Meera Sanghamitra has been awarded the Girish Sant Memorial Fellowship for 2017.
Meera is a lawyer by education. She has worked on human rights issues and spent many years as an NBA activist. As one of the founding members, she also floated a fledgling student human rights group, which engaged with various rights issues, crisis interventions and fact-findings, distress situation response, follow-up and worked with groups and campaigns in Hyderabad.
The theme of the research was the challenges of pro-people and environmentally sustainable electricity governance in India's youngest state, Telangana. The topic was "Socio-environmental Regulatory Governance Aspects of Thermal Power Plants in Telangana: Issues, Challenges and Ways Forward". Along with a detailed assessment of the socio-environmental gaps and issues around the four identified thermal projects in Telangana, the study tries to make certain generic observations and suggestions to strengthen the regulatory mechanisms. While some of these are process specific related to Environment Impact Assessment, public hearing and social impact areas, others are institution related i.e. on the role of Pollution Control Board, Expert Advisory Committee, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and civil society.