Column | Raja Muzaffar Bhat: Kashmir’s grassroots man

Raja Muzaffar Bhat knows however to work the good print. Tender documents are similar whodunnits waiting to beryllium unravelled for the 49-year-old biology activist. Bhat, who built his credibility arsenic a Right to Information (RTI) adept and is present president of the J&K Climate Action Group, is the tenth procreation of his household to unrecorded successful Wathora village, 12 km southbound of Srinagar and location to Kashmir’s celebrated Bhand Pather people theatre.

He adeptly plays ace detective arsenic helium scours the legalese for clues ranging from problematic clauses to forgotten environmental/pollution clearances. He tin recite sections of existing laws faster than you tin accidental ‘Vande Mataram’ and helium has the accomplishment acceptable required to clasp authorities institutions accountable. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court person sided with him successful his sustained run against amerciable riverbed mining successful Kashmir.

Bhat was a champion of the RTI question and helped propulsion done the erstwhile State’s RTI Act successful 2009. The cardinal Act replaced it a decennary later, erstwhile the peculiar presumption of Jammu & Kashmir nether Article 370 was revoked. The property of RTIs, erstwhile Bhat would record 30-50 applications a period and radical referred to him arsenic an “information bank” due to the fact that helium ferreted retired details ranging from judges’ assets to the mode authorities schemes were working, has ended.Post-2019, arsenic officials delayed answering RTI queries and a leap successful infrastructure and operation projects made Bhat’s paradise look ragged, helium turned his attraction to the strained earthy environment.

He inactive uses the aged skills. Just the time earlier we speak, helium filed an RTI exertion to find retired however galore Chinar and different specified trees (more rigorously protected by the law) person been chopped crossed 10 districts successful the past 2 to 3 years. The petition has been filed successful the NGT. 

Some days helium whitethorn beryllium warring for the tawny owls that find solace successful the Chinars, a cardinal awesome of Kashmiri heritage. On different days, helium is raging astir the garbage situation successful agrarian Kashmir oregon however the Jal Jeevan Mission, a Modi authorities committedness to supply harmless drinking h2o connected pat to each agrarian Indians, hasn’t reached the Chopan. The shepherd assemblage lives adjacent the root of the River Doodhganga — erstwhile a milky white, sparkling lifeline for lakhs — yet portion soiled water. “We speech of AI and integer India but erstwhile I spell to specified areas, I spot nary development,” says Bhat. “The marginalised don’t get entree to payment schemes.”

Fighting a disconnected bureaucracy

Global upwind information shows that 95 of the world’s 100 hottest cities are successful India. Trees and forests are being decimated astatine an unprecedented complaint to physique highways and for different municipality development. In this scenario, we request much custodians similar Bhat, who cognize however to wed societal media advocacy with grassroots relationships and an knowing of premier biology bodies specified arsenic the NGT.

Thanks to Bhat, the NGT issued an bid past twelvemonth directing officials successful Srinagar to tackle a sprawling elevation made up of 11.5 tonnes of garbage — festering for decades astatine a landfill successful the metropolis — wrong 2 years. The furniture has approved ₹361 crore to hole the problem.

Both Bhat’s grandfathers were civilian servants successful Kashmir, men who were profoundly connected to the radical they represented, and Bhat says helium can’t reconcile himself with however disconnected the bureaucracy is contiguous oregon however officials don’t look alert of basal biology laws. 

Another favored peeve astir officials? Their written connection lacks dignity, often missing salutations oregon respectful words of address. In 1 investigation of astir 300 RTI replies to citizens, Bhat recovered that successful 99% of cases, officials didn’t code the applicants arsenic ‘Sir/Madam’ oregon reason with the modular ‘Yours sincerely’ sign-off. Even the younger batch who utilized the RTI and got justness successful the earlier days, helium says, haven’t lived up to their promise. “I don’t cognize what happens to them erstwhile they participate the bureaucracy,” Bhat adds. “These things occupation me.”

Mobilising support

In different lifetime, Bhat was a dentist who had patients from antithetic regions of Kashmir. “Patients would archer maine wherever they were from and I would constitute down the names of these faraway places. Then I started going determination connected my Yamaha motorcycle,” helium says. Curiosity drove him to determination outwards close to the southwestern bound of Budgam territory that stretches up to the Pir Panjal mountains. “Now, there’s nary tehsil or artifact successful the Valley wherever I don’t person a contact,” helium says.

Most of Kashmir’s NGT cases successful the past six years person been filed by Bhat. While the orders often backmost him, enforcing them is the bigger challenge. He uses each instrumentality successful the book, from societal media to section journalists. He mobilises citizens and phones oregon meets section heads incessantly. “I don’t judge the communicative that thing tin beryllium done immoderate more,” helium says. “I get renewed vigor from my victories. I consciousness similar I person done thing and that thing is happening.”

The writer is simply a Bengaluru-based writer and the co-founder of India Love Project connected Instagram.