DNA Edit: Environment woes

Justice Madan Lokur’s statement that the judiciary is often forced to step into the environmental domain in a spirit of activism due to lack of environmental legislation and poor implementation of existing laws is a stinging reprimand. Now more than ever, the government must step-up to the plate and fill the legislative and administrative lacuna. That a senior Supreme Court Justice took to a public forum to criticise it speaks volumes about the government not being able to get its act in order and remedy the woebegone situation.

A study by The Lancet medical journal states that India tops the world when it comes to death by environmental pollution — be it contamination of water or  air. Such toxic exposure had led to one out of every six deaths in the  world in 2015. These are statistics that should nudge any government into action. Tribal and local resistance via gram sabhas is flaring in small pockets, but sadly, instead of addressing concerns of these gram sabhas, dissent from these camps is being brutally, and sometimes even illegally, crushed. Such an antagonistic attitude is the sort of quick-fix arrangement that welcomes the wrath of the higher courts.

Recently, the Centre kicked-off a slew of reforms in environment law which conveniently passes the burden of regulation on to corporate parties. These reforms operate primarily on the principle of ‘utmost good faith’, which is a sure-fire recipe for breach of regulatory norms. Shedding the onus of inspection will inevitably lead to industrial and environmental disasters, and the government will do well to vouch for the interests of its people over the economy. Going ahead, the government must call on all stakeholders —  activists, academics, corporates and former bureaucrats —  keenly involved in the domain to chalk out a roadmap for the future.