Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society

India is building a future based on Infrastructure. A ‘wave’ of projects and investments are redefining India in myriad ways. Recognizably, these are pivotal to its growth story, foundational for rapid and inclusive development as well as achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Mega projects dot the country in between various stages of visioning and implementation and crucial to all these are infrastructure investments that are being sought. Fast paced efforts are in the earnest, and one challenge is to bridge investment deficits of projected USD 4.5 trillion and a postulated gap of USD 3.9 trillion in the next 25 years. The most visible manifestation of projects is in – roads, railways, ports and powerplants. The blueprints are massively ambitious, with the world’s largest Infrastructure project being built in India- the industrial corridor extending from Delhi to Mumbai is amongst many other ‘prestige projects’ like the Smart Cities and Bullet train.

Furthermore, regional politics and the ‘China factor’ heightens infrastructure related anxieties for India, as the ‘New Silk Road Economic Belt’ programme ties up with both allies and adversaries in India’s neighborhood, triggering  security, connectivity and trade concerns. Correspondingly, alienation of India’s North-East and far flung places on the periphery is being corrected and the otherwise tardy pace of bridges, rail and road projects has picked pace.

However emerging are significant challenges and risks. Project potential and sustainability is in question. In the public debate are the extreme and unviable forms of infrastructure financing with a dependence on controversial models such as public-private partnerships.  Then, there is a critique of the enormous scale and the extreme ‘kind’ of capitalist production and consumption promoted by ‘big-infra’ as ‘race to the bottom’. The elitist top-down politics in the planning and governance of massive projects has been known to sideline democratic local processes. There is fear of regulatory dismantling and harmonization of policies and of technological ‘lock-ins’. Not in adequate focus, and thus increasingly given short shrift are land, livelihoods, environmental and social impacts. Local concerns over these now plague India’s infrastructure landscape resulting in project disruptions and disputes.

The Web dossier presents critical perspectives on India’s infrastructure development. It sums up the implications, associated risks and explores the contradictions and assumptions. Underlying the exploration is a cautionary note that highlights vulnerabilities of the structural agenda, placing it in the context of people and environment.  The web dossier is a step to inform the wider public on the economic and political, the human and non-human aspects of infrastructure interactions and the challenges related to them.

Playlist

Webinar : Investigating Infrastructure

Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society - Webinar - Heinrich Böll Stiftung Delhi

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In this webinar, Panelist will present their contributions to our dossier - Investigating Infrastructure: Ecology, Sustainability and Society, bringing together different approaches and perspectives to infrastructure development in India. Through this webinar we are also announcing and pre-launching the printed publication of the dossier to be released in 2022.

PANELISTS - Rajni Bakshi (Journalist/Writer), Kanchi Kohli (Senior Researcher @Centre for Policy Research), Dolly Kikon (Anthropologist @University of Melbourne)

CHAIR- Jabin T. Jacob (Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies @Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh)

Articles

Sikkim road

Politicking Infrastructure Development in Northeast India

Article
It is in the development paradigm that the Northeast has witnessed various policies that include infrastructure development. However, infrastructure development in Northeast India entails injustice to both people and the environment. The author argues for locating infrastructure development from the sustainable development as well as justice framework. He stresses on serious engagement in infrastructural research in Northeast India to seek an alternative.
By Raile Rocky Ziipao
our needs, our rights

Women power to save Loktak Lairembee

Article
Nature nurtures the mankind. However, when mankind tries to fiddle with nature, it faces the wrath of the latter. Loktak Lake in the state of Manipur is a glaring example of how human intervention can damage a natural setting and also adversely affect those depending on it. Loktak, measuring about 235 square kilometres, is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India. This article is an attempt to capture the lives of the fisherwomen of Loktak and their continuous struggle for survival amidst the wave of aggressive lopsided developmental projects.
By Nandini Thockchom
Loktak Lake

Alienating community in Loktak

Article
With a water spread of 289 square kilometres, Loktak lake is rich in biological diversity and plays an important role in the ecological and economic security of the region. It was accorded the status of a Ramsar site of international importance in 1990, which shows the significant ecological services of the wetland to humanity and the natural environment. However, the Loktat hydel project commissioned in the early 1980s disturbed the entire lake ecosystem, resulting in extensive loss to biodiversity and displacing massive human population and the wildlife. In the past five decades, the natural ecosystem has degraded considerably. The Loktak Development Authority, which came up in 1987 for taking steps to conserve and protect the lake ecosystem, has not made much headway simply for the reasons that it has not involved the community living in and around in its project designs and plans.
By Salam Rajesh
Internet at your Door step though fibre optic cable" Seen in Kolkata, India

Netting India’s villages

For nearly a decade, India has been deploying various iterations of its ambitious broadband expansion plan, looking to bring those in the country’s remotest areas online. While private sector expansion and proliferation of cheap smartphones gave it a boost, the recent double whammy of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and escalating territorial tensions with key trade partner China has put a spanner in the works of the project that has already suffered several delays. Updates to the project now must consider alternative sources of equipment, while ensuring that those at the margins don’t miss the digital bus.
By Kim Arora
Bee drawings by children, teenagers, and adults during the NCBS Moth Day, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru (arrangement by Sebastian Walter).

Pollinators in the urban age

The beginning of the ‘urban age’ comes along with a worldwide decline of insects –due to human impact on the environment. Especially alarming is the loss of bees and other pollinators, because of their importance for agriculture and thus for our food security as well as for the stability of ecosystems. Considering the worsening conditions on farmland, growing urban areas might function as refuges for endangered bees. In this article, we describe the situation of wild giant honey bees in the rapidly developing megacity Bengaluru (also called Bangalore), the high-tech capital of the Indian state Karnataka. Naturally nesting in the open in big trees and at cliffs, these bees use high-rise buildings as nesting sites in the city. Excerpts from interviews with citizens of Bengaluru give insights into increasing conflicts between humans and bees, but also show possibilities of coexistence.
By Sebastian Walter and Axel Brockmann
hbs berlin

Insect Atlas 2020

Insects are a fundamental part of the basis of life in our world. If we were to count them, every person on earth would have around 1.4 billion insects from an estimated 5.5 million different species. There is an almost unimaginable quantity and variety of six-legged animals with which we share the world. The Insect Atlas shows how the colorful world of insects is connected to our agriculture and food. The Insect Atlas offers on 60 pages and in more than 80 graphics a lot of information about the importance of insects. The Atlas provides Data and facts about beneficial and harmful insects in agriculture, formulates criticism of the overly hesitant policy and names the urgently needed steps to protect insects.
The Wahmawlong living root bridge. Photo by Sonal Jain

Living (planet) versus dead (capital)

After five centuries of global capitalist expansion, we are in the midst of the largest mass extinction of species in the last 65 million years; we are confronted by the climate crisis and the mass acidification of the oceans. The Anthropocene discourse posits humans as a geographical force, measured by significant changes humanity has had on the biosphere. Many, however, counter this arguing that it is not human impact but global capital that is responsible for the climate crisis. Caught in our collective addiction to consumption, growth, progress and infrastructure development based on a flawed economic model, we need a radical change in our way of being. In stark contrast to the techno-utopia of our post-industrial societies, we have amidst us in the present day and age many communities, people and cultures who see themselves as being subject to nature, rather than in control of it; their worldviews and knowledge systems are completely opposite to the Western civilisation, global capitalism and the modern education system. The living root bridges and trees in the Indian state of Meghalaya, firmly enmeshed within the culture and identity of the people who create them, are perfect examples of living in tune with nature rather than controlling it.
By Sonal Jain
Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway under construction (symbolic images)

Mega industrial-infrastructure projects and their impact on people

The article takes a look at the several ongoing projects as part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). It provides an overview of the projects implemented under it, assessment of the current status of projects and their financing aspects. It gives details of infrastructure projects being implemented across the six states, which form part of the influence area of the DMIC project. The article would also provide details of the financial institutions and agencies involved in executing projects within DMIC. Besides, it discusses the social, environmental and financial implications of the projects including land acquisition, industrial development and the role of the private sector.
By Gaurav Dwivedi
Photographed in West Bengal

Quality Infrastructure and civil society

The article analyses Quality Infrastructure as a catalyst to achieve sustainable development considering the underlined emphasis it has received from G20. Quality Infrastructure conceptualises economic efficiency, safety, resilience against natural disaster, job creation, addressing social-environmental impacts and aligning with economic and development strategies. It will become an instrumental policy agenda because the Modi government’s attention is geared towards elevating India’s infrastructure status. With infrastructure carrying heavy weightage in the development basket, there is a need to make civil society an effective participant in its decision-making that ensures investments result in social good and all-round prosperity.
By Arjun Phillips
Mining in Surajgarh, Gadchiroli

Mining conflict and transformative alternatives in Korchi

In the last few decades, villages in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district have been struggling with three significant challenges – iron-ore mining in their forests, abrogation of their recognised for-ests rights and increased state militarisation in the region. However, in Korchi, along with resist-ing against the state-sponsored mining and asserting their rights over traditional territories under the Scheduled Areas and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 – commonly known as Forest Rights Act, the villagers are also beginning to re-imagine and reconstruct their traditional governance systems, localise control over their forest resources, raise gender concerns, and revive cultural identity. The process unfolding in Korchi brings out how collective power of people can be used to trigger positive transformations in the situations of extreme conflicts.
By Neema Pathak Broome , Shrishtee Bajpai and Mukesh Shende
A shield, welcoming at Mawphlang Sacred Forest

Local knowledge networks: A portraying interview of a sacred grove

Formed in 1972 and located in the northern east of the Indian subcontinent, Meghalaya shares its northern border with Assam and southern border with Bangladesh. Having a population of over three million, the state is made of a mild climate with clouds constantly floating through green layers of the hills. And nestled in the state’s East Khasi Hills lies the Mawphlang sacred grove. Guiding through the forest, Johnstarfield Myrthong portrays his perception of the grove, local belief systems and the social structure of the Khasi community.
By Nena Seitz

Indigenous women in Assam: Bearing burdens of nature, culture and market

This piece represents the tryst of indigenous women of the Brahmaputra Valley with nature and culture in the realm of expanding market relations. Here attempt is to understand the transitioning role of indigenous woman in the re-ethnicisation process of ecotourism industry where her being and body becomes an embodiment of culture, inflicted with hidden labour and abuse. Cultural acts and artefacts meant for entertainment of backpack travelers tend to imprison her in homes which become profitable spaces. While the other element of the paper reflects upon subjectivity in experiencing catastrophe, which disproportionally affects indigenous women because of her pre-ordained gender roles. During floods and erosion her mobility and decision gets stunted, so does her ability to participate in polity and economy of the nation.
By Chinmayi Sarma

Infographic: Tourism projects under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resource (NLCPR) in Northeast India

Northeast India boasts some of the most mesmerising places one can ever visit in a lifetime. Cherrapunji, the wettest place in the world, Shillong, famously called as the Scotland of the East, Kaziranga, the UNESCO Heritage site for one horned rhinos are all located in the Northeast of India. However, only ten projects have actually been undertaken so far under the NLCPR to promote and facilitate tourism. The below infographic shows the status of completion, the financial costs incurred and the geographical location of the tourism projects happening. The first project was approved in 2012 for the development of infrastructure at the entry point of Kaziranga National Park and most recent one was approved in 2017 in Manipur.
By Ashish Khandalikar

Addressing ‘overtourism’ in the Corbett landscape

Tourism has from time immemorial been promoted as a benevolent, non-consumptive activity that provides enjoyment and entertainment to the traveller. However, it can cause inordinate harm too. The media and the travel industry have acknowledged the negative impacts from tourism, and thus there is the emergence of a new term: ‘Overtourism’. Corbett Tiger Reserve is showing all signs of overtourism. There is a need to look at more innovative approaches to tourism, in the larger Corbett landscape. This case study looks at the ecological significance of this landscape and highlights two local initiatives that involve homestays through a local youth group, thus providing alternate livelihoods as also an incentive to conserve the landscape.
By Seema Bhatt

Historical injustice and “Bogus” claims: Large infrastructure, conservation and forest rights in India

This essay examines the role of India’s 2006 Forest Rights Act in the procedures that regulate transfer of forest land to large infrastructure projects. Specifically, it shows the gap between the legally mandated requirements and how these are implemented in project approval processes. This is illustrated through a case study of the coal mining approvals in the Hasdeo Arand forest region in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The essay also outlines the different actors who have influenced the discourses on forest rights of Adivasi and other forest dwelling communities and what they identify as factors that challenge the implementation of this law on the ground. It juxtaposes this analysis in the context of the recent decision of the Supreme Court of India on eviction of forest dwellers and examines whether that would bring in any structural change in the way the law is implemented.
By Kanchi Kohli

Infographic: Roads and bridges in Northeast India

Infrastructure projects in the North Eastern States of India are primarily carried out under the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resource (NLCPR) scheme directly located under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. Objective of the scheme is to fill the gap in the infrastructure sector of the North East Region by sanctioning the projects prioritised through the respective state governments. The construction and maintenance of roads and bridges (apart from National Highways) too is sanctioned by the NLCPR scheme.
By Ashish Khandalikar

‘Pickled’ infrastructure and connectivity: Locating community engagement in Northeast India’s infrastructural transformation

‘Pickled’ infrastructure/ connectivity/ roads is a metaphor that this article employs to understand the dynamics of connectivity and infrastructure development in Northeast India, in context of how local communities are able to use, absorb and participate in the decision making processes of such transformational physical change in the region. The hard external borders in Northeast India ensure that the existing roads built remain trapped within the nation-state container, without any meaningful opening up. The local communities remain trapped between the interplay of the past developmental lag of the region and the current development impetus led by the central government. The manner and method of connectivity and infrastructure development in the region brings additional layers of exclusion and conflict, reinforcing past sites, and connects new sites of accumulation politics and resource extraction within the nation-state container.
By Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman

Mahanadi: Looking beyond coal

Mahanadi, India's sixth largest river, is undergoing a storm at the moment. Major riparian states – Odisha and Chhattisgarh – have locked horns over sharing of water from this already decaying water resource that supports more than 40 million people. Fought under purview of the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, the prime focus is on sharing the remaining water in the river. However, real issues such as climate change, coal mining and thermal power plants that cause lot of stress for the river and distress for local riparian communities, may not be solved by this. This article tries to put such issues in perspective and suggests measures to ensure the right of the river to survive and stay healthy as well as to bring the local communities on board for proper management of the basin.
By Ranjan K Panda
A sacred site downstream of Lower Demwe project

Infrastructure development in the Northeast: Hydropower, natural resources, legal and institutional frameworks and compliance

In 2000, the central government declared Northeast India as India’s hydropower hub. Over 165 large dam projects were proposed to come up in the region. However, nearly two decades on, this proposal to regulate the region’s water resources for its development remains unimplemented. This article will look into the government hype and its failure to construct dam projects in the Northeast region. These projects are held as crucial to India’s energy and environmental security as well as the economic development of the country’s marginalised eastern borderlands.
By Manju Menon

Youth and infrastructure development in Northeast India

With their varied history and social location, the youth as a distinct socio-political category has historically played the role of effective agents of change in India’s Northeast region, both as channels of protests as well as participation. Implications of ‘infrastructure development’ in India’s Northeast, therefore, must be placed in the context of the unfolding ‘aspirations’ as well as the ‘lived realities’ of the region’s youth. How does the twin framework of security and ‘neo-liberal’ development operating in the region affects the youth’s engagement with the infrastructural interventions? How to connect the infrastructure debate to the phenomena of increasing outmigration of young people from the region, even when the ‘ethnic identity’ discourse remains significant?.
By Kaustubh Deka
Photo: Axel Harneit-Sievers

Gendering infrastructure in Northeast India

In this essay, I offer a gender perspective on infrastructure in Northeast India. Policy documents, vision statements, and livelihood programmes, including various agencies and key actors, underline the significance of building or improving infrastructure in the region to transform lives of people. Understanding infrastructure as networks and matters that create the conditions for the movement of other matters, I highlight how the transformation of the region – from super highways, mining operations, cash crops, to new markets – has created new networks and social relations. Particularly, for the composition of households, family relations, and youth seeking employment, these developments are constitutive of the infrastructure boom in Northeast India and have created conditions that go beyond the material and physical functionality of the material objects such as roads, malls, and increased circulation of goods and people to and from the region.
By Dolly Kikon
The complex co-existence of modernity-tradition in Northeast India. Frame one: ‘Santa Claus’/ 'Father Christmas’ with Naga spear and necklace. Photograph by the author at the outskirts of Kohima, Nagaland, December 2017

Gallery: Everyday life in India’s Northeast

These photographs taken by the author across different parts of India’s Northeast over a period of time attempts to sketch a visual vocabulary of the region that has been embracing as well as confronting the passage of a complex transition. Going by Susan Sontag’s exposition on ‘photography as a new grammar and ethics of seeing’, the author believes in the importance of the camera, specially in a region like India’s Northeast, where every mile can potentially throw up a new way of seeing and telling. As presented in pairs, the photographs presented here try to juxtapose the multiple strands of realities in the region. The idea is to show life as it exists in the region, portrayed through the dynamics of anxiety and aspirations that are in essence unleashed by the infrastructural flows in the region. Amidst these flux and fixities, a visual archive will serve as a repository of social memory and will also provide one with critical frames to engage with the ‘growth’ story of the region.  

India’s infrastructure push loses momentum

The ambitious infrastructure agenda of the government has run into multiple constraints. Projects have run into difficulties at inception, in the course of execution or after commissioning. The reasons for these difficulties are varied: Inability to acquire the required land due to farmer resistance, failure to obtain environmental clearances, cost overruns, disputes over pricing with consumers or regulatory agencies, and sheer non-viability of badly designed projects. Displacement and disputes over land acquisition and weak environmental regulation, shortfalls in compliance with prevalent laws, and poor monitoring and enforcement have plagued the infrastructure landscape.
By C.P. Chandrasekhar
Woman spinning cotton, Jaura, M.P., India

For an alternative paradigm of development

Sustainable infrastructure is now an established buzzword in international policy making circles -  involving governments, private corporations and think tanks. There is almost no room in this discourse for asking fundamental questions about how growth is defined and whether the nature of growth should itself be redirected. How would the future of infrastructure look if we approach it from the perspective of 'sustainability' as degrowth – which means redirecting the economy and society towards actual well-being of all, Sarvodaya, rather than perpetual economic growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP).
By Rajni Bakshi

China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its implications for India

The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has completed five years and in that time it has expanded over Asia, Africa and Europe with increasing concerns about the transparency, economic feasibility and objectives of its projects. This paper looks at the key features of the BRI and the reactions from and implications for India. It suggests that the BRI is less about infrastructure development and more about promoting Chinese strategic interests - particularly its model of political development - in opposition to the United States and other regional powers and democracies like India.
By Jabin T. Jacob

Contributors

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