SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT: A STUDY

BY

NANDINI SHARMA

30th APRIL, 2017

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 DECLARATION

I, Nandini Sharma, do hereby declare that, this project work titled “Sustainable Development
and Environment: A Study” is an outcome of the research conducted by me under the
guidance of MRS Mariam (Asst. Prof. Environmental laws) at S.S Jain Subodh Law College
in fulfilment for the award of the degree of B.A. LL.B at the University of Rajasthan.

I also declare that, this work is original, except where assistance from other sources has been
taken and necessary acknowledgements for the same have been made at appropriate places. I
further declare that, this work hasn’t been submitted either in whole or in part, for any degree
or equivalent in any other institution.

Date: 30th April, 2017

Place: Jaipur

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work titled “Sustainable Development and Environment: A
Study” submitted by Nandini Sharma in fulfilment for the award of the degree of B.A. LL.B
at S.S Jain Subodh Law College is the product of research carried out under my guidance and
supervision.

MRS Mariam

Asst. Prof., Environmental Laws

S.S Jain Subodh Law College

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge with profundity, my obligation to Almighty God and my parents for giving me
the grace to accomplish my work, without which this project would not have been possible
I express my heartfelt gratitude to my respected faculty, MRS Mariam (Asst. Prof. of
Environmental Laws) for providing me with valuable suggestions to complete this project
work.
I am especially grateful to all my faculty members at S.S Jain Subodh Law College who have
helped me imbibe the basic research and writing skills.
Lastly, I take upon myself, the drawbacks and limitations of this study, if any.

Date: 30th April, 2017

Place: Jaipur

Nandini Sharma

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Statement of Problem vi
2. Research methodology vii
 Hypothesis
 Objectives
 Research Design
 Locale of Study
 Sources of Data Collection
3. Introduction 1
4.
5. Conclusion 12
6. Bibliography 13

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STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

OBJECTIVES:

HYPOTHESIS:

RESEARCH DESIGN: The study of this topic is based on doctrinal method and its
explanation. The researcher has followed a descriptive approach for the purpose of
explanation. This study is non-empirical.

LOCALE OF STUDY:

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION:

The research has been conducted with the help of secondary sources:
 Books
 Websites
 Articles

METHOD OF WRITING AND MODE OF CITATION: The method of writing followed

in the course of this research project is primarily analytical. The researcher has followed
Chicago manual of citation throughout the course of this research project.

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 INTRODUCTION

Industrialisation and urbanization on the one hand and population explosion and poverty on the
other has been witnessed formidable scale of the environmental problems. An increasing quantum
of pollution inter alia results in declining environment both quantitatively and qualitatively that has
severely been threatening the life support system of present and future generations. To resurrect
environmental problems as a international commitment; a number of legislative and policy
measures were adopted at all level. The multiplicity of environmental measures is further
compounded to create various authorities to make effective implementation of all such measures.
Although these regulatory agencies remarkably involved in planning and implementation of the
measure; the various reports highlights the inadequacy in handling development and environmental
issues. This has significantly raised a doubt that legal elements of the concept of Sustainable
Development are a part of environmental governance in India. To verify the commitment; in the
present project an attempt is made to analyse the constitutional and legislative standards to
conserve resources in achieving environmental sustainability both for present and future
generations. This project also explores the contribution of judiciary on the trade/development and
environmental controversies in understanding the status of the concept of Sustainable Development
in India.

Ancient Indian Jurisprudence on Sustainable Development Ancient Indian Jurisprudence is well

balanced with principles of sustainable development. The whole idea of living was based on the
harmonious coexistence with the nature. “Ma hinsyah sarva bhutani is a lesson of the Rig Veda,
meaning, ‘Do not harm anything’.”1 Elements of nature were respected to the extent that they were
personified as gods and worshipped. “Nearly all the higher gods of the Rig Veda are personifications
of natural phenomena, such as the sun, dawn, fire, wind and rain.”2 Religion was the guiding force
of the behavior of people in almost every area of life of ancient India. State policies were also guided
by the religious principles. Hindus, the people who lived in ancient India, largely followed the Hindu
religion or as it is also known Sanatan Dharma, which means religion which is in sustained since
perpetuity. Two of its core beliefs are that of tolerance and pluralism. These concepts are the very
essence of Hinduism and are expressed through the diversity of Hindu practice and centuries of
peaceful existence. By accepting the divinity in all beings, living and non-living, Hinduism views the
universe as a family or, in Sanskrit, Vasudhaiva 1 Akshoy K. Majumdar, The Hindu History, Rupa and
Co, New Delhi. 2010, p . 182. 2 Id, p 188. Estelar 82 Kutumbakam. All beings, from the smallest
organism to man, are considered manifestations of God. Mankind carries a special responsibility, as
it is believed to be the most spiritually evolved with the capacity to not only tolerate, but honor the
underlying equality and unity of all beings. “Today, most discussions on environmentalism in our
country begin with the Stockholm Conference (1972). But, some ancient texts tell us that our society
paid more attention to protecting the environment than we can imagine. These texts tell us that it
was the dharma of each individual in society to protect Nature, so much so that people worshipped
the objects of Nature. Trees, water, land and animals had considerable importance in our ancient
texts; and the Manusmriti prescribed different punishments for causing injury to plants.”3 Kautilya is
said to have gone a step further and determined punishments on the basis of the importance of a
particular part of a tree.4 From this, what comes forth vividly is that environmental management
and control of pollution was not limited only to an individual or a group, but society as a whole
accepted its duty to protect the environment. The dharma of protecting the environment was to
sustain and ensure progress and welfare of all. The effort was not just to punish the culprit, but to
balance the eco-system as well. In this attempt, the ancient texts acted as cementing factors
between the right to exploit the environment included a fine (akin to polluter pays principle), etc.
The earth 3 Justice Madan B. Lokur, Environmental Law: Its Development and Jurisprudence, Lecture

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avalable at: http://awsassets.wwfindia.org last visited on 7 April 2013. 4 C.M. Jariwala, Changing
Dimensions of Indian Environmental Law, EBC, 1992, p.1. Estelar 83 or soil also equally had the same
importance and ancient literature provided the means to purify the polluted soil and a duty to
conserve it - which is now internationally recognized as the concept of ‘sustainable development’.5
Ancient Indian religion was based on the well-being for all. May all beings be happy, may all beings
be healthy, may all beings experience prosperity, may none in the world suffer were the
predominant ideas of the ancient Indian philosophy.

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books referred:
Websites referred:

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