Sustainable development
The three principles Indian courts use in almost every environmental case, and where each one came from.
Arts. 21, 48A, 51A(g) · NGT Act s. 20 · 4 casesReleased week of 28 Sep3. The polluter pays
In Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v Union of India (the Bichhri case), chemical units left toxic sludge that poisoned wells in a Rajasthan village. The Court held the units liable to pay for restoring the soil and water, not only for compensating victims.
The polluter pays principle makes the cost of remedying damage part of the cost of doing business. Vellore treated both precaution and polluter pays as essential features of sustainable development.
4. From case law to statute
Vellore held that these principles, accepted in international law, are part of Indian law where they do not conflict with domestic statutes. Parliament later wrote them into section 20 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, which tells the Tribunal to apply sustainable development, precaution and polluter pays. In an answer, anchor them in Article 21, the state's duty in Article 48A and the citizen's duty in Article 51A(g).