Faculty Co-Ordinators: Dr. Jaya Sagade and Ms. Suvarna Nilakh
Student Co-Ordinators: Aditi Ashok and Aparna Appaiah
HARIYALI, the environment cell of ILS Law College in 2011-12 has conducted many sessions to discuss important issues related to environmental law and government policies affecting the environment. As a small but dedicated group we spent time on deliberating what each of us can do to save the environment.
The year kicked off with an orientation followed by a discussion to chalk out the plan for the semester. Weekly presentations were made by students of the cell which included- updates and current status of the Lavasa Project, understanding how climate change litigation works, the management of and law regulating coastal areas, problems associated with clinical trials, revisiting the Durban Summit, condition of Gharials and examining the possibility of setting up an international organization relating to the environment. On a regular basis we shared with each other issues addressed in environmental magazines like the ‘Down to Earth’ and ’Bhoomi’ and updates by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
We also took up field activities in the first semester. The first one was on a rainy morning in monsoon were led by Saurabh Deshpande, who has done a course in Ornithology. We walked around the campus and the Law college Hill identifying almost 15 species of birds, some of which were Nilima, Magpie Robin, Tickle Blue Flycatcher and White Breasted Kingfisher. Saurabh also explained to us the nature of the vegetation and nesting habits of the birds. The second one involved a plantation activity on the Chatursrungi hill. We helped in removing weeds and ploughing the soil around the plants which were already planted by another group of volunteers. It was the first time many of us took up a hands-on activity and it gave us a sense of achievement!
A very significant aspect of meetings was that we aimed to spread awareness through screening of videos that told us stories of change and infused us with some inspiration. Some of them were the BBC wildlife documentation on ‘Birds’, a story of Hiware bazaar and the use of Solar power in the temple town of Shirdi.
ILS MUN organized by Hariyali
Hariyali organized the fourth ILS Model United Nations on 7th and 8th January, 2012. A substantial part of the second semester of the year was spent in coordinating the event. Harshavardhan Ganesan and Rudraneel Chattopadhyay of the second year took up training sessions to help the new batch get acquainted with the procedure of a MUN. Both of them have participated in MUNs at the international level. The Secretary-General for the Hariyali ILS MUN this year was Vaibhav Charalwar (IV B.S.L., LL.B) and the Under Secretary Generals were Aditi Ashok and Aparna Appaiah ( both of IV B.S.L.,LL.B). The International Press consisting of Aankhi Ghosh and Prateeti Singh (both of IV B.S.L.,LL.B) closely observed the proceedings of the House, conducted press conferences and came out with a press report where they unraveled the antics of the delegates.
The agendas discussed in the General Assembly were ‘Exploring ways of Sustainable Development: The need to strike a balance between Development and Environment Conservation’ and ‘Ethnic Separatism and other Separatist Movements’ while those discussed in the Security Council were ‘Defining Water Security in the 21st Century’ and ‘Active and Passive Facilitation of Terrorism in the Middle East’. The Executive Board consisted of Govind Manoharan, Aakanksha Saxena (both of IV B.S.L., LL.B) in the General Assembly and Vinamarata Dogra (V B.S.L., LL.B.) and Akash Karmakar (student of Symbiosis Law School, Pune) in the Security Council. Harshavardhan and Rudraneel were the Directors of the two Councils. Rohit Rathi, student of IV B.S.L., LL.B., played an important role as a special delegate to regulate the discussion in the General Assembly and in helping the judges decide the awardees.
The Delegates who were recognized for their efforts in the General Assembly were: Namit Oberoy (Best Delegate- China), Sangeetha Ganesh (High Commendation- Georgia), Solaiappan O. (High Commendation- USA) and Omkar Dhakephalkar (Best Position Paper- Mexico), all students of 1st B.S.L., LL.B. The Awardees from the Security Council were: Zacarias Joseph (Best Speaker- China), A Sneha L Visakha (High Commendation- Brazil) and Manav Gecil Thomas (Best Position Paper- Australia), all students of 2nd B.S.L., LL.B.
This event would not have been a success without the assistance of a dedicated group of volunteers. For many first time MUNners, ILSMUN provided a good platform to participate and excel in inter college MUNs.
Hariyali has, through its activities, tried to instil among its members the belief that every action matters and has tried to reinforce the idea that one person can make a difference. It is this spirit that keeps the members motivated and ready to work for the environment.