Green Crimes In India: A Step Towards Safeguarding Our Environment

Today, we are living in a world where environmental challenges have outgrown the parameters, we can measure them in. It is time we start to penalize actions which increases our plight of the aftermath of environmental degradation. Therefore, for the starters, we should regard these actions which harm the environment as “crimes” against environment or rather – “Green Crimes”. Any action which is considered as the “act against society” is termed as a crime which is the main psychology behind the criminal law in India. The plaintiff of the criminal cases is the government which represents the society at large. Green crimes, which are the actions against nature, the brunt of which is bore by society as a whole, even society beyond nations, is therefore, justified to be clipped under criminal law.

Recently, Telangana's 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli forest was saved from getting cut after a surge in social media outrage, which is a classic example of how participation of the society can help in bringing down the impact of environmental crimes. In most of the environment crimes, the choice lies between development and environment safeguard. If the people, for whom the development activities by environment harm are ultimately for, speak against such environment degradation, it can carry a huge impact in the future years.

In the last few years, the capital of India, New Delhi, has been facing a serious issue of extreme air pollution with some areas even touching Air Quality Index beyond 1000 in 2024. In writ petition no. 13029/1985 under M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India in its order dated 18.11.2024 directed the continued implementation of Stage IV of Graded Response Action Plan (hereinafter “GRAP”) even if the AQI drops below the mark of 450, until further orders. However, later on 05.12.2024, the Supreme Court revoked Stage IV of GRAP and continued Stage II of GRAP. This shows that the prompt action taken by, we, the people, can bring about real time relief from the judiciary. It encourages us to raise our voices against “green crimes” so that there are reforms in the legislations for punishing the owners of businesses who are responsible for taking decisions which harm our environment.

India was ranked 176 out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index, 2024 issued by Yale University. Extreme weather has been a usual phenomenon since the past few years now, summing up in unbearable heat-waves, affected crops, floods etc. affecting India's well-lit future of economic growth. As per, The Hindu, India is ranked second in terms of deforestation across the world between 1990 and 2020. These statistics are a warning call for the Indian legislature to bring about a reform in the penal sections of the environmental laws in order to deter people from committing green crimes. Government should also weigh the cost at which the developmental activities are undertaken in the country and should devise a mechanism to restore forestation even if it is sacrificed for the well needed development.

Constitutional Backing and Legal Landscape

In India, a step towards an environment friendly constitution was taken by the addition of Article 48A and Article 51A through the 42^nd Constitutional Amendment. Article 48A is a Directive Principle of State Policy under Part IV of the Indian Constitution, which guides the government to frame policies which are environment friendly, safeguarding forests, wildlife, nature and other natural resources. Article 51A, on the other hand, is a Fundamental Duty under Part V of the Constitution of India, which stresses on the general duty of the citizens to safeguard and preserve the environment. This is a significant move in the light of environment preservation as there are either government projects or human activities which are responsible for green crimes.

These constitutional amendments came into picture after the first ever international declaration which talked about environmental protection – Stockholm Declaration 1972. Subsequently, India saw major environment centric legislations which were enforced namely, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (hereinafter “Air Act”), Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (hereinafter “Water Act”) and many more.

The Air Act and the Water Act enumerate a procedure which the industries are required to follow. The authorities are asked for the “Consent to Operate” / “Consent to Establish” by the industries before their operation and establishment. This is an opportunity for the regulatory authorities to examine the adverse effect of the proposed industries and decline the proposal of any such factory establishment which has a potential to degrade environment in any manner whatsoever.

A strong legal framework is the building block to correct any wrong in the society. Other legislations including waste management rules namely Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, E-Waste Management Rules, 2022, Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 etc. are some of the examples in light of safe and sound disposal and management of waste to protect the environment from its harmful effects.

Judicial Framework

The regulatory and judicial framework of the environment related offences took a turn with the establishment of National Green Tribunal through the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. For the resolution of environment cases, the National Green Tribunal plays a role in adjudication and enforcement of environment laws in India. Establishment of Central Pollution Control Board at the central level and various State pollution Control Boards at the state level is another way to keep a check on pollution of air, water and noise, striving to keep the environment pollution free. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is responsible to oversee environment protection and to also unfurl various guidelines, rules and regulations in this regard.

Multiple Public Interest Litigations (hereinafter “PIL”), under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, are filed by people in order to bring environmental issues in light before the Supreme Court of India. M.C. Mehta, widely known as the environment activist in India, has filed numerous PILs highlighting issues regarding environment degradation. One of his contributions is the Ganga River Pollution Case. A petition was filed by M.C. Mehta before the apex court against the harmful effluents which were dumped by tanneries in the State of Uttar Pradesh. As a result, an order to install treatment plants, preventing throwing of dead bodies in the holy river Ganga and other relevant steps were undertaken.

Bhopal Gas tragedy – An Eye Opener

One of India's major environment-centric accident is the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case. It is not wrong to say that a significant amount of environment related resilience and seriousness, both at the regulatory and individual level, came in India after this case. Even the concept of “crime” in the environment realm can be said to be realized in its true sense post the Bhopal Case Tragedy. The incident showed us the mirror in terms of disaster preparedness, sound healthcare system, government infrastructure to cope the aftermath of the disaster etc.

The case has also led us towards the widening of the legal liabilities. The concept of absolute liability, involving hazardous activities, was recognized in India after this case. Before this, we only relied on the concept of strict liability which comes with certain exemptions for the defendants to absolve themselves of the liability of the wrongful act. In contrast, absolute liability comes with no exemptions for the wrongdoer. The same was also applied in the subsequent gas leak case in the factory unit of Shri Ram Food and fertilizers Industry, popularly known as the Oleum Gas Leak case.

The company, Union Carbide India Limited, responsible for the Bhopal Gas Leak accident was held liable to pay compensation to the victims. The question is – Is the penalty in the form of compensation enough for the crimes of such high magnitude and serious nature? This is where the concept of green crimes come into picture. Although, “green crimes” is not a formal term in India, as of now, but the discussion around it is well deserved to make it reach its final destination – the legislature.

The allied question which arises along with the concept of introducing criminal penalties is the corporate identity of companies. In Bhopal Gas Tragedy case also, the real perpetrators who were responsible in the mishandling and mismanagement of the factory unit could not be penalized behind the corporate veil. There should thus, be a mechanism to punish the offenders who sit behind a corporate identity and make decisions which are against the environmental health. Only then will the real deterrence be achieved in the matters involving environment. Increasing corporate accountability and punishing the decision-takers will bring the essence of green “crimes” in its true sense.

The issue of environment protection is very complex as it is standing opposite the concept of development which is sought after by all the countries in the wake of globalization and multi-national corporations. This is where the term “sustainable development” comes into picture. We have to find a middle path between the extent of environment we can sacrifice in the name of development and draw a line to identify the threshold which the environment actually has. Research and development in the direction of finding sustainable ways of development so that least environment is harmed should be focused and emphasized on.

Climate change and global warming are the pressing environment issues which the world is facing currently. To cater this, the Paris Agreement of 2015 was signed between the countries across the world. Reduction of emission of harmful gases and to slow down the ozone depletion, as per the Montreal Protocol of the 1987, are the targets which every country should aim for all the industries at fundamental level.

International treaties and conventions show directions to the legislative framework of a nation. Therefore, going forward, the concept of green “crimes” should be captured in legislations making the offenders liable and accountable for their actions against the environment. Indian legislature can take inspiration from the Singapore laws against green crimes. To illustrate, Section 17 of the Environmental Protection and Management Act, 1999 provides for imprisonment as a primary and secondary punishment for discharging toxic / hazardous substances in to inland water. Even after continuing the offence after second instance, there is a provision for ceasing the trade / operations of the person convicted twice for the offence of dumping effluents into the water body. This step by the Singapore government towards a strict approach against green crimes shall be looked up to by all the countries, including India.

There are a lot of environmentally friendly legislations in India. The impact of such legislations cannot reach its full potential because of the faulty enforcement infrastructure. Therefore, improving the enforcement of environment legislations can help achieve the goals of environment preservation to a larger extent.

Not just this, spreading awareness and encouraging general public to be vocal about the issues can have effects beyond imagination. The recent example of Telangana's Kancha Gachibowli forest is the best example in this regard. The positive impact of this incident will definitely encourage the people to speak against the visible threats to the environment and help in its preservation for the good of all.

Author: Varun Singh, Founder & Managing Partner, Foresight Law offices. Views are personal.