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dam-l LS: Greenwire story on India's elections
from Environment News Service
>
>*20 INDIA: Environmental Issues Absent From Elections
> As Indians head to the polls for national elections this
>month, environmental issues are "neither on the agenda of
>candidates nor on the public's own agenda," the Environment News
>Service reports.
> Although green issues are "absent" from the election
>rhetoric of most candidates, environmentalists point to a number
>of issues "that ought to be taken up" such as land degradation,
>air and water pollution, infrastructure development, resource
>management and decentralized environmental governance.
> Ashish Kothari of the nongovernmental organization
>Kalpavriksh says the major issue is "the conflict between the
>dominant model of development and the struggle of rural masses
>to retain some control over their livelihood." Kothari: "This
>is manifested in many ways -- fisheries development versus
>traditional fisherfolk; export-oriented cash-cropping by big
>farmers versus sustenance food cropping by small farmers; and so
>on."
> Water is the only common electoral concern in most
>constituencies, according to Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia
>Network on Dams, Rivers and People. Thakkar also believes the
>environmental movement in India has been disorganized. "To make
>environment a people's issue, you need at least some people to
>work in a concerted way on a full-time basis for a long enough
>time," he said.
> Shripad Dharmadhikary of Save the Narmada Valley says
>environmental issues are not understood by the public. Besides,
>he says, electoral politics in India "are so criminalized and
>corrupt that no one can survive without money or muscle power.
>Those associated with the Green movements in India will keep
>away from elections until these equations change."
> The elections for 540 seats in the lower house of
>parliament are being held in four phases. The first two were
>held on Sept. 5 and 11, and the next two will occur on Sept. 25
>and Oct. 3 (Subir Ghosh, Sept. 14).
>