In a landmark judgment, that many credit as his first step towards national recognition, the Supreme Court ruled that the industries within the Taj Trapezium Zone were to discontinue the usage of coke/coal and replace it with natural gas, essentially forcing over 200 factories and businesses to close down. Mehta denies having any interest in environment prior to the Taj issue, describing his sudden passion as a calling from god. "God directed me to the right path. It was all predestined and based on circumstance. After this incident, I started walking, that's all. Now I've been working for 16 years." Mehta's wife Radhika, a keen activist and former creative consultant to Frank Simoes, saw this as a new beginning for her husband. "He developed a passion for the environment because he saw what was happening- the callousness of people who were polluting it and accepting no responsibility. He thinks of the environment as a living entity and has an intense belief that the environment needs to be protected; that it's the most precious inheritance that we have. It's affecting the lives of millions of people and the lives of future generations. After all, the environment is not just one word; it's a multi-faceted thing. It has so many aspects and takes you into so many directions- the spiritual, physical, emotional-and it just absorbs all his time."
   In Meerut, as in many other states across the country, Mehta's name soon became synonymous with environmental and social activism. In 1987, his determination and courage was to make a difference to the lives of Delhiites. After 40 children fainted while walking past the Najafgarh drain in west Delhi, located next to the Shriram Foods and Fertilizers plant, Mehta discovered that the company was dumping toxic waste into the canal. Only a few months later, an oleum gas leak from the industry caused the death and displacement of hundreds of workers. Pursued by Mehta, the Supreme Court ruled that the company had to pay 60 lakhs in compensation to the victims.

From obscurity to fame to the inevitable threats, rumors and allegations, Mehta's existence acquired all the drama and none of the glamour of a celebrity's life. "There was this malicious rumor that went around," says Radhika, "that he has all the industrialists all hooked up and wrings money out of them. An industrialist from old Delhi rang up and said, 'we're going to eliminate him. We're going to finish him off the way he has finished us off.' But he has got courage from head to toe," she says proudly. "He's outspoken and doesn't bother who's listening."
   Mehta has often been accused of being a publicity hungry, media-savvy meddler, unwilling to associate with the NGOs working in the same field. In truth, the soft-spoken, intensely introspective and private man is a one-man army, who has full faith in the maxim- He walks fastest who walks alone.

To Mehta, the only hope he sees for the betterment of the masses lies in the dissemination of knowledge. Speaking from experience, he says, "Nobody will react unless they understand. People can react only if they know what is happening around them - that air pollution is causing their child breathing problems. And once that happens they will protest on their own. But if they don't know that, they will simply go to a doctor who is equally unaware and unconcerned. He's just making money and diagnosing the patient. Not going to the root cause of the problem, so in this case, there is no solution. All these things have to be done by the citizens alone. The foundations of this nation have been laid on the inefficiency of the bureaucracy and the political system and the ineffectiveness of the education system and its teachers."
   "All MC Mehta's matter," says Mahendra Vyas, Co-ordinator LAW-E (Legal Action for Wildlife and Environment), "  and no

one has done more in India or in any other place in the field of environmental pollution control." Vyas should know. He met Mehta soon after the latter's arrival in Delhi from Jammu, in 1977. "When he arrived, an environmental movement was already in place, and he was one of the many who wanted to be part of it. I was introduced to him by a common friend and I in turn, introduced him to many people. He had a lot of fire in him and great commitment. Today he is a big celebrity, but unless he had worked hard then, no one would have recognised him. In fact," he adds laughing, "he still has a few books of mine that he borrowed back then!" Vyas sees only one deterrent to Mehta's further progress; the fact that in the past 10-12 years, he already worked on the most pressing environmental issues. 'The most remarkable and, in fact, the best aspect of his work was in identifying issues. In fact, I think he's reached saturation point, because having raised most of the issues, he'll find that if he tries to raise anything now, he's probably already done so before!" He's happy to have known Mehta at a time when many were completely unaware of his existence. "His career has been amazing and the court has rewarded his hard work, because eventually, everything rests with the court. Their intervention was out of this world - both played a very important role." Anil Rana, President of the Janhit Foundation, agrees, "I see Medha Patkar and Sunderlal Bahuguna just concentrating on one issue, to which they have almost dedicated their entire life. That is a contribution, but I feel he's made an even greater contribution by going to court and single-handedly arranging everything. It's extraordinary. And above all, he's so approachable. Had it been anyone else of his stature...he's a very soft-spoken man who has a genuine concern not only for the environment but also for human rights."

 

     Crossing Ghaziabad on the way to Meerut, we came across a field spread with a vast expanse of garbage. Piles of waste were being attacked by scavengers and hovering clouds of flies, and a fruity, rotten odour permeated the car through the vents of the air conditioner. "See this," he said shaking his head. "These are the towns and cities we have created; they have become monsters and we're helpless." He blames it on a lack of proper planning in the creation of mega cities with no infrastructure, no sewage treatment plants and an inability to treat either solid or waste matter. 'You take all the garbage from your home and throw it on the street. This is our culture. Then we say, 'yes we want to see our country become great before we enter the twenty-first century.' How can that be possible? Yes, even I wish that my country should be great, but for that happening, we have to do a lot of things. We should not be hypocrites, we have to see exactly what is going on." To Mehta, the essential step towards this greatness, apart from educating the public, is population control. Rather like WR Inge, the former dean of St Paul's who had once said, 'The command, 'be fruitful and multiply' was promulgated when the population of the world consisted of two people," Mehta feels the crux of our underdevelopment lies in an overwhelming population. "Every problem is small until this huge population cloud is seen before us. It is something that should have been controlled in 1947 itself, because today, had the population of this country been 50 crores instead of 100 crores, our problems would have been far lesser. No political party is speaking on population control because they have vested interests; they don't want to displease any community. We are one nation and there is no question that the population control should be universal. Don't make legislation but at least give people incentives. Those who have one child should be given full incentives and those who have two or three or 20, have 20, we don't mind, but then you have to pay the state because you're a burden on society."

   There is often a discussion as to which of Mehta's cases have been the most beneficial for the people. To Vyas, it is the Ganga water case, for as he says, "Water is vital for millions. God forbid anything happens to the Taj Mahal, we'll still survive, although we'd lose a valuable piece of our heritage, but if the river dies how will we survive?" To Delhiites it might be the closure of 246 brick kilns and a stone crushing unit on the outskirts of the capital from which 1,500 tonnes of dust used to enter the city, causing severe breathing problems among the people. Mehta himself is spoiled for choice. "I'm happy with all my cases where the court has given me a landmark judgement But a new case is like a baby, you know. It's like giving birth and grooming it for 14-15 years. It means giving a lifetime to these cases. So I wouldn't say that I'm happy with only one." Mehta fights between two-three cases a year, a minuscule number compared to most lawyers. "I'm very cautious," he says. "One, because it's a question of credibility. It takes a long time to do research and if you go empty-handed to the court, the court can't give you any relief. People send me letters of their grievances and problems. Sometimes they come and meet me or when I'm in the field, they bring things to my notice. So I choose. I can't handle every problem, so out of 100, I might choose two. The criterion is the number of people that are going to be benefited. I don't go for one or two or 20 people. My major thrust should be where the largest population is benefited. Secondly, the environment of a large area should be protected and thirdly, a good precedent should be set for the future. These are the basics."
   The basics however, are what get Mehta into trouble with Radhika, who bemoans the audacity of people who phone her husband for consultation and consolation at irregular hours, with impunity." So often we're sitting at dinner and people ring up. And it really annoys me now. They should realise that between 6-7 am people normally sleep and during 8-9 pm people normally eat dinner. I have begun to find it very intrusive because I can see that he's tired, yet he's going to the phone, taking the call, getting very involved in it and will go on talking for half an hour. In fact he's the one who ticks me off. He says, 'you don't understand what suffering people are undergoing. What can they do?

They have to turn to somebody.' He doesn't mind and I'm sure that even if it kills him he wouldn't mind. I have seen him tired, beleaguered and exhausted. But if there's a desperate call, he doesn't say no."

 

       Mehta's support system, apart from his family, can only be described as pitiful. With a thread bare staff, no money coming in from his PILs and a propensity to take cases for free, he appears to be fighting a one-man crusade. Not surprisingly, he puts much emphasis on educating the public on the importance of a clean environment, hoping to induce at least a few people, to volunteer their time to the cause. "I want that many people should join me and become part of the whole movement. In a week even if you give two hours, which is a single day in a month, that will be a great contribution. After all, we have to look at least 50-100 years ahead, if not 500 years ahead. It's not only a question of our survival but also that of our future generations. And when we talk about the future generations, we have to be very firm that there should be no compromise on the quality of life, no compromise on the degradation of the environment, no compromise on the loss of natural resources. We have a social responsibility; we are public trustees of these natural resources. They are not owned by us."
    Radhika describes her husband as an activist. A man of action, whose work defies the traditional role of a black-clad lawyer, shuffling papers at his desk while adding vast figures in his head. Disillusioned by the mercenary, mechanical plodding of his peers, Mehta had given up law, till finally convinced otherwise by his wife. "It was not just a question of a profession. It was a question of believing in something and fighting for it. He turned law into a form of activism. He is an activist, not an air-conditioned lawyer." Mehta sees the two professions as being synonymous. "I don't think the role of a lawyer is any different from that of a citizen or an activist. I say that they have a common goal, which is to rejuvenate this nation."

   MC Mehta has a list in his head. Things to be crossed out, changes to be made, programmes to be revitalized and institutions to be eliminated. "Where is the poverty", he demands to know. "The criterion of poverty is totally wrong. I say India is not a poor country at all, we are not a poor state, it is simply the question of how to manage our resources, and we are not managing either natural or human resources." Mehta had once said, "There is no government. It is government by proxy. Because if the politicians had been alive, Delhi would not have been allowed to become a dead city." Years later he is still as forthright, as unimpressed, by what he feels praetorian, uninspired brood of politicians leading the nation. " There is no political will left. No accountability, no commitment and no fearlessness. They have one aim which is, 'ek din ke liye kursi miljayegi to hum country ko loot lenge. 'Hum apni family ke dus generations ko dheek kar lenge. (Let us get power for one day, and we'll loot the country. We'll make sure that our next 10 generations are comfortable.) which means apni family ki (their family's) generations not the nation's generations. They spend crores on their security and then say we're living in a socialist country, where there is democracy and respect for human beings. All hypocrisy. As far as I am concerned, they shouldn't even have security and if a political party wants to protect their politicians, let them pay for it."

the area making preparations, bunkers, stoking up on everything including arsenal. Where were they (the politicians)? They were sitting quietly. Look at the way in which the jawans are dying. Is it a good thing?"
   Changes lie in the alternate model of development. One, which he had described in an earlier interview as, 'a village republic based on handicrafts and cottage industries�focusing on need not greed.' "There has to be decentralization of power and power to the people," he says. "But this power should not just be handed over, people must be trained on how to administer, like in the village republics. "He feels the result of creating self-sufficient, self-administered villages will automatically end migration to cities, the first step towards reducing their congestion and unemployment. "People only migrate when they see the misery and sufferings in the villages and because of a lack of options. If a village becomes a self-sufficient entity in itself, who will come to a stinking city like Delhi to stay in a jhuggi-jhopri ? But for that, we have to see that if India there are five lakh villages, the natural resources in each villages have to be exploited in a manner that everybody gets a proper livelihood." Radhika explains his singular views; "He's not anti-development." He's anti the wrong notion of development. If development means we have to drink polluted water, we don't want development."

   As a young lawyer in the early seventies, Mehta is remembered by colleagues as a fiery social and political activist, a keen member of the Gandhi Peace Foundation where he was constantly involved in protests, marches and conferences calling for an end to communal rioting centered in East Delhi. It was here that his interest in socio-political issues was fostered, here that he would one day meet fellow-activist and future wife, Radhika Uberoi. The two discovered a bond, shared by their common philosophy and direction, and by the time they married on January 15, 1983, Radhika had already realized that she would be the parent looking after her home and family while her husband fought for the common good of people she would never meet. Being besieged with hate mails, threatening calls and harassment has forced the Mehtas to send their only daughter, 15-year-old Tarini, to boarding school in Himachal Pradesh. Radhika describes her daughter as, "a highly intelligent individual, brilliant at arguing with a very analytical mind."

    The Mehtas have tried to get their daughter interested in the environment from a very young age. When she was three, Tarini was taken on a Green March to Jammu; a 300-kilometer excursion with friends and supporters undertaken by the Mehtas every summer during the court recess. They chant slogans, stopping every 15-20 kilometers to hold talks, seminars and competitions and interact with villagers, encouraging them to plant trees. "We slugged it out," recalls Radhika, "there was no water to drink and no food to eat and we were travelling in buses through places that now, are in the grip of terrorism." Although unable to spend much time with her father, when the duo do get together, it's Tarini who has the upper hand. "She argues with him on women's rights all the time, she cannot tolerate the traditional outlook on women. She's extremely vocal and articulate and he has nothing to say!" Is he against women's rights? "Not at all," she says hurriedly, "but coming from a conservative family, he's more traditional old-guard. After all, Jammu is a conservative area and they wouldn't appreciate a woman smoking and drinking." Radhika sees in Tarini a worthy successor to her husband, hoping that she will one day be a women's rights activist. "Because she feels bitter that he hasn't given her enough time, she says she'll never be a lawyer because, 'I've seen what it does, it's taken away my father from me' But I feel the profession is cut out for her."
   The Mehta's entire life revolves around this single cause. Possessing neither the time nor the inclination to indulge in what others might see as necessary recreation, Mehta avoids movies, music, theatre and dining out. Preferring instead to spend time with his wife in animated discussion on the environment. "You don't have to call it work," says Radhika. "Work means life- different experiences, different places, seeing the country, new impressions and the inputs that he keeps getting. That's his entertainment." Life with such a dedicated individual is not easy, admits Radhika. "It's a life of hard work, strain, stress and anxiety. He works 17-18 hours a day, so there's very little personal life. It's a life dedicated to a profession." But that's the way MC Mehta prefers it, "If I am doing something for the public, then I should keep a second position for myself. Otherwise, there is no difference between me and anybody else."

   "He believes in doing good karma," says Radhika on her husband's philosophy on life. "He really believes in what the Gita has said, that 'you do actions but don't expect the fruit of your actions'. He just goes ahead and does what is right, that's all. What happens after that does not concern him." And hopefully it never will; because he's shown us that it takes a single man to clean up the roads we walk on, the air we breathe the water we drink and the food that we eat. A single man who chose to take away time from the family he loves and not take money from the people he is fighting for. A man who chose to clean up the country for this and for the next many generations of Indians. And while others wait and watch, wonder and waste, MC Mehta continues fighting for the environment.