08-05-2012, 05:30 PM
Agenda
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Green bench
The word environment is a broad spectrum which brings within its hue hygienic atmosphere and ecological balance. Saving this planet Earth is now of utmost concern to the entire humanity. The world is witnessing a global crisis of environmental degradation. The future of the earth is entirely linked with the sustainable development that may take place in the various countries, both developed and developing. They have to adopt a visionary approach in consonance with the needs of the man and the earth. There is human threat to air, water and land.
India had been under the colonial rule for about two centuries and even prior to that there were minor kingdoms which did not pay attention to any sort of environmental concerns. After the independence the primary concern of the administrators was to eradicate poverty. Millions of people were below the poverty line and the literacy rate was also very poor. The population growth was at alarmingly high rate. All these factors contributed to serious environmental degradation and the persons who were mostly affected by this environmental degradation were the poor and the disadvantage sections of the society. They were the first victims of the poor sanitation, bad air, contaminated water, scarce food, fuel and fodder. For millions of Indians their only wealth and common property resources were threatened by environmental degradation.
The post-independence India was concerned with equity and growth and the environmental concern was added only as a third dimension. Thousands of people migrated to cities in search of job and basics living conditions. This resulted in massive increase in population in the cities. The concern for poor and needy people was voiced by the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm on 14th June, 1972. She said :
“On the one hand the rich look askance at our continuing poverty — on the other, they warn us against their own methods. We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people. Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters? For instance, unless we are in a position to provide employment and purchasing power for the daily necessities of the tribal people and those who live in or around our jungles, we cannot prevent them from combing the forest for food and livelihood; from poaching and from despoiling the vegetation. When they themselves feel deprived, how can we urge preservation of animals? How can we speak to those who live in villages and in slums about keeping the oceans, the rivers and the air clean when their own lives are contaminated at the source? The environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty. Nor can poverty be eradicated without the use of science and technology.”
And she added :
“The ecological crises should not add to the burdens of the weaker nations by introducing new considerations in the political and trade policies of rich nations. It would be ironic if the fight against pollution were to be covered into another business, out of which a few companies, corporations, or nations would make profit at the cost of the many.”
The 1972 Stockholm Conference marked a watershed in the history of environment management in India. Prior to 1972 in India, the environmental concerns such as sewerage disposal, sanitation and public health were dealt with by federal ministries and each pursued their own objectives in the absence of a proper coordination system. The twenty-fourth UN General Assembly decided to convene a conference on the human environment in 1972, and requested a report from each member country on the state of the environment. As a result of these reports, greater coordination was achieved regarding the environmental policies and programmes. Thereafter, in sixth five-year plan an entire chapter on Environmental and Development was included that emphasized sound and environmental and ecological principles in land use, agriculture, forestry, marine exploitation, mineral extraction, fisheries, energy production and human settlements. It provided environmental guidelines to be used by administrators and resource managers when formulating and implementing programmes, and lay down an institutional structure for environmental management by the Central and State governments. The Planning Commission was set up as an expert committee to formulate long term sectoral policies. It also noted that many environmental problems were continuing to cause serious concern, for example the loss of topsoil and vegetative cover, the degradation of forests, continuing pollution by toxic substances, careless industrial and agricultural practices, and unplanned urban growth. It acknowledged that environmental degradation was seriously threatening the economic and social progress of the country and that our future generations may discover that life support systems have been damaged beyond repair.
The role of the Courts in India
The shortcomings of the executive in coping with the pressures on the environment brought about by change in the country’s economic policies had thrust the responsibility of environmental protection upon the judiciary. This has meant that in India, the Judiciary in some instances had had to not only exercise its role as an interpreter of the aw but has also had to take upon itself the role of constant monitoring and implementation necessitated through a series of public interest litigations that have been initiated in various courts. However, in the defence of the executive, it must be said that India has actively participated in several multilateral treaties and has been active in admitting its commitments to the environment in accordance with the general principles of International Law while incorporating them into its national laws. Much of the difficulty of the executive in implementing these laws can perhaps be attributed to resource constraints as well.
In its efforts to protect the environment, the Supreme Court and the Indian Judiciary in general have relied on the public trust doctrine, precautionary principle, polluter pays principle the doctrine of strict and absolute liability, the exemplary damages principle, the pollution fine principle and inter-generational equity principle apart from the existing law of the land. Another guiding principle has been that of adopting a model of sustainable development. The consistent position adopted by the courts as enunciated in one of its judgments has been that there can neither be development at the cost of the environment or environment at the cost of development.