Closed on 17/06/2022
* Admissibility date reflects the date the case was officially registered. All other dates pertain to the date in which a stage was completed.
Case Description
In June 2019, a member of a congregation supported by a local NGO submitted a complaint alleging negative environmental and social impacts of the Bangalore Metro Rail project. Following a site visit by the dispute resolution team, the initial assessment report clarified some misunderstandings and proposed a dispute resolution process for the remaining allegations. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was carried out remotely with the support of two local facilitators.
The merits of the facilitation process were to: (i) foster the relationship between the concerned congregation members and the promoter; (ii) facilitate a two-way exchange of information and concerns; and (iii) enable the development of an additional option that further reduces the impact on the church land. Some concrete actions have been agreed between the parties as an outcome of the facilitated process, for example, how to limit noise pollution from works during prayer activities. Complementing these actions agreed between the parties, the Complaints Mechanism issued suggestions for improvements to the EIB services when closing the case with the dispute resolution report in June 2021.[1] The parties did not find an agreement on all the issues but agreed to continue the dialogue. As a result of that continued engagement, for instance, the requirement of the area on the church premises has been further reduced.
The Complaints Mechanism followed up with the parties and the EIB services about the implementation of the agreed measures and suggestions for improvement, including through a monitoring mission to Bengaluru in April 2022. During the monitoring mission, the congregation members and the NGO representatives expressed satisfaction with the fruitful dialogue they had with the promoter and the final outcome regarding the reduction of the land required for the project. This positive feedback is also reflected in a press release issued by the NGO about the engagement between the parties and the win-win outcome.[2] The Complaints Mechanism closed its monitoring phase in June 2022 with the issuance of a final monitoring report.
[2] All Saints Church – Sacred Living heritage of Bengaluru – Saved for posterity - Environment Support Group (esgindia.org)