Environmental Protection in India — A Brief Sketch
This article talks about the recognition of environmental protection back in the 1970s, how the recognition impacted a developing nation like India. This article includes the mention of various laws passed related to environmental protection in India and environmental principles as well.
Introduction —
Why is it necessary to have a clean environment? The environment is that natural surrounding where all the living and non-living parts of the earth live. Imagine a place of habitat which is always filled with foul-smelling air, dirty water with floating chemicals from industrial wastes, a land dumped with garbage.
It feels gross and unhygienic, doesn’t it? This is why the need for environmental protection is big deal. An environment where the living beings can survive peacefully without any health issues, without harming the natural resources so that there is enough of it for the future generations as well.
A water body with no chemicals mixed in it, a land free from garbage, air which is pure enough to breathe, resources plenty enough for the next-gen to use. All these are the unheard call from the environment. Many of us are trying our best to keep the environment safe from pollution and many of us ignore it and believe ‘Someone else will do it’. Wrong! someone else may not do it, if one person takes initiative he/she can bring about some change. One small step can save a whole set of generations to come.
Recognizing the need —
Environmental protection started gaining recognition back in the 1970s when the Stockholm Declaration, which was the first-ever International Conference on human-environment stressing on right to a healthy environment. The Stockholm Declaration of 1972 emphasized on right to freedom, equality, environmental protection, living conditions for dignified humans. India has been a part of the Stockholm Conference,1972, and also many other international level environmental conferences. The Stockholm Conference impacted largely on India’s environment-related laws. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976 brought in two important Articles for the protection of the environment:
(I.) Article 48A — talks about the protection and improvement of the environment, forests, and wildlife in India.
(II.) Article 51A(g) — talks about the duty of every Indian citizen concerning the protection and improvement which includes the forests, water bodies, and wildlife.
Introducing laws related to environmental protection —
The Supreme Court interpreted that the right to life and the right to liberty should include the right to a clean environment. After the Stockholm Conference, many laws were passed in India, The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 were those acts that had a good impact and gave a strong base for the call for environmental protection.
There were many other laws passed later on such as The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, which mandated all the industries to obtain insurance that should be equal to their capital investment. The main agenda was to provide compensation as a relief to the people who became victims of tragedies caused by hazardous industries.
The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 was passed for the disposal of environmental protection cases and provide relief and compensation as quickly as possible to the victims. Many other similar laws are passed so that the precious environment that we live in gets all the justice as well.
Environmental Principles —
There were some remarkable principles laid down through various landmark cases like the Polluter Pays principle that came into force through the Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India case. The polluter pays principle says that the one who pollutes the environment should be the one bearing the costs of pollution with due regard to the public interest.
Another one namely the Precautionary Principle talks about the adoption of precautionary approaches when there is a lack of scientific evidence regarding any threat to the environment, and human health is not certain, and also the risks are quite high.
For example, testing of chemicals before being put to use for manufacturing and production of various goods that are of consumable nature. Another most important principle is that of Sustainable Development which many of us have come across. Sustainable Development was framed so that it acts as a solution to the problems of environmental degradation as stated in the reports (Our Common Future) of the Brundtland Commission 1987.
Sustainable Development was talked about seriously in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which was held in Rio de Janerio in Brazil, 1992. The conference drafted plans and strategies to march towards a more sustainable pattern for the development of nations without harming nature.
The Brundtland Commission’s report defines sustainable development as, “Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The principle of Public Trust talks about preservation and protection of resources which are for the usage of public, reference case M.C.Mehta v. Kamal Nath.
The doctrine of Absolute Liability as I have already mentioned in my previous article “How applying basic laws in day-to-day life is peaceful?” is an important principle that originated from a case related to an environmental disaster of the Oleum gas leak. Absolute Liability is a standard for legal liability in the law of torts and criminal law and it has no exceptions.
Legal Provisions along with Case Laws —
Following the case of the Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India, the Supreme Court imposes this doctrine (in case of any disaster) on all the enterprises who carry on a business that is related to hazardous activities. This doctrine was imposed on LG Polymers for the loss of life and public health in the Styrene gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam on 7th May 2020. In this case, the National Green Tribunal directed Rs.50 crores as an interim penalty for compensation to the victims and the restoration of the damage done to the environment.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution talks about the Right to Life, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedures established by the law.” This article says that the state and every citizen are responsible for the right to be in a clean and safe environment as it provides us with the means of livelihood. This article includes the protection of ecology.
In Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1985), there was an ecological imbalance caused because of the mining of limestone in the valley, the Supreme Court directed to form a Committee of Experts which found out the damages. In the case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India where the public-spirited lawyer Shri M.C. Mehta filed the case regarding the tanneries near Kanpur which was polluting the river Ganga, the Supreme Court ordered that the tanneries must be closed if the required treatment plants were not set up. There are many cases related to environmental protection and in most of those cases, the protagonist has been Shri. M.C. Mehta, which is why he is called the ‘green lawyer’.
Conclusion —
Through the years there have been many cases and laws related to environmental protection whether small or big. The Narmada Bachao Andolan, Taj Trapezium case, laws related to Forest Conservation, International Environmental Laws, and the list is quite a big one. India is a country with the second-largest population and the call for environmental protection is crucial with such a huge population.
What I have written in this article is very less compared to what the Constitution actually talks about environmental protection, but one can infer that India has, up to some good extent contributed to the protection, preservation, and development of natural resources, wildlife, and the whole environment at large.
As its citizens, we are provided with the right to be in a safe and clean environment so it is automatically our duty as well to protect the same. Although there are many environmental problems still not completely solved; but they are being addressed. An environment with aesthetics and peaceful development taking place side-by-side is the best environment to be in. What is a peaceful development? I leave that to your imagination!
