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The Bench was of the opinion that it is the duty of every citizen to protect and improve the national environment and assets, of which the Government is the custodian, and it is even our duty 'to preserve and treasure our natural resources and environment for posterity'.
A bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala, disposed of an appeal seeking removal of encroachments from the Canal Bank Road on the stretch of Kasthuriba Nagar and Indra Nagar. The Court however, disposed of the writ petitions with a direction to the respondents to file compliance reports, considering no significant progress in the last 8 years.
The Court noted,
"Encroachments are a direct reflection on the failure of the Government to provide the basic need of shelter to the poor. Due to rapid urbanisation the urban sprawl has encroached Government vacant lands, water bodies, channels and canals etc.".
In the pertinent matter the petitioners sought for the encroachments to be removed. The encroachments included the hutment of the slum dwellers as well as the semi concrete and concrete structures constructed for residential and commercial purposes. Further contended that, the illegal encroachments on the Canal bank road are the reason for the garbage in the Canal. And resultantly, during the monsoon season, the entire area of the Kasthuriba Nagar and Indra Nagar gets flooded with water.
The respondents however, while referring to 55, 000 encroachments contended that, 4,134 encroachers were evicted and re-settled. And while stressing on the plan of eviction in a phased manner, indicated availability of 8,000 tenements for resettlement of the encroachers and the Project Affected Families (PAFs). The Inland Water Authority of India was impleaded as a respondent
The Court referred to an array of judgments and precedents on environment law. It referred to, M.C.Mehta vs. Union of India and Others, 1988 (1) SCC 471, Sachidanand Pandey vs. State of West Bengal, AIR 1987 SC 1109, BDA vs. Sudhakar Hegde, 2020(15) SCC 63, Hospitality Assn. of Mudumalai vs. In defence of Environment & Animals, 2020(10) SCC 589, Doctrine of Public Trust, Precautionary Principle, and the Fundamental right under Article 51-A (g).
The Bench noted, "If we aspire for a clean and pollution free environment then we as civic citizens have to contribute towards it. The citizens and the Government are the two wheels of development, if any one wheel derails then there is no development. When we can litigate for our fundamental rights, why not ponder and exploit our fundamental duties, after all does this world not belong as much to the tiny ant as it does to the mighty homo sapien".
CASE TITLE: Kasthuribha and Indira Nagar Residents Welfare Forum vs. The Secretary, Public Works Department and Ors.
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