30 students join them in their protest under Friday for Future campaign 

United they say, ‘We can live without money, but not without the environment’

At a time when lockdown keeps people shut inside their houses, two young girls in Jaipur have come out on streets to raise awareness about the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020 and its implications giving a message that the world can survive without money, but not without the environment. 

These two young ladies in their teens are Anunya (16) and Tanaya (14) who  led the protests under Friday for Future banner in the form of  EIA notification 2020 public demonstration, which was staged at the World Trade Park, JLN Marg, Jawahar Circle, Malviya Nagar, Albert Hall, Adrash Nagar and Birla Mandir, Tilak Nagar in Jaipur on June 26.

Around 30 young students joined them in the protest while following all norms of social distancing.

It needs to be mentioned here that Friday for Future (FFF) India is a people’s movement being staged for climate justice.

The girls, during their protest, said, “Our future depends on the environment and the state of the environment in the future depends on how we treat it now. This is why we (Fridays for Future) want to reach out to the public and spread the word on behalf of this generation- we want climate justice with  a change in system and lifestyle.”

The duo further said, “The EIA notification 2020 seems to  be severely diluting the standards of the original EIA process by removing the public hearing from the process, allowing post-facto approvals and shortening the time for public consent. 

As children, we have always believed that the Government will protect us no matter what. During the lockdown, we were very disappointed by the proposal of this notification, as we sense that environmental health is being compromised for ease of business. We understand the impact of the pandemic on the economy, and the need for India to boost its economic output. However, we cannot afford to risk our future for a short-sighted goal we have… in the end, we can live without money, but not without the environment. “

They further said, “We, at Fridays for Future Jaipur, speak not only on behalf of our generation and the billions of species that are going extinct. We also speak for the communities that get affected by Industrial and commercial projects. These indigenous communities rely heavily on their surroundings and know much more about the environment that we can imagine. The new EIA notification 2020 will exclude these communities from the decision-making process, and we feel that this is injustice.”

By diluting the environmental policies, governments are opening up its sectors to corporations which are not elected by nor accountable to the public. This goes against the basic democratic principles our country is based on. We want a say on how corporations use our resources, they said.

The Environmental Impact Assessment is a process through which the likely impact of a commercial/industrial project on the environment, culture and society is evaluated. It is a decision-making tool used to seek alternatives to make the project more economically and environmentally viable, and determine whether it is to be given environmental clearance.