The case that set things in motion. NGO Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), had approached the Supreme Court with a petition seeking directions to prohibit limestone quarrying in the Doon valley. The Bench of Justices PN Bhagwati and Ranganath Misra would ultimately cancel the licenses of over 100 quarries in the area. The judgment introduced to Indian jurisprudence the concept of sustainable development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not oblivious of the fact that natural resources have got to be tapped for the purposes of social development but one cannot forget at the same time that tapping of resources have to be done with requisite attention and care so that ecology and environment may not be affected in any serious way\u2026It has always to be remembered that these are permanent assets of mankind and are not intended to be exhausted in one generation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In 1996, the Supreme Court passed a judgment that would hold the state more responsible for maintaining natural resources. Back then, the Himachal Pradesh state government had leased out a protected forest area on the bank of the river Beas to motels, for commercial purpose.<\/p>\n The Bench of Justices\u00a0Kuldip Singh<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Saghir Ahmed<\/strong>\u00a0held that the government violated the Doctrine of Public Trust, a Common Law concept that was yet to be used as a principle for deciding cases. The Bench held,<\/p>\n \u201cOur legal system \u2013 based on English Common Law \u2013 includes the public trust doctrine as part of its jurisprudence. The State is the trustee of all natural resources which are by nature meant for public use and enjoyment. Public at large is the beneficiary of the sea- shore, running waters, airs, forests and ecologically fragile lands. The State as a trustee is under a legal duty to protect the natural resources. These resources meant for public use cannot be converted into private ownership\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n \u2026in the absence of any legislation, the executive acting under the doctrine of public trust cannot abdicate the natural resources and convert them into private ownership or for commercial use\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n This petition was filed to bring to the Supreme Court\u2019s notice the plight of people living in the vicinity of chemical industrial plants in India. It was in this case that the Court adopted the Polluter Pays principle. Justice\u00a0Jeevan Reddy<\/strong>\u00a0held,<\/p>\n \u201cThe polluter pays principle demands that the financial costs of preventing or remedying damage caused by pollution should lie with the undertakings which cause the pollution, or produce the goods which cause the pollution.<\/em><\/p>\n Under the principle it is not the role of government to meet the costs involved in either prevention of such damage, or in carrying out remedial action, because the effect of this would be to shift the financial burden of the pollution incident to the taxpayer\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Court also passed a number of directions, including deeming some polluting companies as \u201crogue industries\u201d and allowing individuals to approach civil courts against them for compensation.<\/p>\n In this case, the Supreme Court held that both the Precautionary Principle and the Polluter Pays principle should be part of the law of the land. The petitioners approached the Court against as many as 900 tanneries in Tamil Nadu that were indiscriminately emitting effluents. Granting relief, the Court directed the Centre to constitute an authority which would,<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026with the help of expert opinion and after giving opportunity to the concerned polluters assess the loss to the ecology\/environment in the affected areas and shall also identify the individuals\/families who have suffered because of the pollution and shall assess the compensation to be paid to the said individuals\/families. The authority shall further determine the compensation to be recovered from the polluters as cost of reversing the damaged environment\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/barandbench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_20170225_143808-e1495723524680.jpg\")
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