Introduction
To protect our environment, the supreme law of the land known as the Constitution has several legislative enactments to conserve our degrading environment. Due to rapid increase in the population of a country, natural resources are declining at an alarming rate. The makers of the Constitution felt the necessity of adding environment protection laws in the middle of 20th century.
The principle of sustainable development, consisting of 17 goals, has also been adopted which needs to be achieved for providing the basic needs to our future generation without compromising our present needs.
Major Changes in the Field of Environmental Law
The major changes in the environment started Mainly after the industrial revolution. Therefore, there are very few or null number of laws made for the environment before the industrial revolution. The first concern about the changes in the environment was started in 1974 by a Stockholm conference. It was the first conference which talked about preserving our environment and demanded to pass several environment protection duties for its member countries. India was also a member country of the Stockholm conference.
After the Stockholm conference, India passed several Acts for conserving the environment.
- The water (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1974.
- The air (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1981.
- The environment (protection) Act,1986.
- The wildlife (protection) Act, 1972.
- The national Green Tribunal Act,2010.
Constitution law For Protection of Environment
Some basic constitutional laws along with these acts which work for the protection and enhancement of environment are:
1) Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) which provides for the protection and improvement of environment.
2) Article 48A of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) Having the same objective as Article 47.
3)Article 51(A)(g) of the fundamental Duties provides that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve natural environment.
Major Concern and Landmark Case Laws Regarding Environmental law
The major concern of today’s date is that despite having numerous Acts and laws is our environment really protected?
The answer is of course No. Our environment is not protected. Although these legislatures’ main objective is to provide a wholesome solution to environment issue but it has been observed that lack of proper legislation has failed in fulfilling its objectives. Case laws reflect the inability of the government of India, both at the Centre and the state level. The loopholes in the system of our country is leading to degradation of the environment.
M.C. Mehta V. Union of India (Ganga pollution case)
I would like to highlight my point about the lack of implementation of rules using a relevant case law – M.C. Mehta V. Union of India (Ganga pollution case) Supreme Court of India
M.C. Mehta filed a writ petition to prevent the leather tanneries of Kanpur from disposing of the domestic and industrial waste and influence in the Ganga River, Without treatment. The court stated the importance of the water (prevention and control of pollution) Act,1974.
This act was passed to prevent and control water pollution and maintain water quality. This act established central and state boards and conferred them with power and functions relating to the control and prevention of water pollution. It was noted that the leather industry is one of the significant industries beside paper and textile consuming large quantities of water. Most of the water use is discharged as waste water. The waste water contains toxic substances that deplete the oxygen content of the clean water in which they are discharged. The result is the death of the aquatic animals. The court held that despite provisions in the water act, no effective steps were taken by the state board to prevent the discharge of effluents into the river Ganga. Also, despite the provisions in the environment protection act, no effective step was taken by the central government to prevent the public nuisance caused by the tanneries in Kanpur.
Taj Trapezium case
Another major case law which could be highlighted here is the Taj Trapezium case filed by M.C. Mehta again. He is a legal practitioner by profession but an environmentalist by hobby. He visited the Taj Mahal and observed that its white marble was turning yellow. So, he filed an PIL in Supreme court regarding this problem because he knew that this had been caused by pollution. The taj trapezium zone is a zone of more than 10,000sq.km which is made to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution. The emission of pollutant gases like sulphur dioxide mixes together with oxygen and causes Acid rain over the Taj Mahal. This caused the limestone of the Taj Mahal to turn yellow. Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the Earth but the pollutants emitted from the industries in the nearby areas had degraded even this.
M.C. Mehta V. Kamal Nath
The growth of industrialisation can be regarded as the major issue for the cause of pollution. The industrial owners try to deceive the laws made by the constitution by their money. In the case of M.C. Mehta V. Kamal Nath, Kamal Nath was the minster of environment and forest of Himachal Pradesh. He granted a lease deed of forest land to the Motel company for the construction of a hotel. This shows the loopholes in the implementation of the legal laws by the ministers of India for the safety of the environment. However, the independent judiciary applied the doctrine of public trust which means that certain Common properties such as rivers, seashore, forests and the air were held by Government in trusteeship for the free and unimpeded use of the general public. Public Trust Doctrine primarily rests on the principle that certain resources like air sea, water and the forests have such a great importance to the people as a whole and it would be unjustified to make them a subject of private ownership. Therefore, the lease deed was declared invalid by the court.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court of India has played a crucial role in holding accountable those who prioritize profit over environmental protection. However, It’s just the loopholes between the legislative and executive because of which the rivers are still choked, the air is still polluted, the wildlife is still at risk. These environmental issues of the contemporary era if remain untreated would end the human race along with the death of the environment. Therefore, proper legislative enactment as well as proper implementation of the laws sand mass public awareness is foremost needed for the protection of our mother Earth.
