Overview
- Justice B.V. Nagarathna, speaking Saturday at NUSRL in Ranchi, urged courts and governments to adopt an environmental‑justice framework that keeps affected communities at the center.
- She pressed for strict corporate accountability, warning extractive industries against leaving ruined ecosystems and displacement, and said mandatory CSR under the Companies Act is an enforceable duty.
- Calling some habitats inviolable, she urged governments to block approvals in biologically rich corridors and eco‑sensitive zones, including halting wildlife safari tourism in forest sanctuaries.
- Describing environmental law as “hot law,” she said judges must stay flexible, weigh development with ecology, and impose outright bans when damage would be irreversible.
- She linked today’s harms to constitutional duties and a right to a healthy environment, citing Bengaluru’s floods from degraded lakes as a human‑made risk often mislabeled a natural disaster.