Protest Movement, Environmental Law, and Social Change: A Case Study of Chilika Movement in Orissa

In the last two decades, the world has seen an increase in environmental problem. The adverse effects mankind has faced due to hazardous wastes, air and water pollution, global warming, depletion of forests, toxic substances, etc.. arising out of growing industrialization and modernization have led to a number of protect movements across boundaries. The science of ecology has proved beyond doubt that every human being living on this earth has a stake in the "common future". The rising environmental concerns, anxiety and knowledge have brought the attention of almost even' discipline science, engineering, social sciences. humanities, management and law. and have also galvanized the state institutions the bureaucracy, the legislature, the judiciary in almost all countries. The global environmental movements and several national and regional movements have led the states to bring new legislation and enactments of laws for environment protection.

In India, the Bhopal gas tragedy in December 1984. where more than 2500 people were killed and thousands were injured, created an alert to the weaknesses in Indian environmental protection laws. The Government of India hastened to formulate the Environmental Protection Act in 1986 applicable to all of India that empowers the Central government to protect and improve environment in the whole of India. With new industry laws, the judiciary system grcared itself up to accept and resolve disputes involving ecological concerns. New laws and rules have been written in many unregulated fields ranging from hazardous wastes to water and air pollution, vehicular emissions, solid wastes, noise pollution, toxic substances, and so on. Public interest litigations began to increase both at Centre and State levels. Environmental consciousness, which was quite low among the policy planners and officials in the beginning of the 1980s, has increased significantly because of numerous acts. cases, institutional growth and protest movements.

Since mid-1980s, the higher judiciary has become increasingly involved m environment protection. Supreme Courts and High Courts have been asked to deal with pubic grievances over environment and human rights violations, occupational health and safety, health care. Many of the protest movements have at some point led to judicial involvement. However, the role of judiciary has varied over period of time, issues, and specific contexts. The judicial activism and limitations can best be seen in specific cases. In this paper, I have focused on the involvement of the judiciary in the Chilika Banchao Anadolan (The Save Chilika Movement) that began in 1991 against the TATA's project and other illegal prawn cultivators.

To what extend its influence extend? In what ways the laws have been used, and how did it influence the outcomes of the movement. These are some of the issues and questions.