`Judiciary making efforts to save environment'

ALLAHABAD: A host of legal luminaries shared their views on the issue of sustainable development and global warming at a seminar held in the city on Sunday.

Former Chief Justice of India JS Verma asked the members of legal fraternity to come together to face the challenge of global warming. A healthy environment is conducive to health, he said, adding that the environmental problems are broadly of two kinds: negative impact of the development process and impact of poverty and under development. Improper planned development causes greater deprivation to those directly affected by the project and the need is to assess the social realities and take care of their interests, Justice Verma said.

Verma said though India has a legislation to check environmental degradation, the need is for its effective implementation. In recent years, the Supreme Court and the High Courts have used various laws to protect and improve the environment by enforcing the people's right to life under Article 21, Articles 48-A and 51A (g). The Supreme Court has applied the `doctrine of public trust' and the `principle of intergenerational equity' to develop the `precautionary principle' to 'anticipate, prevent and attack' the causes of environmental degradation, former CJI pointed out.

He observed: "We have to realise that our lifestyle is contributing largely to global warming and climate change. The change of land use, deforestation, illicit mining in forests, and indiscriminate building activity even by conversion of green belts, water bodies and river beds is reducing water availability and increasing the emission of greenhouse gases.''

Climate change is also affecting agriculture and the crops, he added.

The seminar was organised by the Allahabad chapter of International Law Association (regional branch). Justice Ashok Bhushan; Prof Alok Gupta; former advocate general of UP, VB Upadhyay and chairman of State Minorities Commission SMA Kazmi also spoke on the issue. Justice Dilip Gupta welcomed the guests and speakers.