Environmental crisis in India has risen from negligence to an organized attack on the very survival of it. Illegal mining, poaching, industrial pollution, and garbage dumping are no longer isolated incidents; they are part of a larger menace that is undermining the natural basis of life. The United Nations classifies environmental crimes as the fourth most serious form of organized crime worldwide, with India being one of the worst hit due to its delicate ecosystems.
The magnitude of the issue is astonishing. According to statistics, environmental violations increased by nearly 790% in 2017 compared to 2016. This surge is due to both increased infractions and improved reporting procedures. However, statistics scarcely depict the devastation: decreasing rivers, disappearing forests, degraded wetlands, and species on the verge of extinction. Scientists warn that rainforests may vanish within 80 years, coral reefs are dying at alarming rates, and fisheries may fail by 2050. Biologists refer to humanity as being on the verge of a sixth major extinction.
Unlike conventional crimes, environmental offences are calculated, systemic, and profit-driven. From the ivory trade to unregulated fishing and hazardous waste dumping, the motive is material gain. But the losses are immeasurable—clean air, fresh water, fertile soil, and the delicate ecological balance that sustains life itself.
India’s legislative system includes strict safeguards such as the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the Water Act of 1974, the Air Act of 1981, the Environment Protection Act of 1986, and the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. The Constitution enshrines environmental protection in Articles 48-A and 51-A(g), while Article 21 protects the right to a clean and healthy environment. Judicial activism has strengthened these safeguards, ranging from the Ratlam Municipality case, which mandated sanitation, to the Shriram Gas Leak verdict, which established absolute culpability, and restrictions on enterprises that pollute the Ganga.
Jammu and Kashmir’s delicate Himalayan ecosystem presents distinct environmental challenges. Deforestation, illicit sand mining from the Jhelum and Sindh rivers, the expansion of brick kilns, encroachment on wetlands like Hokersar, and contamination of Dal and Wular lakes are all severe environmental crimes. Hydropower developments and unregulated construction exacerbate the region’s environmental challenges. The J&K High Court and the National Green Tribunal have regularly interfered, ordering the closure of polluting brick kilns, supervising waste management during the Amarnath Yatra, and overseeing the rehabilitation of Dal Lake. However, ineffective enforcement and political concessions sometimes undermine the effectiveness of these judicial directives.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) incorporates offences formerly dealt with under the IPC into the new code. Public nuisance is covered by BNS Section 265, pollution of water and making the atmosphere noxious by Sections 277 and 278 (read with Section 272 for adulteration of water and food), negligent handling of poisonous substances by Section 279, and mischief causing damage to the environment or public property by Sections 324-326. Prison, fines, and reparations are all possible punishments. However, in fact, the punishments are still too light in comparison to the vast profits businesses and mafias make from environmental destruction.
Despite the solid framework, enforcement is spotty. Diluted EIA standards, low coastal and riverbed mining rules, and a lack of accountability among local officials in Jammu and Kashmir exacerbate the problem. Sand mafia operations in Kashmir, despite regular seizures and crackdowns, continue unabated due to political patronage and a lack of effective deterrents. Environmental crimes are not just against environment; they are also against humanity. Gandhi once stated, “The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” India, and particularly ecologically fragile regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, must strictly enforce environmental laws, strengthen corporate and individual liability for ecological destruction, encourage community participation in monitoring wetlands, forests, and rivers, and treat environmental security as equal to national security.
The climate disaster is not a distant threat; it is a current emergency. Unless India makes environmental crime a national priority, the harm will be irreparable, not only for nature, but for human life as well.
(The author is an Advocate practising at Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and the subordinate courts. Author holds master’s degree in Environmental Laws advocateaquib08@gmail.com)
