Shelly, Bennett University
ABSTRACT
Environmental Law in India is a relatively new and challenging subject, and it has become a devise for promoting “sustainable development”. Today there is a demand for professionals who are willing to bring a change in this area because with damage to environment proving to be a threat to the world, the scope of this area has become wider and there is a shift towards “development without destruction”. Although the gestation period may be a little longer, the discipline is still evolving. In our country, the environmental jurisprudence has been a mixture of various factors due to which there is a confused picture of environmental law in India. The dichotomies like lack of awareness, willingness to contribute towards environment, intense protests, violation of basic human rights etc, tends to create an unclear legacy for the generations to come.
Indian Judiciary played a pro-active role during the 80’s whereby the apex court dealt with phenomenal environmental issues that led to evolution of environmental jurisprudence. In addition, the seminal role played by the NGO’s, activists, lawyers in initiation PIL have been wonderful. The contribution by the landmark M.C. Mehta judgment in the 1990’s has been immense as it led to some of the most enduring principles for upcoming generations. The researcher through this article would focus on the evolution of environmental law in practice, that faced major implementation crisis. Lastly, the article would address as to why it is the need of an hour that environmental laws are required to be strictly implemented in today’s world.
Keywords: Environment, Awareness, Protection, Sustainable
