NLIU LAW REVIEW

An Overview of Environmental Jurisprudence in India

Siddharth Sharma & Suhas K. Hosamani from Amity Law School, Noida, write on the jurisprudence of development of Environmental Law in India so far.

Abstract

Concern for protection of environment is not a new phenomenon but has existed since the Vedic era. However there has been a trend of unprecedented growth in environmental pollution in the past few decades. This trend has led to a concern that we must not develop industries at the expense of the environment. The term environment means one’s surrounding and includes everything that influences a living being during its life span. The word environment is derived from the French word “Environ” which means “surrounding” or ‘en-circle’. Our surroundings include both biotic factors like human beings, plants, animals, and microbes and abiotic factors such as light, air, water, and soil. Thus the environment consists of an indivisible system of physical, chemical, biological, social and cultural elements. Environmental pollution, undoubtedly, is a wide ranging problem which adversely affects not only human beings, but also other species on the earth. The efforts to curb the rising menace of pollution have been growing worldwide. This paper seeks to present an overview of the environmental protection movement from the British period to the contemporary age.