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NGT equates environmental damage to fatal human crimes.
18 Feb
Summary
- Environmental violations are now treated as serious crimes against human life.
- Regulatory failures in waste management can harm future generations.
- Proper biomedical waste handling is crucial to prevent disease spread.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has equated environmental violations with serious crimes against human life. It stressed that regulatory failures in hazardous waste management can lead to silent harm affecting thousands and future generations. The NGT asserted that neglecting environmental norms results in deaths and injuries, making such violations as grave as homicide or assault due to their widespread and often unidentified victims.
The tribunal's stance arises from hearing a plea concerning a biomedical waste operator in Madhya Pradesh. This case highlighted the practical challenges in managing infectious waste, including proper segregation and timely treatment within 48 hours as mandated by the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
This legal development reinforces the constitutional imperative for governments to protect the environment. It underscores that a hygienic environment is integral to the right to life with dignity, and irreversible degradation can cause avoidable deaths, diseases, and loss of vital resources like clean air and water.
