AIIB meet to face people's challenge as activists attack infra financing

A large number of representatives from various people's movements across the country are gearing up for a fight with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

On Monday, when the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will proceed with its annual meeting, the funding agency may as well be ready to face some initial hiccups in Mumbai. A large number of representatives from various people's movements across the country have spent two days brainstorming how to stop AIIB in its track.  
 

"I look at AIIB as a monster, and we need to find where does the life of this monster lie... is it in the ear, the mouth... no it is in the finance," was a loose translation of an excerpt from social activist Medha Patkar's Hindi speech on Thursday, addressing the inaugural session for People's Convention on Infrastructure Financing in Mumbai. 

The People's Convention, which was scheduled from June 21 to June 23, was a response to AIIB's annual meeting starting Monday. The convention saw multiple workshops aimed at creating awareness about the alleged negative social, environmental, and financial impact some of the proposed mega infrastructure projects in India might have. 

If the turnout at the inaugural session on Thursday is anything to go by, agencies implementing infrastructure projects in the country might have a reason to worry. At Mumbai's famous YB Chavan auditorium, at one point, security guards had to stop people from entering the venue as the auditorium was already packed. The turnout didn't just include representatives from various movements across India, but also slum-dwellers and hawkers. The hawkers, for instance, are worried that India's growing interest in smart city projects may displace unorganised sectors like them. 

Kailash Meena from Rajasthan is one of the many representatives participating at the convention. Meena has been fighting against excessive mining in the Aravalli range. Meena is also upset with the vast amount of natural resources that India's ambitious bullet train project will use up.

Meena is not alone. The proposed industrial corridors and the bullet train were two projects most discussed at the convention. Further, representatives from Palghar in Maharashtra and others from parts of Gujarat discussed the lapse in the consultation process for the bullet train. 

Patkar's suggestion to attack the finance has been noticed. On Friday afternoon, while a group of representatives discussed the social, environmental and financial impact the bullet train would have, in a parallel session, steps were being discussed to question the funding that comes in from international financial institutions to linear projects like roads, railways, water supply and others. One suggestion from the audience was to pick stakes in related listed financial entities and question their intent to use funds for socially- or environmentally-harmful projects.

One of AIIB's early face-offs with the People's Convention will play out in the following days. The People's Convention has prepared a resolution proposal, which it plans to submit to AIIB and request its officials to provide the convention representation at the two-day annual meeting. "We will ask them for representation. If not allowed, we may consider other ways to register protest," said social activist Ulka Mahajan, a prominent face at the convention. Mahajan is the convener of the non-government organisation (NGO) Sarvahara Jan Andolan and is currently raising issues related to various projects in Maharashtra, including the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.

The issues discussed at the convention were not limited to displacement, land acquisition, and environmental or social impact. The discussion has now transcended to understanding the finances and its mechanism. At the bullet train session, for instance, issues over yen appreciation in relation to the Japan International Cooperation Agency's soft loan of Rs 880 billion to the project were discussed. 

In one of her concluding remarks for one session, Patkar suggested taking the protest to the global level. She shared experiences from her Save Narmada Campaign, where they travelled to various countries and made representations to various international agencies. "You may not find time for shopping though," she joked in Hindi.