State generates revenue and creates employment opportunities


  • Fostering tourism,

  •  undertaking construction projects 

  • and developing infrastructure 


 But, some of them come at a steep environmental cost


In the recent case of Re: Cleanliness of Umiam Lake versus State of Meghalaya (2023), 


the division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W. Diengdoh, in its order, stated that


 “In the absence of any other employment opportunities and in the name of promoting tourism, the natural beauty of the State should not be destroyed”. 


The Meghalaya High Court was hearing

a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the cleanliness of the Umiam Lake.


 The court in its observation of the Meghalaya Waterbodies (Preservation and

CM YK

Conservation) Guidelines, 2023, said that 


they did not deal with the “most serious aspect of buildings and construction mushrooming around waterbodies”.


The biodiverse northeast India Northeast India


is a green belt region due to its abundant natural resources such as oil, natural gas, minerals and fresh water. 


The Garo­Khasi­Jaintia hills and the Brahmaputra valley are some of the most important biodiversity hotspots.


causing serious problems to the environment in the region

 Though the northeast is industrially

backward, deforestation, floods, and existing industries 


An environmental assessment 


of the North East Rural Livelihood Project undertaken by the Ministry of Development of the North­eastern Region lays out that 


  •  “Northeast India lies within ecologically fragile,

  •  biologically rich region,

  •  highly prone to climatic changes,

  •  located in trans boundary river basins. 


  • Both flora and fauna of the areas are under threat due to deforestation,
  • mining, quarrying, shifting cultivation.”


लॉ बनाए गए ?

Environmental laws Thus far a considerable number of environmental laws and policies have been developed in the country, especially during the 1980s. 


Offences related to or against the environment have also taken the shape of “public nuisance” under Sections 268 to 290 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, dealing with pollution of land, air, and water. 


However, as the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution grants autonomy to District Councils, it limits the authority of the State over matters pertaining to the jurisdiction of the District Councils, including the use of land.


 In many instances, like in the case of the Umiam Lake, the District Councils do not place any regulations for the preservation and protection of land, especially those around waterbodies. PILs and judicial activism encouraged


under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution led to a wave of environmental litigation. For example,

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