Avdhash Kaushal

Padamshree Avdhash Kaushal, a trained lobbyist from Washington, is a well-known name in the field of environment and for fighting for the rights of marginalized communities. He was a Professor for 7 years in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy in Mussoorie. During this time, he also worked on various social and ecological issues in the region and eventually in 1992 took voluntary retirement from his post at the Academy in order to focus all his energies on fighting for the rights of marginalised and underprivileged hill communities.

Rural Mr. Avdhash Kaushal is the Chairperson of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a premier NGO of Dehradun. He is also the Chairperson of State Resource Center (SRC) for Adult Education for Uttaranchal. He also heads the RLEK Human Rights Centre, (inaugurated by Justice M. N. Venketchalliah, Former Chief Justice of India and Former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission). He is a member of District Legal Aid Authority and was also member of Doon Valley Board. He was also the founding Chairman of Aastha, an NGO based at Udaipur.

He was a member of the committee appointed by Labour Commission of India for the "unorganized labour group".

He has more more than 15 years of experience in project implementation, monitoring and evaluation and was on the Advisory Committee of the World Bank for evaluation the Bank's assistance to Indigenous/Tribal Communities.

He also has a number of publications to his credit.

He has been instrumental in putting an end to the age old practice of bonded labour in the Jaunsar Bhavar tribal area in Dehradun District and was also instrumental in the enactment of the Bonded Labour Abolition Act in 1976. Mr. Avdhash Kaushal and his team were also instrumental in bringing to an end the age-old buffalo baiting killing, which took place on the occasion of Dussehra in this tribal belt. He efforts also led to the rescuing of women from this area who had been sold to brothels in different parts of the country.

He is known as the pioneer in environmental litigation and took up the first ever-environmental case, the famous Lime Stone Quarry case, with the Supreme Court of India under public interest litigation in 1983. The Environment Protection Act had not come into existence at that time and the case was thus the most fiercely contested case in the Supreme Court. His efforts were instrumental in raising the ecological and environmental awareness amongst the people of Mussoorie and Dehra Dun. On his petition the Court ordered the closure of 101 lime stone mines in the area and later he was instrumental in the enactment of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. Subsequently he motivated the youth of the region to launch a massive plantation drive to replenish the hills that had been badly degraded by the mines.

The illegal cultivation of poppy was a critical issue which adversely affected the interests of the tribal groups who were forced into this illegal activity by the rich land owners and even politicians. He took this matter with the courts of law and thus focused the government's attention on this nefarious activity thus putting an end to to this practice. His lobbying with the government led to the enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 1988.

In 1989, his organization, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, was formally registered under the Societies Registration Act. Under his leadership the organisation has been working in the state of Uttaranchal, with some of the most marginalised communities, on issues related to education, employment generation, community forest management, human rights, dairy development, health, animal husbandry, rural marketing and gender equity through panchayats.

In 1996, it was through his efforts as a public interest litigant in the Supreme Court of India that the court directed the states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Orissa to hold panchayat Raj elections. He had litigated on grounds that the continuation of the old panchayats, which had outlived their five years tenure, not only violated the constitution of India but were also depriving a minimum of 33.3% women and S.C / S.T. and Dalits, for whom reservations had been made by the new act, their rights to participate in governance.

Mr. Avdhash Kaushal is nominated Man of the Year by The Week Magazine for the year 2003.

He was awarded "Padamshree" by the President of India for his efforts in putting an end to the limestone quarry in the Doon Valley.

He is also the recipient of "Uttaranchal Rattan Award" by the Governor of Uttaranchal for his efforts in the direction of empowermnt of marginalised communities.

Under his Chairmanship RLEK was awarded "UNESCO-NLM Award" in 1998 for innovations in education of nomadic communities.

RLEK was also given the Red and White Bravery Award in the year 2000.

"Rotary International Award" was also given to the institution headed by him.

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