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RIDHIMA PANDEY
AGED ABOUT 9 YEARS
THROUGH HER NEXT OF FRIEND
DINESH CHANDRA PANDEY
S/O SHRI. NB PANDEY
AGED ABOUT 40 YEARS,
R/O VILLAGE HARIPUR, BACHEE POST,
HALDUCHAUR DISTRICT, NAINITAL,
UTTARAKHAND
... APPLICANT
VERSUS
1. UNION OF INDIA
THROUGH THE SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST & CLIMATE CHANGE
INDIRA PARYAVARAN BHAWAN,
JOR BAG ROAD
NEW DELHI - 110 003
I. That the address of the Counsels of the Applicant is given below for the
II. That the addresses of the Respondents are given above for the service of
III. That the present Application is being filed under Section 14 of the National
minimize the adverse impacts of climate change in the country. The Applicant
2010, as well as the inter-generational equity principle and the Public Trust
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Environmental
FACTS IN BRIEF:
climate in India yet are not part of the decision making process. The
achieving global climate stabilisation, children of today and the future will
of the Central Government and has been entrusted with the task of
and welfare depend, bound by a fiduciary duty under the Public Trust
the benefit of current and future generations. The Applicant and others of
State that impacts these vital natural resources must be based on the best
levels to below 350 parts per million (ppm) by 2100 and stabilise the long-
Celsius (°C). The Respondent No. 2 is the Central Pollution Control Board.
3. That the instant Application is being filed under Section 14 of the National
mitigate adverse impacts of climate change in India and the actions taken
by Respondent that have helped create and intensify the climate crisis, as
well as the various binding obligations under the Paris Agreement, 2015
enactments:
thereunder.
ii. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the
thereunder.
4. That climate change has become a worldwide concern in the recent years
conferences and agreements, the most recent and the most successful
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one being the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 and entered
5. That as per the report titled “Trends in Global CO2 Emissions: 2016
2015, India emitted 7% of the total global CO2 emissions (2.3 billion
tons), making it the third most climate polluting country in the world. It is
submitted that presently, India is the third largest emitter of fossil fuel
CO2 emissions in the world, after China and the USA. Copy of the relevant
change impacts, and the people of India are already experiencing adverse
climate change impacts across the country. These include rising sea
temperatures.
7. That the Paris Agreement was adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties of
8. That as per Article 2 of the Agreement, the following aims have been
recognised:-
by:
9. That it must be noted that the 2°C and 1.5°C targets in the Paris
Agreement are the result of political negotiations and compromise and are
atmospheric CO2 must be reduced to less than 350 ppm by the end of this
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this clear scientific prescription and that such measures can be taken
10. That as per Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, Parties must take action to
11. That as per the provision under Article 21 of the Paris Agreement, the
Agreement would enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on
4.11.2016 when the condition under Article 21 was fulfilled. Thus, the
Paris Agreement and the various provisions made thereunder are binding
12. That on 2.10.2016., India ratified the Paris Agreement which was adopted
is submitted that the Respondent No. 1 has not made any effort to
law.
13. That the National Environmental Policy adopted by the Respondent No. 1
climate change:-
to all countries.
f) Assess the need for adaptation to future climate change, and the
health programmes.
sector.
14. That a high-level advisory group on climate change namely, the Prime
relevant areas.
15. That in June 2008, the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change
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released its National Action Plan on Climate Change (“NAPCC”). This plan
missions require reduction of GHG emissions, nor does the NAPCC set
standards for the mitigation of the effects of climate change in line with its
17. That the 12th Five Year Plan of the Planning Commission recognised the
need for dealing with climate change in India. It was admitted as follows:-
18. That under the obligations of the UNFCCC, India put forth its Intended
emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from the 2005
2030.
ANNEXURE A-5
IMPLEMENTATION
19. That it is submitted that even though the Respondent No. 1 has
such initiatives.
20. That as per the 34th Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of
reported that the Central Government had failed to meet its targets for
scaling up use of renewable energy sources under the NAPCC. The NAPCC
energy mix for electricity by 2012-13 and 9 per cent by 2013-14. However
as per the CAG report, the national achievement for purchase of electricity
from renewable energy sources in those 2 years was only 4.28 per cent
21. That it is submitted that there are various environmental legislations and
implemented in its true spirit, would aid in tackling the issue of adverse
22. That the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 gives legal protection to the
forests in India. Under Section 2 of the Act, no State Government can “de-
of forestland for any non-forest purpose, without the prior approval of the
Central Government. Over the years, the provisions of the Forest Act have
23. That the National Forest Policy, 1988 established that “the principal aim of
sustenance of all lifeforms, human, animal and plant”. The Forest Policy
Ors. [2011] 7 SCC 338, the Hon’ble Supreme Court made the Forest
Policy part of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and ruled that the
the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 read together with the Forest
24. That as per the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
when trees are cut down or destroyed, more carbon is emitted into the
atmosphere and the forest shifts from being a carbon sink that actively
No. 1 in the past one year. It is pertinent to note that this figure only
represents the forest land which has been allowed to be diverted for non-
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forest purposes, and the figure would rise exponentially if the illegal tree
arising out of such large scale forest diversion. Even though the Paris
sinks and greenhouse gas reservoirs. The committees also do not look
consideration.
27. That in fact, it is submitted that subsequent to the ratification of the Paris
meetings in the same period. These projects involve linear projects like
roads, railways canals, transmission lines coming for appraisal before the
RECs and non-coal mining projects like Iron ore, bauxite, etc. before the
FAC, which involve large scale diversion of forest land which in itself is a
28. That such large scale diversion of forests is also not in line with the
targets set forth in the INDC submitted by India or the binding obligations
under the Paris Agreement, much less the scientific standard necessary to
old forests for new” published in the Times of India, under the guise of
had cleared nearly 50 acres of natural forests — very old trees of mahua,
asan, saal, harida, amla, chiraunji, creepers, grasses and small shrubs to
plant acacia, teak and chakunda. This is clearly indicative of the apathy as
industrial plants and automobiles or for the discharge of any air pollutant
into the atmosphere from any other source have been laid down.
31. That under the provisions of the Air Act, 1981 the Central Pollution Control
pollution. The Board also has been given the function of laying down
standards for the quality of air. Further, under Chapter IV of the Act, the
Board has powers with respect to prevention and control of Air Pollution.
32. That increased air pollution from greenhouse gases contributes to global
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impacts. In fact as per research article titled, “Global Air Quality and
Methane and Black Carbon Emission Controls”, it has been noted that:
10
17
33. That apart from the primary greenhouse gases, which directly contribute
A copy of the research article titled “On the climate forcing of carbon
34. That the Respondent No. 1 notified revised emission standards for coal-
based thermal power plants vide notification dated 7.12.2015 under the
Act, 1986 whereby limits have been introduced for the first time on
(Hg). Standards for particulate matter (PM), SO2, NOx and Hg for new
power plants installed from January 1, 2017 have been set at 30, 100,
100 and 0.03 (mg/Nm3) respectively. Existing power plants are required
is submitted that although the time frame provided in the said Notification
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from this Hon’ble Tribunal, there is all likelihood that the Respondent No.
ANNEXURE A-12
35. That the government of India has made commitments in its Intended
India. Despite its admission that coal will “continue to dominate power
improve their efficiency and refers to the new emission standards. The
1986
fell within one of thirty-two types laid out in Schedule-I of the EIA
Notification.
37. That the said notification was superseded by the EIA Notification, 2006.
As per this notification, all the projects listed in the Schedule are required
38. That under the EIA Notification, 2006, the Expert Appraisal Committee
necessary clarifications.
39. That as per the Form 1 of the Notification of 2006, the project proponent
40. That after perusal of some of the available documents on the website of
the Respondent No. 1, it is very apparent that the attitude of both the
perusing the information given against “Serial No. 12” with respect to
Such projects were checked because these activities have a huge impact
41. That upon analysis of the minutes of the meetings of the various appraisal
committees before and after the ratification of the Paris Agreement, it has
been found that there has been no change at all in the approach of these
42. That it is submitted that many industries and activities are still outside the
43. That in complete contravention to the binding obligations under the Paris
Agreement as well as the targets set by India in its INDC, the Respondent
sector up to 1, 50, 000 sq. meters in size from the purview of EIA
fact the same has been categorically accepted in the Model Building By
ANNEXURE A-13
from place to place and season to season. The climatic variation in the
habitat. There is a long list of flora and fauna in the account of the
45. That due to global warming and other climate induced changes, various
studies have found that there will be a huge impact on the biological
diversity in India. That as per report titled “Climate Change and India:
follows:
Copy of the relevant pages of the report titled “Climate Change and India:
46. That further as per report titled “Forests and climate change in India”, the
teak and sal forests of central and eastern regions and the
Copy of the report titled “Forests and climate change in India” is annexed
47. That as per provision of Section 36, the Central Government has to
that:-
human health.
48. That even though such provisions are existing under the legal framework,
biodiversity.
GROUNDS
That the instant Application is being filed on the following grounds amongst
instance where,-
consequences; or
substantial; or
climate change in India and the actions taken by Respondent that have
helped create and intensify the climate crisis, as well as the various
binding obligations under the Paris Agreement, 2015 which entered into
force on 4.11.2016. Such adverse climate change impacts will affect the
Act, 2010.
includes climate within its scope. Therefore, the issue of Climate change
and its adverse impacts on the environment would squarely come within
C. Because the Applicant as well as the entire class of children and future
India and yet are not part of the decision making process. Further it is to
progressive nature of climate change impacts and the unique life phase of
effort that will satisfy the clear scientific prescription of reducing global
atmospheric CO2 levels to below 350 ppm by 2100 can reverse the
danger.
D. Because the harms of climate change start at the emissions level and
impact all aspects of a child’s life. Children are more vulnerable than
adults to pollution from the burning of fossil fuels that causes global
floods and other disasters caused by climate change. They are also at an
increased risk from food and water shortages caused by crop failure,
Copy of the relevant pages of the 2013 UNICEF study titled “Climate
extreme weather events, and conflict related to food and water insecurity
to education, health care, and adequate nutrition. The loss of family and
the Applicant and the class that she represents do not disproportionately
27
change:-
mangroves make up far less than 10% of total forest cover. In addition to
Climate Change’, India lost 40% of its mangrove area during the last
century and such a loss would exacerbate the climate change impacts in
coastal regions since reduced mangrove area and health will increase the
ii. Rise in Sea Levels: That one of the largest and most visible impact of
the climate change is rise in the global sea level. According to the
been rising at an average rate of 3.2 millimetres (“mm”) per year based
the warming oceans) have caused and will cause flooding in coastal and
Indians live near the coastline. Further, most of these communities rely
for their livelihood. That as per the report titled “Climate Change and
(INCCA), India’s coasts experience an average mean sea level rise of 1.3
mm/year. This is only subject to increase, given that the sea level rise is
level rise. As a collection of over 100 small islands in the Bay of Bengal,
the Sunderbans are highly susceptible to the dangers of rising seas. For
example, the relative mean sea level rise of the Sagar Island Delta in the
2011, this increase is significantly faster than the 3.14 mm/year during
high in biodiversity and is also home to some of the last Royal Bengal
Tigers which is also India’s national animal. The relevant pages of the
ANNEXURE A-19.
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iv. Climate induced Refugees: That India already has climate refugees.
published in December 2009 in the Times of India, since the 1970s the
km to less than 3.7 sq km, while two smaller islands nearby have already
two-thirds of the island’s population has been forced to leave. This is just
of Bengal. As per the WWF India report annexed at ANNEXURE A-19, the
million people in India are currently at high risk from sea level rise, storm
surges, and coastal flooding. A further 2.4 million people are exposed to
(COLLY).
rainfall events” over the last five decades due to global warming. Extreme
events are associated with the increasing sea surface temperatures of the
using 104 years of gridded daily rainfall data” published in 2008, the
ANNEXURE A-21
a. That glacial and ice cap melting is one of the major causes of global
in these rivers through the dry season. This water from the Himalayas
downstream.
a. That the Indus basin has 7,997 glaciers with a total glacier cover of
33,679km2 and total ice volume of 363.10km3. The Ganga basin has
968 glaciers with a total glacier cover of 2,857km2 and total ice
major rivers in the eastern Himalayas is about 10%, but is more than
physics and the past climate record, that precipitation events will
modeling resulting from global warming have been observed not just
although India has 16% of the world’s population, it only has 4% of the
world’s fresh water. As per the research article titled “Climate Change
surface water; and water usage in the majority of India’s river basins is
demand for water in India will grow to almost 1.5 trillion m3. In fact, as
per the news article titled “Rains or Not, India is Falling Short on
the 2030 Water Resources Group published in 2010, predicts that most
crisis of water scarcity in India. The relevant pages of the report titled
desirable crops while promoting pest and weed proliferation. That the
change threatens global food security and thus any effort to mitigate
25%. Such negative yields are likely have a dire economic impact and
the Earth’s water cycle increase the potential for and severity of storms,
climate change will increase drought; on the other hand, climate change
will cause more moisture and rain to collect in the atmosphere. Globally,
this additional rain tends to fall in the far northern or southern countries,
global damage caused by of climate change and its effect on drought has
100 times faster than at any other period during the last 100,000
food webs to collapse. That as per the Report titled “Coral Reefs of
reef can also be found in the inter-tidal areas of the central west
humans.
more deaths in the future. As per the DARA Report, climate change is
energy system causes an estimated 4.5 million deaths each year due
The IPCC predicts that climate change will exacerbate existing health
such as India.
“Climate and Health Fact Sheet” in July 2005 that “the health effects
2009, climate change will not only affect the basic requirements for
health (such as clean air and water, sufficient food, and adequate
reverse the progress that the global public health community is now
since 19.01.2015 showing the laxity toward the issue by the Respondents.
as ANNEXURE A-26
H. Because the policies have not been reflected in the existing legal
discussed while projects are appraised for the purpose of grant of forest
clearance, it was found that even after ratifying the Paris Agreement, no
commitment.
asked for the carbon budgeting from the existing and expansion
project.
over solar and wind power and shifting towards super critical
forest land being one such them. Also there are numerous
viii. To add to it, the very purpose of the money collected under this
other activities for which this money can be utilized for. Some of
expenditure from this account. This will obviously take the focus
safeguarding the environment and the forests of the country, the State
K. Because the right to life under Article 21 would necessarily include right to
& Ors. [(2004) 12 SCC 118], the Hon’ble Apex Court has held that:
42
forest and wildlife of the country. Article 51A, inter alia, provides
raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve
Equity Principle, the State has the duty to ensure that the environment
law by the Hon’ble Apex Court as early as 1997 when it was observed by
This doctrine has been further interpreted and expanded in its scope by
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Fomento Resorts & Hotels
43
Ltd. V. Minguel Martins, (2009) 3 SCC 571, the Hon’ble Apex Court
held that:-
“The heart of the Public Trust Doctrine is that it imposes limits and
interest (i.e Public lands, waters etc.) are held subject to the duty
public rights over short term public rights and private gain. Today,
every person exercising his or her right to use the air, water, or
secure for the rest of us the right to live or otherwise use the same
observed as follows:-
“Natural Resources belong to the people but the State legally owns
them on behalf of its people and from that point of view natural
...
the states vis a vis its people and demands that the people be
and that they are adequately compensated for for the transfer of
rights and obligations of the State vis a vis private parties seeking
to acquire/ use the the resource and demands that the procedure
constitutional and public trust rights of citizens and directed States to take
appropriate steps to tackle climate change. The following case laws from
District Court, vide order dated 10 November 2016, denied the U.S.
citizens.’”
the Public Trust Doctrine and quoted from the Philippines Supreme
Natural Res., G.R. No. 101083, 33 I.L.M. 173, 187 (S.C., Jul. 30,
1993) (Phil.):
humankind.’”
ANNEXURE A-27
ii. The Green Bench of the Lahore High Court, Pakistan in the matter of
submitted that this is exactly the situation faced in India as well. The
pursuance of such policies. The Hon’ble Lahore High Court, vide final
vide judgment dated 24 June 2015, held that the Netherlands “must
conclusion:
affect this.”
fulfill its duty of care to protect and improve the living environment
LIMITATION
That the present Application is being filed within the period of limitation as given
under Section 14 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. It is submitted that
the Applicant has analysed the minutes of the meetings of the Expert Appraisal
Committee and the Forest Advisory Committee since October 2016 to look into
whether there are specific discussion on issues relating to climate change. Even
49
though the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4.11.2016, the Applicant has
found that the said committees have not discussed or issued specific directions
with respect to the issue of Climate Change. Further, these Committees have not
taken into account the various commitments made under the Paris Agreement
PRAYER
prayed that this Hon’ble Tribunal may be pleased to pass the following orders: -
the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to all appraisal bodies including the
ii. Direct Respondent No. 1 including the Forest Advisory Committee and the
iii. Direct Respondent No. 1 including the Forest Advisory Committee and the
targets under the Paris Agreement and the INDC submitted by India.
budget” for the total amount of CO2 emissions that can be released until
2050 ensuring that India does its share as a responsible member of the
vi. Direct the Respondents that while assessing the projects for
budget.
vii. Direct the Respondent No. 1 to create a time bound national climate
recovery plan within the existing legal framework that includes interim
application.
ix. Pass any other order as the Hon’ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in
APPLICANT
THROUGH
VERIFICATION
I, Dinesh Pandey, S/o, Shri. NB Pandey aged about 40 years, R/o Village
personal knowledge and that I have not suppressed any material fact.
APPLICANT
52
VERSUS
AFFIDAVIT
I, Dinesh Pandey, S/o, Shri. NB Pandey aged about 40 years, R/o Village Haripur,
1. That I am the father and legal guardian of the Applicant in the above
2. That the contents of the Original Application are true and correct and
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION
Verified on this ____ day of March 2017 that the contents of the present
Application are true and correct to my knowledge and belief and nothing material
is concealed therefrom.
DEPONENT