The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy invites you to the release of our short documentary, ‘An Unequal Fight’ on  2nd December 2020 at 6 PM (IST). 

An Unequal Fight tracks one of India’s oldest environmental cases involving pollution by bulk drug manufacturing industries in Patancheru and Bollaram area in Telangana. The Supreme Court of India and later the National Green Tribunal, have passed countless directions to restore the environment in this region and to make polluters pay for the damage wreaked on people’s lives. Despite these interventions, pollution levels remain unabated and people of the region continue to suffer with no end in sight to their misery. This film undertakes an on-ground investigation to test the limits of the court’s power, the regulatory architecture and the polluter pays principle as it traces the history of the four-decades-old legal battle that has been waged by the residents of Patancheru-Bollaram since the 1980s for their right to clean water.  

Watch the trailer below.

This 20 minutes film is the second of the five short documentaries, produced by Vidhi and Riverbank Studios, on key environmental issues in India. Renowned actress and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India, Dia Mirza, has provided a prologue to each of the documentaries. The documentaries are the culmination of a year-long research project tracking landmark judgments and orders of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, on a wide range of issues and across different geographies- the firecrackers ban, pollution in Patancheru, Telangana, dams in Uttarakhand, waste management in Delhi and wildlife corridors around Kaziranga National Park. Read more about the project here. 

Join us as we explore how far the orders in this regard have been implemented and examine the systemic issues that hinder the same. We speak to the petitioners, experts and activists to understand the on-ground situation and the challenges in the implementation of the court’s directions.

The screening will be followed with an address and a discussion by our Guests of Honour:

Mr Mahesh Chandra Mehta, Environmental Lawyer (Supreme Court of India)

Dr Narasimha Donthi Reddy, Agricultural Activist (Hyderabad)

Dr Lubna Sarwath, Socio-Political Activist (Hyderabad)