Manesar Industries Welfare Association is an association that has been set up with the goal of fighting issues involving environmental justice that affect the region of Manesar. Furthermore, it has been set up to ensure sustainable development vis-a-vis industry. This association along with was involved with the Fertile Land Protection Movement in putting forward a Citizen's Report that was filed against the Indian Supreme Court in early 2011. The association works in tandem with other associations to ensure that environmental justice issues in this area are given emphasis by the government as well as by other important entities.
Contents
History
MIWA is based out of IMT (Industrial Model Township) Manesar. The members of MIWA ultimately want to ensure that Manesar is environmentally sustainable. Many members have either set up businesses or are associated with the region if Manesar because they live in an around the National Capital Region, New Delhi.
The origins of the afforestation drive that is currently underway in Manesar was thought of all the way back in 1999, according to this news source. In other words, the desire to start a greening drive, revolving around afforestation and the sustainable usage of water can be traced all the way back to 1999.
Manesar Industries Welfare Association (MIWA) fought a legal battle in the Supreme Court of India with the HSIIDC (Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation) in 2011 to avoid the acquisition of farmers’ land spread over an area of 1100 acres by the Haryana government. The government was acquiring the land for the development of Manesar extension area known as Industrial Model Township (IMT) planned to spread in an area of over 6,000 acres. MIWA is a one-of-its kind industrial association as it battled for the cause of farmers whose agricultural land was acquired to be handed over to the same league of industrialists. According to this article in the Hindustan Times MIWA had supported the farmers’ movement known as Fertile Land Protection Movement in filing the written petition in the Supreme Court which gave relief to them by putting a stay order to the acquisition orders of the government. If MIWA had not decided to conserve this land, approximately 9500 acres of land would have been used for industrial purposes.
Activities
According to The Hindustan Times, MIWA is involved with an afforestation drive in the Aravalli Hills. It is one of two organisations that have volunteered to ensure afforestation occurs in the Aravalli Hills. The organisations also have provided rainwater harvesting pits. This area of the Aravalli Hills is otherwise an extremely built-up area as it located in the Industrial Model Township (IMT), which includes the KMP highway as well as a Maruti unit.
In fact under the auspices of MIWA, a cleaning drive was implemented in two sectors of IMT Manesar, which is called Project "Naya Savera," which not only ensures that the roads on these two sectors are clean but also ensures employment for people.
According to this article in Times of India, MIWA was also involved in a mapping project. The mapping project involved carrying out a survey of fertile and usable areas in and around the villages of IMT Manesar.
Collaboration
MIWA, has especially collaborated with the Fertile Land Protection Movement, namely when filing the Citizen's Report in early 2011. Thus in order to provide more support, these two grassroots-based organizations collaborated vis-a-vis the Citizen's Report in early 2011.
Environmental Justice aspect
The work carried out by MIWA helps to solve an Environmental Justice issue inherent in India. This issue involves the maintenance of jobs to those who need them the most, namely farmers, who otherwise lack education to get jobs outside the farming communities. Furthermore, it is an Environmental Justice issue because local jobs in the form of farming are diminishing in the name of development. As a result, according to the Citizens Report, there is a loss of traditional way of life. Thus local communities are being left unemployed and thus indulge in vices such as alcoholism. Finally, taking away of land from local farmers and residents is resulting in their displacement, according to the Citizens Report filed in early 2011. The Citizens Report was also cited by this Times of India article.
Environmental Degradation
There had to be intervention in this area of the Aravalli Hills simply because there with the advancement of deforestation due to development and the occurrence of "concretizing," as was mentioned in the Citizens Report, the result is environmental degradation. Thus the goal of afforestation that is on the process of being underway is highly necessary and will be carried near the Maruti Plant located in this area of the Aravalli Hills. The afforestation drive has been partly in motion as was mentioned by this article in the Times of India.Furthermore, environmental degradation in this area takes the form of destruction of the natural water supply as was mentioned in the Citizens Report .
Notable People
Amina Shervani has been majorly involved with MIWA. She is a woman entrepreneur who has been helped in the drive towards afforestation and the drive towards rainwater harvesting by her husband, Milin Kapoor. The other people involved in MIWA are M.K. Bhargava, Manmohan Gaind, Vikash Gupta and Jagdish Kukreja. According to this article in the Times of India, Amina Shervani is a "member of the association and an industrialist who is based in Manesar Sector 3." She was one of the key people behind the Citizen's Report that was filed in the Supreme Court in early 2011. This report was filed to emphasize the issue of environmental degradation and social degradation that faced the region of Manesar, namely near the Aravalli Hills.