Environmental damage has been happening since the day mankind started exploiting Mother Nature we are only seeing its consequences now. Recently the Amazon rainforest which is responsible for 20% of the world’s oxygen and also known as the lungs of the earth “accidentally” caught fire. No measures were deliberately taken by the Brazilian Government indicating towards a conspiracy to destroy the forest for cattle grazing for the meat industry. The international organisations offered help in this regard and declared it as an environmental emergency. However, the US and Brazil have agreed to “economically” develop Amazon.
This incident of the Amazon forest is only a snip it of the environmental damage done to the environment. Environmental crisis have started showing up in the form of climate change, melting of glaciers etc.
India as a country has environmental laws to protect the environment, such as the precautionary principle and the Polluter pays principle. However the implementation of the environmental laws have been of great concern. India being a developing economy is among the first countries to feel the burn as far as the environment is concerned.
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India has been a witness to the disastrous event of “Bhopal Gas Tragedy” which has been named as the world’s worst industrial disaster.
Keeping the current environmental crisis in mind and the present laws in the country there are some rare judgments given few cases which have taken strong steps to punish the polluter.
This article will discuss two such cases-
Alaknanda Hydro Power Co.Ltd-
It is one of those rare cases where the Kedarnath Floods of Uttarakhand of 2013 were not considered an ‘Act of God’ by the National Green Tribunal.
In this case, Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd dumped a huge amount of muck generated during the construction behind the dam gates which was not appropriately taken care of and no measures were taken to secure the muck from floods.
Due to the closed gates during the flood, huge among of water accumulated in that area which resulted in the opening of the dam gates causing extreme damage to the nearby villages and public property due to the muck that swept along with the floods. No retention walls were constructed.
Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd stated that the damage was caused because of the Cloudburst that happened in Kedarnath which resulted in the floods and thus the damage. It was an ‘Act of God’ and they couldn’t be held personally liable for the damage caused to the villagers and public property.
The NGT’s verdict though was a rare one. The NGT held Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd responsible for the damage caused to the people of Srinagar, Pauri, Uttarakhand. It stated that although there were floods in uttarakhand, had the muck been managed and preventive measures been taken by it they wouldn’t be liable. Their act of dumping the muck, creating no retention walls and no taking no preventive measures aided the floods to cause the level of damage that they had caused. NGT slapped Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd with a fine of ₹ 9 crore for the rehabilitation of the village and damage to public property.
Haryana Paneer Bhandar case-
It is one such case where the polluter was convicted for polluting the Yamuna river under the Water Act. Haryana Paneer Bhandar was found releasing untreated effluents into the Yamuna River. It was found that Haryana Paneer Bhandar was operating without consent.
The owner was sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years and fined ₹2 lakhs. Yamuna and Ganga are treated as entities by an Uttarakhand court.
This case shows that there is a possibility of conviction in Environmental cases.
These cases have proven to act as a precedent to any other acts done on the same lines. Implementation of environmental law by the NGT with such efficiency will not only help in preventing such environmental damage caused by companies but it will also take serious steps in rehabilitation of the damage already caused.
This article is authored by Pratima Sharma, student of B.Com LL.B at Amity Law School
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