ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

CASE COMMENT - VELLORE CITIZENS WELFARE FORUM V. UNION OF INDIA

Environmental law

Submitted by :

Vaishnavi Krupakaran

17BBLB054

BBA.LLB (Hons)

7 th semester, 4 th year

Submitted to:

Ramya Ma’am

CMR SCHOOL OF LEGAL STUDIES

 VELLORE CITIZENS WELFARE FORUM V. UNION OF INDIA

APPELLANT: Vellore Citizens Welfare Forums

RESPONDENT: Union of India rep. by its Secretary, Department of Environment and

Others

BENCH: Justice Kuldip Singh

Justice Faizan Uddin

Justice K. Venkataswami

COURT: Supreme Court

CITATION: AIR 1996 SC 2715: (1996) 5 SCC 647

DECIDED ON: Apr-07-2016

CASE NUMBER: Writ Petition (C) No. 914 Of 1991

FACTS

An NGO by the call of Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum filed a petition – a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) – underneath Article 32 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the
Right to move the Supreme Court via suitable court cases for the enforcements of rights
conferred by means of the constitution.

The petition became directed towards the pollutants which become caused due to discharge
of giant quantities of untreated effluents by tanneries and different industries in the state of
Tamil Nadu, which brought about the principle source of potable water for intake and
irrigation, the Palar river, being polluted, and which therefore brought about non-availability
of smooth water.
A document which become submitted to the Supreme Court cited that 176 chemicals have
been observed in the tannery effluents and that nearly 35,000 hectares of land around the
tannery belt and in particular in a few fifty nine villages within the districts of Vellore,
Thiruvanthapur and Ranipat had been made not worthy for cultivation.

It became located that 350 out of 467 wells inside the vicinity have been undeserving for
consumption or irrigation. It also cited the non-compliance through the tanneries regarding
the Government order to place up Common Effluent Treatment Plants (C.E.T.P’s) for the
proper disposal of effluents.

ISSUES

• The query which arose for consideration earlier than the Supreme Court become
whether the tanneries ought to be allowed to retain to operate on the value of lives of lakhs of
human beings.

• To what extent should environmental protection be compromised for monetary

improvement?

• Has there been a contravention of the Right to Wholesome Environment,

guaranteed below Article 21 of the constitution?

• What is the legal responsibility of the industrialists or polluter closer to the

surroundings and the human beings suffering from pollutants?

• Are the principles including ‘polluter can pay’ and ‘precautionary principle’, which
are capabilities implicit in Sustainable Development, within the ambit of Indian Law?

PETITIONER’S ARGUMENTS

It was given by petitioner the whole exterior and sub-soil water of river Palar has been
polluted resulting in non-availability of potable water to the citizens of the area. It is said that
the tanneries within the State of Tamil Nadu have induced environmental degradation within
the place.
An impartial survey performed with the aid of Peace Members, a non-governmental
enterprise, covering 13 villages of Dindigal and Peddiar Chatram Anchayat Unions, famous
that 350 properly out of overall of 467 used for drinking and irrigation purposes have been
polluted. Women and kids have to stroll miles to get drinking water.

RESPONDENT’S ARGUMENTS

Learned recommend for the tanneries raised an objection that the same old regarding overall
dissolved solids (TDS) fixed via the Board became no longer justified. This Court via the
order dated April 9, 1996 directed the NEERI to study this component and deliver its opinion.
In its file dated June 11, 1996 NEERI has justified the requirements stipulated with the aid of
the Board.

The Ministry of Environment and forests (MEF) has now given a few requirements for
inland surface water discharge for total dissolved solids (TDS), sulphates and chlorides. The
decision on those requirements rests with the respective State Pollution Control Boards as
according to the requirements based totally on local website conditions. The standards
stipulated by using the TNPCB are justified on consequently referred concerns. The
prescribed requirements of the TNPCB for inland floor water discharge may be met for
tannery waste waters fee-correctly thru right implant manipulate measures in tanning
operation, and rationally designed and efficiently operated wastewater remedy plants (ETPs
& CETPs).

JUDGEMENT

Pursuant to this Court’s Order dated April 9, 1996 we have heard discovered suggest
acting for the tanneries which have been closed in phrases of the above order. It has
been delivered to our note that there are some tanneries which had set up man or
woman pollutants manage devices, but notwithstanding that they were closed. It has
further been delivered to our note that some of the tanneries are linked with CETP’s
and have additionally installation their individual pollution control gadgets. Various
different anomalies had been brought to our observe. Be that as it is able to, we've got
now to adopt a uniform method to convey those tanneries on rails. We make it clear
that no tannery will be accredited to re-open unless this Court is satisfies that the vital
pollution control gadgets both for my part or cumulatively were installation by these
tanneries and for that motive we ought to depend upon the advice tendered via
Technical Authorities just like the Pollution Control Boards or NEERI. The Court
directed the Central Pollution Control Board and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control
Board to collectively look into the vicinity on warfare-footing. The tanneries either
without delay or via found out suggest may additionally approach the Pollution
Control Boards or indicate that their respective units have installation/built the
essential pollution Control gadgets. We direct the Pollution Control Boards involved
to right away inspect the Units and document a document on this appreciate before
May 6, 1996.
The Court similarly directed that every one the ones Units which aren't in a role to
construct the effluent treatment devices within this era may technique the Board as
and after they entire the devices. The North Arcot District and Chengai MGR District
Association and different Associations of the Tanners shall endure the fees of the
inspection groups prepared by using the Boards.
• The Supreme Court inspecting the report introduced its judgment making all
efforts to preserve a harmony among surroundings and development.
• The Court admitted that these Tanneries in India are the essential forex earner
and additionally provides employment to several heaps of people. But on the identical
time, it destroys the surroundings and poses a health hazard to everybody.
• The courtroom delivering its judgment in favor of petitioners directed all the
Tanneries to deposit a sum of Rs. 10,000 as fine within the workplace of Collector as
first-class
• The Court further focused the State of Tamil Nadu to award Mr. M. C. Mehta
with a sum of Rs. 50,000 as appreciation closer to his efforts for protection of
Environment.
• The Court in this situation additionally emphasized on the constitution of
Green Benches in India dealing mainly with subjects regarding environment safety
and also for speedy and expeditious disposal of environmental cases.
The salient points of the order by the Supreme Court are:-
It ordered the Central Government to set up an authority underneath the
Environmental Protection Act, which changed into to cope with the situation created
with the aid of the tanneries and other polluting industries in the kingdom of Tamil
Nadu.
This authority turned into to implement the ‘precautionary principle’ and the ‘polluter
will pay precept’, and became to perceive the loss to the environment and to the
individuals/families who suffered due to the pollution, and to assess the amount of
compensation to be recovered from the polluters both for reversing the ecology and
for charge to individuals.
It directed the closure of all tanneries which failed to comply with the Government
order to installation character or common Effluent Treatment Plants, inside a given
time body.
Highly polluting industries were henceforth no longer allowed to set up inside the
prohibited regions.
Reasoning
Application of these principles as part of the law and interpretation of their use in the
judgement
The court held that these ideas as part of the precept of sustainable development had
been implicit in the law of the land and mentioned that they have been inside the
ambit of the Constitution of India, below the following:
Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty,
Article 47, which says that the nation has a duty to raise the usual of dwelling and to
enhance public health,
Article forty eight(A) which ensures the safety and development of the surroundings,
and
Article 51A(g) which imposes a obligation upon every citizen to guard and improve
the environment
It also referred to that those concepts were implicit underneath various statutory
provisions such as the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (the
Water Act),The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (the Air Act) and
the Environment Protection Act 1986 (the Environment Act).
Further, the court stated that as those ideas were customary below Customary
International Law, there would be no trouble accepting them underneath the home law
as properly.
 CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In my opinion it's far apparent that the Environment Act incorporates beneficial provisions
for controlling pollutants. I agree with that the main motive of the Act is to create an expert
or authorities below Section 3 of the Act with good enough powers to manipulate pollution
and defend the surroundings. It is a pity that until date no authority has been constituted via
the Central Government. The work which is required to be accomplished with the aid of an
expert in terms of Section 3 read with different provisions of the Act is being finished
through this Court and the other Courts inside the country. It is high time that the Central
Government realises its duty and statutory duty to guard the degrading environment within
the. If the situations inside the five districts of Tamil Nadu, wherein tanneries are operating,
are accredited to retain then within the near future all rivers/canals will be polluted,
underground waters contaminated, agricultural lands became barren and the residents of the
location uncovered to serious sicknesses. It is, therefore, necessary for this Court to direct the
Central Government to take immediately movement underneath the provisions of the
Environment Act.
The Constitutional and statutory provisions shield a person’s proper to clean air, clean water
and pollutants unfastened environment, however the source of the proper is the inalienable
not unusual law right of clean surroundings.
There are greater than 900 tanneries operating in the 5 districts of Tamil Nadu. Some of them
might also, via now, have established the necessary pollution manage measures, they were
polluting the surroundings for over a decade and in some cases even for a longer period. This
Court has in numerous orders indicated that these tanneries are prone to pay pollution best.
The polluters have to compensate the affected humans and also pay the value of restoring the
damaged ecology.
Conclusion
Sustainable improvement is the principle that ecological conservation and improvement must
coexist, and that the surroundings should now not be compromised for development.
This concept was has been historically everyday within the standard law of many states, and
it came on to the worldwide area with the Stockholm Declaration of 1972. In India, Vellore
Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India was one of the first cases to deliver this concept
into the ambit of domestic regulation.
The various aspects turned into analysed in this case, and the way it has affected
environmental jurisprudence in India.
I would really like to finish through pronouncing that in Vellore Tanneries case, the Indian
judiciary for the primary time checked out sustainable improvement as an essential a part of
the law of the land, and set an vital precedent through retaining that the surroundings couldn't
be compromised at the value of development.