RIGHT TO WHOLESOME ENVIRONMENT: EVOLUTION AND APPLICATION

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This article is written by Vani Khandelwal of 3^rd Semester of Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur

ABSTRACT

This article titled “Right to Wholesome Environment: Evolution and Application” deals with the right of people to have a safe and healthy environment around them. The article begins with a brief on Article 21 as it guarantees personal life which in turn includes right to wholesome environment. A few case laws have been discussed in brief to understand the ambit of the article. The next part of the article deals with an introduction on right to wholesome environment. The evolution of the same has been depicted through various case laws and formation of various laws. Role of judiciary has also been discussed in the article in depth. Lastly, the article ends with a conclusion along with some suggestions by the author.

KEYWORDS: Environment, Wholesome, Conventions, Article 21, Laws, Evolution

ARTICLE 21

Article 21 reads, “Protection of life and personal liberty No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

In Part III of the Indian constitution, which deals with the fundamental rights provided to citizens, the right to a healthy environment or any other right related to the environment is not expressly protected. But remember to follow the rules that the Supreme Court has set. Article 21’s application has been widened to cover the right to a healthy environment as a result of the law’s increased reach.[1]

Article 21 is commonly known as one of the fundamental rights recognized by the Indian Constitution. It is protected, like all other fundamental rights, under article 32 (Right to Constitutional Remedies). The Right to Life is the most crucial fundamental freedom in the area of human rights because it deals with preserving life.

Since the aforementioned article guarantees citizens’ lives and has a wide range of applications, its scope is difficult to define. For instance, it was determined in the case of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978)[2] that the phrase “right to life” refers to more than just the ability to breathe or exist; it also guarantees the ability to lead a life of dignity.

While concentrating on the connection between Article 21 and the idea of a wholesome environment, emphasis has been placed on the significance of preventing the robbery of life. Environmental quality and general health have an impact on a person’s life expectancy; as a result, one of a person’s fundamental rights is the right to live in a clean environment.

RIGHT TO WHOLESOME ENVIRONMENT

One of the fundamental rights of every human being is the right to a healthy environment.

The right to a wholesome environment is a fundamental right that must be protected, according to Jayanthi Natrajan, who was the then-Union minister of state for environment and forests in 2012.

Air, water, land, people, and all other animals are all considered to be essential environmental elements under Section 2 of the Environmental (Protection) Act of 1986. The phrase “wholesome environment” also refers to the safe and wholesome standards of human habitat.

The Supreme Court observed and upheld the first liberal judicial interpretation of Article 21 in the case of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and ors V State of Uttar Pradesh[3], which established the right to a wholesome environment as a crucial component of the right to life and personal liberty.

The case of Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar[4] provided a clearer understanding of how to approach the right to a wholesome environment as a part of Article 21. The court decided that because the word “life” employed in the disputed article was construed broadly, it would expand its purview to encompass environmental protection alongside it.[5]

EVOLUTION WITH CASE LAWS

The Supreme Court of India ruled in the Dehradun quarrying case, also known as the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra & Ors. v. State of UP[6] case, that because quarries’ contamination negatively affects people’s health and safety, the equivalent must be stopped because it violates Article 21. In the aforementioned case, the Supreme Court suddenly decided that the right to a healthy environment is a component of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

In Ratlam Municipality v. Vardhichand[7] , the Supreme Court ruled that a pollution-free environment is an essential element of the right to life under Article 21 where the issue of pollution was brought on by private polluters and negligent town planning. The problem of pollution in this instance was caused by unreliable town planning and individual polluters.

The purpose of the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution was to consolidate Article 51A of the Constitution, which instructs citizens to preserve and improve the natural environment, including the forest, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, as well as to have compassion for all living things. The Environmental (Protection) Act of 1986 (often referred to as the “Act of 1986”) embodies the legislative intent and spirit of Articles 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution in its definition of “environment.”[8]

The primary goal of the various laws the legislature passed, such as the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, the Indian Forest Act of 1927, the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, and other enactments, was to give broad scope to the laws relating to the protection and improvement of the environment.[9]

The researcher Shubhankar Dam discusses the health concerns associated with homes, the workplace, the outdoors, and transportation in his study.

“The air which people breathe is of poor quality because of pollution all around in the environment, thereby, causing hazards like acute respiratory diseases. The air pollution contains different harmful chemical variants like carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, sulphur and nitrogen dioxide etc. when people are exposed to such air, then it can cause lung cancer, respiratory infections, etc. because of these harmful chemicals. Noise pollution is associated with miscarriages, physical deformities, deafness, hypertension, etc.”[10]

Similar to this, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the environment in the case of Virender Gaur v. State of Haryana [11]under the purview of “hygienic atmosphere and ecological balance.” The court stated that “living in a sanitary environment is essential to the right to a healthy existence, and it would be impossible to live with human dignity without a humane and healthy environment.

In the case of Sher Singh v State of Himachal Pradesh[12], it was determined that the nation’s citizens have a fundamental right to a healthy, clean, and equitable environment. Consequently, the state’s primary duty is to care for the people by providing for their security and welfare.

The environment is being improved. But every person also has a responsibility to help the government maintain a hygienic environment. Here, we’ve seen a lot of cases where the courts have impliedly stated that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which talks about the right to life and personal liberty, also includes the right to a wholesome environment, and that for every human being to live a dignified life, it’s important to have a clean and healthy environment.

D. ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN MAKING LAWS TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT

Most of India’s key environmental regulations are based on customary international laws that the Indian judiciary has included into the country’s environmental legislation.

1. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development can be regarded as having its roots in the balance idea. The goal of sustainable development is to satisfy people’s current demands without compromising the ability of future generations to use natural resources. [13]

The major Indian legal authority on the precautionary principle, sustainable development, and polluter pays is Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India, 1996[14]. These concepts were officially put into practice in India because to this case. A Public Interest lawsuit under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution has been filed against the pollution that the State of Tamil Nadu’s tanneries and other businesses have caused. These tanneries produced untreated effluent, which contaminated the river water, the main source of drinking water.

2. PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

According to this principle, environmental protection measures should be put in place when there is a risk of significant or irreparable harm, even if there is no scientific evidence to support the threat. The idea behind it is that it is best to err on the side of caution.

The Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, developed in 1972, replaced the Assimilative Capacity Principle with this one. The Assimilative Capacity Principle assumes that research can provide data to evaluate environmental threats and also offer environmental protection strategies.

The precautionary principle, which was developed in the 11th Principle of the 1982 U.N. General Assembly Resolution on the World Charter for Nature, was created in recognition of the fact that scientific certainty is not always available.[15]

3. WHOEVER POLLUTES PAYS PRINCIPLE

It states that the undertakings must foot the bill for preventing or repairing environmental harm brought on by the pollution they are responsible for producing.

The oleum gas leak case, also known as M.C. Mehta v. Union of India[16], from 1986, is credited with establishing the principle of polluter pays in India. The plants of Shriram Foods and Fertilizer Industries experienced a leak of the dangerous gas oleum, which hurt the community and the environment. Regardless of the reasonable care they took, Shriram was found to be totally accountable for compensating for the damage the corporation created. Furthermore, it was stated that companies must pay higher compensation the more damage they do.[17]

In India, there are multiple legislations for the protection of the environment.[18]

A statutory body within the MoEFCC, the Central Pollution Control Board is given authority by the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981.

E. CONCLUSION

The worst environmental calamity for India occurred in 1982. At the time, India was not equipped to handle the issue because there was no clear-cut legislation in place to protect and maintain the environment. But since that disaster, India has made significant progress in environmental protection. In the past 38 years, the Environment (Protection) Act has been passed as a comprehensive piece of legislation, the right to a pollution-free environment has been recognized as a Fundamental Right under Article 21, various principles, such as sustainable development, have been adopted, and specialized tribunals have been set up to deal with environmental issues.

Indian environmental law has improved, as seen by the volume and efficacy of the work done in Visakhapatnam to lessen the harm brought on by the gas leak.

Connecting Human Rights and the Environment is a helpful reference book that looks at the undiscovered area between laws that defend human rights and those that protect the environment. In a context that promotes a life of dignity and wellbeing, humans can ensure fundamental equality and respectable living conditions. Rules that consider the fact that people who harm or poison the environment also commit crimes against nature as well as human rights must be made immediately. In fact, it seems possible to connect the fields of environmental protection and human rights by talking about health.

The government cannot simply shut down all the industries that pose a threat to the environment since doing so would ultimately slow down the growth of the country as a whole. A country cannot sacrifice its progression in favor of fostering a healthy environment, and vice versa, as advancement and development are crucial for a developing country like India. As a result, as they are essential to maintaining the welfare of both the present and future generations, both the right to growth and the right to a healthy environment should be preserved.

Article 21 is the only basic right that, as previously mentioned, implicitly ensures the fundamental right to a wholesome environment, taking into account the numerous detailed interpretations offered by the Supreme Court.

[1] International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Right to Wholesome Environment [volume 5]

[2] Maneka Gandhi v UOI 1978 AIR 597, 1978 SCR (2) 621

[3] Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and Ors v State of UP, 1985 AIR 652, 1985 SCR (3) 169

[4] Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar, 1991 AIR 420, 1991 SCR (1) 5

[5] International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Right to Wholesome Environment [volume 5]

[6] Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and Ors v State of UP, 1985 AIR 652, 1985 SCR (3) 169

[7] Ratlam Municipality v Vardhichand, 1980 AIR 1622, 1981 SCR (1) 97

[8] International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Right to Wholesome Environment [volume 5]

[9] Right to Wholesome Environment should become a fundamental right (2012)

[10] Right to Wholesome Environment should become a fundamental right (2012)

[11] Virendra Gaur v State of Haryana, 1995 (2) SCC 577

[12] Sher Singh v State of Himachal Pradesh, THC)/2013 (CWPIL No.15 of 2010

[13] Right to pollution free environment, ipleaders, Article at https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-to-the-pollution-free-environment/#Role_of_Indian_Judiciary_in_developing_Indian_Environmental_law

[14] Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v UOI, 1996 5 SCR 241, 1996 5 SCC 647, 1996 AIR 2715

[15] Right to pollution free environment, ipleaders, Article at https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-to-the-pollution-free-environment/#Role_of_Indian_Judiciary_in_developing_Indian_Environmental_law

[16] MC Mehta v UOI, 1987 AIR 1086, 1987 SCR (1) 819

[17] Right to pollution free environment, ipleaders, Article at https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-to-the-pollution-free-environment/#Role_of_Indian_Judiciary_in_developing_Indian_Environmental_law

[18] Right to pollution free environment, ipleaders, Article at https://blog.ipleaders.in/right-to-the-pollution-free-environment/#Role_of_Indian_Judiciary_in_developing_Indian_Environmental_law