Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum Vs Union Of India

APPELLANT: Vellore Citizens Welfare Forums

RESPONDENT: Union of India rep. by its Secretary, Department of Environment and
Others
BENCH: Justice Kuldip Singh, Justice Faizan Uddin, Justice K. Venkataswami
COURT: Supreme Court
DECIDED ON: Apr-07-2016

INTRODUCTION

Natural ethics has always been part of Indian philosophy and as a result they have found a
place in the Indian Constitution. India has seen significant growth in environmental law
over the past two decades, largely due to the efforts taken by Indian Justice. Following the
tragic incident of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Indian lawmakers considered the right to
pollution to be a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. This Supreme
Court action paved the way for the Indian Legislature to pass a 42nd Amendment
Constitution that expands the Constitutional Powers to include Environmental Protection.
The Indian Judiciary has shown great determination to abandon the fundamental principles
of common law, that is, a solution can only be given if there is a right and to explore new
ways to incorporate the various basic rights of citizens.

The Supreme Court of India upholds internationally accepted principles such as the
principle of vigilance, the principle of compensation for polluters, the doctrine of public
trust and international equality or sustainable development as an integral part of the
Constitution of India. This paper analyses Vellore Citizen's Welfare Forum v. The Union of
India (later called the Vellore case) also raises the issue that although the courts of India
have accepted the principle of Precaution and Polluter Pay, the gross negligence of the
officer in most cases emerges. as an obstacle to the exercise of this right. The paper is
divided into three sections, the first section analyses the case of tanneries, the second
section provides an overview of the pre-existing conditions of judgment, and the third
contains critical jokes about the Indian Judicial system, i.e., except in cases where the high
court acted as a guard of our rights, ignorance at the policy level has led to these decisions
becoming invalid.

BACKGROUND

This petition - public interest - under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been filed
by Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum and is directed against the pollution which is being
caused by enormous discharge of untreated effluent by the tanneries and other industries in
the State of Tamil Nadu. It is stated that the tanneries are discharging untreated effluent
into agricultural fields to, road-Sides, Water ways and open lands. The untreated effluent is
finally discharged in river Palar which is the main source of water supply to the residents of
the area. According to the petitioner the entire surface and sub-soil water of river Palar has
been polluted resulting in non-availability Potable water to the residents of the area. It is
stated that the tanneries in the State of Tamil Nadu have caused environmental degradation
in the area. According to the preliminary survey made by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University Research Center Vellore nearly 35,000 hectares of agricultural land in the
Tanneries Belt, has become either partially or totally unfit for cultivation. It has been
further stated in the petition that the tanneries use about 170 types of chemicals in the
chrome tanning processes. The said chemicals include sodium chloride, lime, sodium
sulphate, chlorium sulphate, fat liquor Amonia and sulphuric acid besides dyes which are
used in large quantities. Nearly 35 litres of water is used for processing one kilogram of
finished leather, resulting in dangerously enormous quantities of toxic effluents being let
out in the open by the tanning industry. These effluents have spoiled the physio-chemical
properties of the soil, and have contaminated ground water by percolation. According to the
petitioner an independent survey conducted by Peace Members, a nongovernmental
organisation, covering 13 villages of Dindigal and Peddiar Chatram Anchayat Unions,
reveals that 350 wells out of total of 467 used for drinking and irrigation purposes have
been polluted. Women and children have to walk miles to get drinking water. Legal Aid
and Advice Board of Tamil Nadu requested two lawyers namely, M.R, Ramanan and P.S.
Subramanium to visit the area and submit a report indicating the extent of pollution caused
by the tanneries. Relevant part of the report is as under:

"As per the Technical Report dated 28.5.1983 of the Hydrological Investigations carried
out in Solur village near Ambur it was noticed that 176 chemicals including acids were
contained in the Tannery effluents. If 40 litres of water with chemicals are required for one
Kilo of Leather, with the production of 200 tons of leather per day at present and likely to
be increased multifold in the next four to five years with the springing up of more tanneries
like mushroom in and around Ambur Town, the magnitude of the effluent water used with
chemicals and acids let out daily can be shockingly imagined. ..... The effluents are let out
from the tanneries in the nearby lands, then to Goodar and Palar rivers. The lands, the
rivulet and the river receive the effluents containing toxic chemicals and acids. The sub soil
water is polluted ultimately affecting not only arable lands, wells used for agriculture but
also drinking water wells. The entire Ambur Town and the villages situated nearby do not
have good drinking water. Some of the influential and rich people are able to get drinking
water from a far-off place connected by a few pipes. During rainy days and floods, the
chemicals deposited into the rivers and lands spread out quickly to other lands. The
effluents thus let out, affect cultivation, either crops do not come up at all or if produced the
yield is reduced abnormally too low. ........ The Tanners have come to stay. The industry is
a Foreign Exchange Earner. But one moot point is whether all the cost of the lives of lakhs
of people with increasing human population the activities of the tanneries should be
encouraged on monetary considerations. We find that the tanners have absolutely no regard
for the healthy environment in and around their tanneries. The effluents discharged have
been stored like a pond openly in the most of the places adjacent to cultivable lands with
easy access for the animals and the people.

FACTS
 In the present case the Petitioner- Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum, filed a PIL under
Article 32 of the Constitution and is directed against the pollution which is being
caused by enormous discharge of untreated effluent by the tanneries and other
industries in the State of Tamil Nadu.
 It is stated that the tanneries are discharging untreated effluent into agricultural fields
to, road-Sides, Water ways and open lands. The untreated effluent is finally
discharged in river Palar which is the main source of water supply to the residents of
the area.
 According to the petitioner the entire surface and sub-soil water of river Palar has
been polluted resulting in non-availability Potable water to the residents of the area. It
is stated that the tanneries in the State of Tamil Nadu have caused environmental
degradation in the area.
  According to the preliminary survey made by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Research Center Vellore nearly 35,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Tanneries
Belt, has become either partially or totally unfit for cultivation.
 It has been further stated in the petition that the tanneries use about 170 types of
chemicals in the chrome tanning processes. The said chemicals include sodium
chloride, lime, sodium sulphate, chlorium sulphate, fat liquor Amonia and sulphuric
acid besides dyes which are used in large quantities.
 Nearly 35 litres of water are used for processing one kilogram of finished leather,
resulting in dangerously enormous quantities of toxic effluents being let out in the
open by the tanning industry. These effluents have spoiled the physico-chemical
properties of the soil, and have contaminated ground water by percolation.

According to the petitioner an independent survey conducted by Peace Members, a non-

governmental organization, covering 13 villages of Dindigal and Peddiar Chatram
Anchayat Unions, reveals that 350 wells out of total of 467 used for drinking and irrigation
purposes have been polluted. Women and children have to walk miles to get drinking
water.

ISSUE

Whether the tanneries should be permitted to keep on working at the expense of the health
of individuals and the environment?

ARGUMENT FROM THE PARTIES

Petitioner
The Learned Counsel of the Petitioner argued that the whole surface and sub-soil water of
river Palar has been intoxicated and as a result, it has turned out non-accessible for
consumption to the inhabitants of the region. They further contended that the tanneries in the
State of Tamil Nadu have caused serious damage to the environment in the region. A study
conducted by a non-administrative association, covering 13 towns of Dindigul and Peddiar
Chatram Anchayat Unions, uncovers those 350 wells out of an aggregate of 467 wells used
for drinking and water system purposes have been contaminated.

Respondent
Learned counsel of tanneries argued that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's guideline
for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) was invalid. This Court, in response to a request dated
April 9, 1996, directed the NEERI to investigate this mater and provide its conclusion. And in
its report NEERI has legitimized the models proposed by the Board in that report. For Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS), sulphates, and chlorides, the Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MEF) has not completely established models for inland surface water release.

Individual State Pollution Control Boards have an option in these areas based on the
requirements based on adjacent site conditions. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Board Control
(TNPCB) regulations have been endorsed.

The TNPCB's inland surface water release principle is cost-effectively met for tannery waste
waters by appropriate embed control gauges in tanning activity and ordinarily constructed
and viably operated wastewater treatment plants (ETPs and CETPs).

After hearing both parties' arguments, the Supreme Court stated that efforts should be made
to preserve a balance between environmental and industrial growth. The court noted that
tanneries are a significant source of foreign cash and also provide jobs. However, it also has a
negative impact on the ecosystem. As a result, in order to strike a balance between
environmental and industrial growth, the court decided as follows:

1. The Supreme Court determined that the tanneries should be closed unless they install
the necessary pollution control systems.
2. It goes on to say that after these devices are installed, tanneries can seek the Tamil
Nadu Pollution Board for permission to restart their operations.
3. It ordered all the tanneries in the North Arcot Ambedkar, Dindigul Anna, Erode
Periyar, Chengai M.G.R., and Trichi districts to pay a fine of Rs.10,000 to the
Collector's office.
4. It further ordered that the State of Tamil Nadu must pay Mr. M. C. Mehta an amount
of Rs.50,000 as a symbol of gratitude for his efforts to conserve the environment.
5. It also highlighted on the formation of Green Benches to deal with environmental
concerns in order to quickly and effectively resolve these matters.

JUDGEMENT
The Supreme Court worked with the Central Contamination Control Board and the Tamil
Nadu Pollution Control Board to mutually arrange a war-balance evaluation of the region.
According to the ruling of the court -

1. It was mandated that the tanneries approach the Pollution Control Boards either
directly or via educated insight, or prove that their particular units had set-up/built the
required contamination Control equipment.
2. It gave the Pollution Control Boards until May 6, 1996 to assess the Units and write a
report on them.
3. It was also agreed that Units that were unable to create therapeutic devices within this
time frame would be able to move to the Board after they had completed the devices.
4. The North Arcot District and Chennai MGR District Associations, as well as several
Tanners' associations, were directed to cover the costs of the review committees
selected by the Boards.

The Supreme Court ordered the Central Government to establish an authority in accordance
with Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. It defined the makeup and
powers of this authority charged with enforcing the polluter pays and precautionary
principles.

According to the court, a polluter must calculate the amount of compensation due both to the
persons or families who have been harmed and to the cost of repairing the damage to the
environment. It further said that if the polluter refuses to pay the compensation, the
authorities will order the shutdown of the industry. The Central Government established the
'Loss of Ecology (Prevention and Payments of Compensation) Authority' in accordance with
the directives.

ANALYSIS

This case is a landmark decision in the field of environmental protection. By integrating the
two principles of ‘Polluter Pays’ i.e., those who pollute should bear the costs of managing it
to prevent damage to environment or the human health and the ‘Precautionary Principle’
which involves anticipatory action by the State and the society at large, to avoid any
contamination and destruction of the environment, it recognises the right to a pollution-free
environment. The Court, in view of resolving the major conflict between environmental
protection and advanced development, embraced the approach of ‘sustainable development’,
however it was silent on providing any adequate guidelines on how to balance the two sides
and achieve the desired goal.