Environmental issues have no geographical limitations, said CJI Surya Kant

NEW DELHI: Terming Supreme Court the “banyan tree” of environmental justice for its role in protecting the environment and ecology, CJI Surya Kant Saturday said conservation and development are not in conflict with each other and there is need to maintain balance between them.Addressing the inaugural session of ‘The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics’ organised by NGT, he said there are constitutional provisions for protection of environment, but words in a constitution are only seeds which need the nurturing waters of judicial wisdom to sprout into life and SC has played that role.“And it is here that SC has stood tall as the banyan tree of environmental justice, with roots deep in our civilisational ethos and branches sheltering the rights of unseen generations. It has over the decades championed the idea that progress without preservation is but a mirage that vanishes in the desert of ecological ruin. Its rulings underscore how safeguarding nature is not an act of altruism but of self-preservation, an investment in the very continuity of life.“Highlighting its proactive approach, he said SC has made the right to a pollution-free environment a fundamental right by reading it directly into Article 21 .“That same pattern has carried us to the present day, where SC recently articulated the idea of ‘eco-centric proportionality’, postulating that environmental protection must be rigorous yet intelligent enough to engage with the world as it exists. This notion has advanced the most pragmatic approach of permitting development solely in conjunction with enforceable conditions, expert oversight, restoration, compensatory afforestation and accountability.

““Recent Indian jurisprudence on climate has brought this question into sharper constitutional focus by recognising the adverse effects of climate change can impact fundamental rights of equality, livelihood, health and conditions necessary for meaningful enjoyment of these rights,” he added.