Nepal needs to step up its game in terms of having a strong, enforceable legal framework on matters of environmental human rights, and it should not just be the work of a few committed citizens
According to a recent news published on this daily, the Government of Nepal is filing a petition to review the district and high court verdicts in relation to the heinous murder of environmental activist Dilip Mahato in early January 2020. He was tragically and very intentionally crushed by a tipper while trying to stop illegal extraction of sand and stones from the Aurahi River in Mithila, his home town in Dhanusa District. Thought the government had filed a petition at the Supreme Court on November 19, it was registered only on December 8.
"The district and higher courts had found two main accused and one accomplice. Four individuals were acquitted. The government claims that the decision to charge some people as accomplices while acquitting others in the brutal murder was flawed. The government has demanded that they all be sentenced to life imprisonment," wrote Bal Krishna Sah for The Himalayan Times, clearly explaining the reason why the government intervened.
The government's action is indeed a positive development towards ensuring that justice and accountability prevail.
Dilip Mahato was an unsung hero, someone who was not after visibility or recognition. What he wanted was the preservation of the fragile ecosystem of the Tarai that is continuously pummeled by extractive and illegal mining.
Being an environmental human rights defender is a risky job and not only in Nepal. According to a report published by Global Witness in September, more than 2,100 land and environmental defenders were killed worldwide between 2012 and 2023.
Abhaya Raj Joshi, a staff writer for Mongabay, wrote in June 2023, based on a report published by the leading human rights organisation Informal Sector Service Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (INSEC), that the situation of Nepal's "environmental human rights defenders" (EHRDs) is worrisome.
"In recent decades, extractive industries such as sand mining and the timber trade have emerged as major environmental challenges in Nepal, mainly due to lax government monitoring and enforcement. Numerous incidents of violence and intimidation involving industry players have been reported in the media in the last few years. All of this has made the job of environmental human rights defenders a lot more difficult," Joshi wrote in the article.
As there is hope that the government's pursuit of justice for Dilip Mahato is going to bring full accountability for the perpetrators of his death, I do believe that not enough has been done to remember Dilip's ultimate sacrifice. Why not set up a Dilip Mahato Environmental Human Rights Award?
I think something like this is really due. During the World Social Forum held in Kathmandu in February this year, I had assisted in an event organised by Digo Bikas Institute, a prominent action think tank committed to promoting ecological sustainability and social equity. The programme was focused on the current status of play of environmental human rights defenders in South Asia.
Among the speakers was also Dilip's sister. Dilip's family is also facing a lot of challenges as they were forced to leave the Tarai. Let's not forget that Dilip had been back to his home town for a short break from his studies in Bhopal, India, where he was pursuing an engineering degree. On knowing that illegal sand and stone extraction was occurring during the night in the Aurahi River, he did not hesitate to get into action.
He was fearless and bold, and he had real courage because he knew that stopping illegal sand mining, a very lucrative business, was dangerous. Nevertheless he sprinted to stop this illegal activity.
As explained by Bhrikuti Rai in a piece for the Nepali Times entitled "Drawing a line in the sand", an article that secured her the prestigious Fetisov Journalism Award, there is a powerful "sand mafia" operating in the country often in collusion with politicians.
That's why having a national award named after Dilip Mahato would give a very powerful message to the hidden interest. The anniversary of his death, the 10 of January, is approaching soon, and there is not much time to prepare an effective plan for such an award. Yet, we must remember and start doing something as we cannot forget Dilip's death.
Another idea: make the 10th of January a Dilip Mahato Day. January 10 should be a day on which activists, students and policy-makers reflect on the death of Dilip Mahato and seriously start thinking on how to put in place such an award.
Schools, both public and private, could hold workshops and other events about environmental rights and the current efforts being taken by other environmental human rights activists. On the same line, essay competitions could be held in the name of Dilip, and perhaps some national newspapers would be interested in taking the lead on this.
Moreover the Federal Government could also announce the creation of a task force, composed by members of the civil society and high level officials, that is mandated with recommendations to better enforce environmental human rights in the country. Because symbolic gestures like setting up an award for Dilip or creating some national celebrations about him are not enough.
Nepal needs to step up its game in terms of having a strong, enforceable legal framework on matters of environmental human rights. I do believe that bringing these ideas to reality should not just be the work of a few committed citizens, either activists or practitioners or scholars. Instead it should be a common, shared responsibility because the whole society ought to always remain grateful to what Dilip Mahato did for all of us.
