosh and Prabuddh Kumar Mishra, 'Transformation and Risk Assessment of the East Kolkata Wetlands (India) Using Fuzzy MCDM Method and Geospatial Technology' (2022) Geography and Sustainability<https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/geography-and-sustainability> accessed March 17th 2025
[18] Falguni Dey and Payel Das, 'Homeless Invisibles in Kolkata: An Urban Poverty Perspective' (December 2021-January 2022) Inclusive
[19] 'Right to Shelter as a Fundamental Right' (Jus Corpus, 2023) <https://www.juscorpus.com/right-to-shelter-as-a-fundamental-right/> accessed March 17th 2025
[20] Sayantan Das, 'The Transformation and Associated Ecological Problems of the East Kolkata Wetlands, West Bengal, India: Observations between 1989-2024' (ICERM-2024, IOP Publishing 2024)
[21]Nitai Kundu, Mausami Pal and Sharmistha Saha, 'East Kolkata Wetlands: A Resource Recovery System Through Productive Activities' in Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th World Lake Conference(2007) 868
[22] Sayantan Das, 'The Transformation and Associated Ecological Problems of the East Kolkata Wetlands, West Bengal, India: Observations between 1989-2024' (ICERM-2024, IOP Publishing 2024)
[23] ibid
[24] Jenia Mukherjee, Blue Infrastructures: Natural History, Political Ecology, and Urban Development in Kolkata (Springer Singapore 2020).
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