THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, June 16: Former Supreme Court Judge and ex-Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel today said that the Right to a clean environment is a part of the Right to life under Article 21 and at the same time Article 48 A and 51 A casts a duty on the state and the citizens to maintain a clean and sustainable environment.
Speaking at a state-level conference on “Environment, Mines and Mineral Laws” organised at the Judicial Academy of Jharkhand, Justice Goel emphasised that from time immemorial, the environment has been worshipped in India and India’s contribution to the environment has been one of the best in the world. “Still, sadly India has been a victim of environmental degradation,” he added.
Earlier, he along with Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad, Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, SN Pathak, Anubha Rawat Chowdhary and Environmentalist Sunita Narayan inaugurated the conclave.
Challenges in environmental protection
Justice Goel also lauded the role of the state of Jharkhand and congratulated the Judicial Academy for organising the conference as well as coming out with important research material on the issues of the environment.
He also mentioned that it is axiomatic that we are polluting everything and then suggesting not to consume polluted articles.
Highlighting the challenges in environmental protection, the former NGT boss said that we are extracting minerals recklessly and the business of illegal mineral extraction has reached around 126 billion dollars; that there are almost 351 polluted rivers in India; there is no culture of initiating Environment Impact Assessment before commissioning developmental projects, a city like Bangalore is no more a city of lakes and there a poor maintenance of Biodiversity Management Committee.
Balance between environment and development
Sunita Narain, in her address, stated that the bottom line of everything in this world is balancing but sadly this balance is badly hit due to our poor treatment of the environment and the consequence is visible in the long stretch of 40-degree-plus temperatures in India, long droughts and shortage of quality rainwater.
Narain stated that life in Jharkhand is intricately linked with the forest and people are dependent upon the forest for their survival.
The direct relationship between clean drinking water and climate change
She also highlighted that there is a direct relationship between clean drinking water and climate change and to address the challenges we need to cultivate the habit of storing rainwater, the establishment of a new environmental institution, adopt stricter norms for forest clearances, fix accountability of institutions who must maintain environment sustainability and in all these the roles of the judiciary become pivotal.
Narain highlighted some good practices such as the practice of waste management and; the adoption of renewable energy.
Concluding her remarks, Narain stated that we should not forget that there is a deep connection between cultural diversity and biodiversity.
Senior SC advocate Sanjay Upadhyay highlighted that that the executive implementation is different from that of legislature intent and similarly sometimes the interpretation of laws is different from what is intended by the legislature.
Upadhyay also highlighted the importance of a traditional understanding of the environment and underlined the judgements of High Courts wherein rivers have been designated as living entities but the question is how to operationalise it.
He also highlighted that today if the national highway is less than 100 km we do not need Environment Impact Assessment and this is nothing but tweaking the law and all such things are creating a mess.
He concluded the session with a question about why we should not have a separate law for a separate ecosystem.
Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act
Jharkhand High Court lawyer Indrajit Sinha deliberated upon various provisions of the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act as well as the rules drafted thereunder. He also addressed the queries of participants about the implementation of various Environmental Laws and the execution thereof in the trial courts as well as by government bodies such as Mines and Forest Departments.
Senior Judges of the High Court, Judicial Officers from districts, officers from the police department, forest department, the mines and geology department, and public prosecutor S. Upadhyay attended the conclave.
Justice Anubha Rawat Chowdhary expressed a vote of thanks.
