Ahead of the closely-fought assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, to be held on April 6 this year, environmental degradation has surfaced as an important poll plank, a report released by a local environmental group suggests.

The Tamil Nadu Environmental Report card by local environmental group ‘Poovulagin Nanbargal’ said that “In the past decade, Tamil Nadu has witnessed a range of protests led by people and political parties, as a result of which climate change and environmental conservation have become a matter of discussion for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.” 

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The report points out that regional parties in the state such as  the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), TTV Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, and Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam have launched separate environment wings as part of their party structure. This, the report states, is reflective of the response to people’s  agitation against environmental degradation. 

The report underlines that the manifestos of several political parties have even included these concerns — one party even mentions the tenets of the Paris Agreement in its manifesto.

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The parties have spelled out plans for water management and waste management, besides promises to scrap development projects that have earned the ire of the general public, the report states.

“The level of awareness amongst the public is also a contributing factor for this state of affairs. Civil society groups have created good awareness on issues, but a concerted effort lags when it comes to bringing awareness pertaining to climate change,” G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal said.

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The ‘Tamil Nadu Environmental Reportcard’ includes insightful information on e environmental issues in the state, ranging from groundwater crisis, air pollution and solid waste management to challenges like sand mining, industrial pollution and natural disasters, besides wildlife conservation and people’s protests against corporate projects.

“It is evident that these elections have become a platform for environmental issues. But this validation of environmental concerns did not happen overnight. The protests against Sterlite in Thoothukudi district touched a raw nerve in the state,” Kavitha Muralidharan, lead author of the Tamil Nadu Environmental Report card said. 

“From Kudankulam to Kattupalli, public protests against ‘development’ projects have become the norm of the day – perhaps indicative of increased environmental consciousness and how development projects have come up at the cost of livelihood of the poor,” Muralidharan added. 

The report hails Tamil Nadu as a ‘land of protests’. According to data provided by the organisation, Tamil Nadu tops the list of the most number of  protests held in India from 2009 till 2017. “On average, 20,000 odd protests happen in the state  every year. Observers say Tamil Nadu’s character is essentially restive. From anti-Hindi agitations in the 1930s till date, protests define the state’s character,” it states.

Poovulagin Nanbargal is a voluntary organisation that has been working on environmental awareness and been a part of public resistance movements and legal interventions for the past 30 years.