former supreme court judge v.r.krishna iyer wrote a stunning piece in hindu with respect on hydel power projects in lieu of the sudden raking up of pathrakadavu hydel project in palakad district.

this article surely will rank among one of the top ones when it comes to 'development' versus environment debate.

some quotable quotes are below. powerful words for saner people. will development mongers, who are equal to war mongers, listen?

Industrialise or perish, the capitalist giants would agree. If ecological and environmental criteria are forsaken, `industrialise and perish' will be nature's retort.

The agrarian poor, with little land, have no voice — as against the powerful urban factory-owners and merchants with political influence. Green fields, rich forests which are the sanctuary of rare bird species, jungles with wild animals, and rivers which die dry if polluted or deprived of sandbeds — all these will disappear. So will the peasants who are the backbone of food self-sufficiency.

The purpose of development "should be not to develop things, but to develop man," said the Cocoyoc Declaration of 1974. "Development must be aimed at the spiritual, moral and material advancement of the whole human being, both as a member of society and from the point of view of individual fulfilment."

Today governments are controlled to a considerable extent by powerful private corporations. Under no circumstances, therefore, should Pathrakadavu or other such dubious schemes that are constitutionally culpable be undertaken. Never be a traitor to the future, or be hostile to the ecological command of the Constitution.
(silent valley, palakad district, kerala)