Environmental

If the Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) latest rating of the paper industry is any indication, direct action by non-governmental organisations works""and how. Since 1998, when the CSE's first rating of the industry was published, the paper industry appears to have transformed itself.

In the first rating, just 4 per cent of the industry had an ISO 140001 rating, which confirms whether a unit is environment-friendly; today this is up to 50 per cent, and another 25 per cent are likely to get it by the end of the year.

While this could be attributed to several reasons (companies looking at exports find an ISO certification a handy thing, for instance), what is encouraging is that so much has changed without much supporting policy action from the government.

On average, mills in India have reduced their water consumption by a fourth in four years, though they pay next to nothing for water, and penalties for pollution aren't exactly back-breaking either. While there is progress, though, much remains to be done.

As the CSE report shows, pollution levels in the local paper industry are still many times the global norm""indeed, while this year's toppers have done well on some counts, they remain pretty poor performers on several others.

This is not the first time that civil action has proved so effective. In the case of bottled water as well as aerated drinks, it was reports from the CSE (which combines a concern for general welfare with scientifically rigorous work to come to its conclusions) that forced manufacturing companies to take note of the quality problems with their products.

It was only after the reports were made public that the government woke up to the lacunae in the quality standards it prescribed. In another case involving a well-known chocolate manufacturer, it was only after publicity about the worms found in some batches of its product that a new packaging design was developed to ensure this would not happen again.

While the impact of enlightened citizens getting involved, either through non-governmental organisations or through public interest litigation, is something to be recommended, this is no substitute for government action""for the simple reason that public memory is often too short for such action to have sustained impact.

In the case of the water and cola controversies, for instance, after a brief dip in sales business went back to normal. And in the case of the paper industry itself, the CSE found that toppers from the last round, like Ballarpur Industries, which was ranked third, have slipped this time round as they've failed to lower pollution levels.

Civil action of the CSE-kind, in any case, works better in countries where the courts impose stiff financial penalties on companies; in India, however, civil suit damages are still rare. What has been achieved by the paper industry is good news, but it's too early to celebrate. Much remains to be done, and governments need to get more pro-active.