Kandwal, Nagendra Prasad
The study Deals with the concept of sustainable development and contribution of Indian Supreme Court in establishing the norms of sustainability for the government and the development of environment protection.
Keywords: Role of Supreme Court | Sustainable Development | Environment Protection | Environmental law | Uttarakhand State
Introduction
Sustainable development is necessary and most important in all cases of environment and also in all of the Nations of the world. Now a days sustainable development has protected environment and world. It make balance between environment and development. It is true that in a developing country there shall have to be developments. Time has now come to check and control the degradation of the environment. Law Courts also have a duty towards the society for its proper growth and further development and also by reason of definite legislations in regard thereto. It is a plain exercise of the judicial power to see that there is no such degradation of the society and there ought not to be any hesitation in regard thereto but does that mean and imply stoppage of every development programme, the answer is ‘NO’. There shall have to be proper balance between the development and the environment so that both can co-exist without affecting the other. The Supreme Court of India has made immense contribution to the environmental jurisprudence of our country. It has entertained quite a lot of genuine public interest litigation (PIL) cases or class-action cases under Art. 32 of the Constitution. So have the High Courts under Art. 226 of the Constitution. These Courts have issued various directions on a number of issues concerning environment as part of their overall writ jurisdiction and in that context they have developed a vast environmental jurisprudence. They have used Art. 21 of the Constitution of India and expanded the meaning of the word life in that Article as including a right to a healthy environment. Thus, the responsibility lies on the Supreme Court and the various High Courts to deal with these cases with caution of high degree. It is only then that we will achieve our goal which is to secure a pollution-free development. Thus this study deals with the role of these courts in Environmental protection.
The development of Indian environmental law has happened, for the most part, over the last three decades, with a significant level of polarization around the latter half of this period. Therefore, a paper detailing “recent developments in India” would necessarily involve a thorough discussion of most relevant environmental issues and their consequences. The development of the law in this area has seen a considerable share of initiative by the Indian judiciary, particularly the higher judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court of India, and the High Courts of the States. The paper will dwell on this aspect and its effect on the strength of the legal framework. Legislative schemes and initiatives have been created in most areas involving the environment, albeit with some degree of overlap. The role of the administration, although a critical factor in the success of any environmental management programme, has seen its share of problems of scale and definition. The essence of the existing law relating to the environment has developed through legislative and judicial initiative. Since the latter is responsible for the most recent developments, this paper will attempt to lay the foundation for understanding through a discussion of legislation and administrative rules, and then detail development of the law and environmental principles through the discussion of judicial decisions.