Unit 2 of Environmental Laws (syllabus: Module II — Stockholm, Rio and Johannesburg; UNFCCC, Kyoto, Montreal, Convention on Biological Diversity; sustainable development, polluter pays, precautionary principle, environmental impact assessment, eco-mark, intergenerational duty, public trust doctrine). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What is sustainable development, and what is its status in Indian law?
- What are the three limbs of the precautionary principle in Indian municipal law?
- What exactly does the polluter pay for?
- How did international environmental principles become part of Indian law without legislation?
- What does the public trust doctrine require of the State, and can trust property ever be alienated?
- What is inter-generational equity, and who can enforce a right held by people not yet born?
- What must an environmental impact assessment contain before a project is cleared?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- National Green Tribunal Act 2010, s. 20
- Environment (Protection) Act 1986, s. 3 and 5
- Constitution of India, s. 21, 47, 48A, 51A(g) and 253
- Constitution of India, s. 21 and 14
- Stockholm Declaration 1972, s. Principles 1 and 2
- Environment (Protection) Act 1986, s. 3, with rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules 1986
Leading cases
- Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v Union of India
- Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v Union of India (Bichhri)
- M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath
- A.P. Pollution Control Board v Prof. M.V. Nayudu
- S. Jagannath v Union of India
Full case summaries
- M.C. Mehta v Union of India — the Oleum Gas Leak case (1987)
- Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v Union of India (1996)
- Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v Union of India — the Bichhri case (1996 and 2011)
- Narmada Bachao Andolan v Union of India (2000)
- M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath (1997, 2000 and 2002) — the Span Motels litigation
- Intellectuals Forum, Tirupathi v State of A.P. (2006)
- M.C. Mehta v Union of India (1988) — the Ganga pollution cases
- S. Jagannath v Union of India (1997) — the shrimp culture case