The advancement of environmental procedural rights in India: an analysis of issues, problems and prospects

Abstract

AbstractEnvironmental Rights comprises of both procedural and substantive rights. The right to information, the right to public participation and the right to access justice are the three rights that make up environmental procedural rights. These rights are different from substantive rights in respect of implementation, compliance, and monitoring. In this light, the present article examines the three procedural rights elaborately, supported adequately by relevant provisions of relevant laws and judicial decisions. For right to information in environment, the authors discuss the requirements as covered under the Act of 1986, the Notification of 2006 along with the Draft Notification of 2020, and the Act of 2005. For the right to public participation in environment, the authors discuss the requirements as provided under the Act of 2006, along with the barriers in the two methods. As to the right to access justice, the authors focus on the accessibility of redressal fora—in particular, the National Green Tribunal constituted under the Act of 2010. Finally, the authors conclude that there is no room for contentment, albeit statutory expression, as such rights are routinely curtailed and denied.

Keywords

• Aarhus convention
• access to justice
• constitution
• environment
• information
• justice