INTRODUCTION

The first conference was held in 1972 on human environment in

Stockholm, Sweden. In this conference 113 states became its
member and also representatives from 19 international
organizations attended conference and it was the first
international conference for the international environmental
issues. A group of 27 experts has drawn a line between
environment and economic policies. This conference played a
catalytic role in promoting the subsequent adoption of
international agreements concerned with ocean dumping,
pollution from ships, and the endangered species trade. It also
adopted the “Stockholm Declaration on the Human
Environment,” which comprised forward-looking principles,
such as Principle 13167, that declared the need for integration
and management in development preparation to allow for
environmental protection.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is an essential component of competitiveness

strategy of the country. Environmental sustainability for the
coming years became an essential ingredient of corporate
strategy and success of market place.The increasing pressure
of the world economic system on the lack natural resources as
well as on the environment as a whole, will in future lead to a
following demand of the society for business, entities, to attain
corrective measures without any delay. From the eyes of the
firms many have viewed these measures as a burden of
additional cost to competitiveness. Though, if one closely
judge, an increase in environmental controls is not necessarily
compatible with global competitiveness if a close connection is
drawn among competitiveness, technological change and
sustainable development. Sustainable development is a
universal principle to which every one of the globe (including
consumer and government) must contribute; if we all are to
meet present’s needs without compromising the ability of the
future generations to meet their own”. For acquiring this aim
corporate have to work with governments and civil society
partners to develop and put in place the appropriate legal,
institutional and financial framework conditions-globally,
regionally and nationally (Business and Development, 2010).

APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELPOMENT

In Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board v. C.

Kenchappa1 , the land were acquired for development,
however, by the High Court issued direction to the authority
concerned to leave one km. area from the village limits as a
free zone or green area to maintain ecological equilibrium. It
was held by the Supreme Court that if directions in question are
rigorously implemented, the authority concerned could not
acquire any land for development. In the view of matter, the
said directions were liable to be set aside.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES

To make informed decisions in maintenance of sustainable

development, decision-makers at all levels must be able to
integrate economic, social and environmental considerations.
The Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of
Policy, Plan and Program Proposals (the Directive) is the key
federal policy that formally integrates environmental and
sustainable development considerations into federal
government decision-making through application of strategic
environmental assessment (SEA). SEA provides an orderly
method to aid identify environmental risks and opportunities
early in proposal development by considering influences such
as institutional, governance, legislative, biophysical, social, and
economic, on the achievement of strategic objectives. The
Directive also supports the government’s method to
sustainable development.

The department has put three stages based on review process

of proposals submitted to ministers or to Cabinet (i.e.,
screening, preliminary scan, detailed analysis) 2 . This contains
consideration of the proposal’s potential contribution to the
achievement of the objects and aims of the Federal Sustainable
Development Strategy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.

The stage of screening aids to determine assessment

consistent with the targets of the Directive on release and the
command of the department. The preliminary screening is an
analysis to determine the potential for essential good and bad
effects of environment through examination. The preliminary
scan aids to determine the most appropriate level of review.

A detailed analysis may be required for preliminary scan, they

are as follows:

 It indicates the proposal is likely to result in an essential

environmental effects (good, bad or both);

 There is a high level of risk concerned with the proposal’s

expected outcomes; or

 There is a public concern about the environmental effects of

the proposal. Finally, once a proposal is publically announced, a
statement of the environmental effects determined from the
detailed analysis will be released.

BASIC FEATURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. Environmental problems as a major cause of current

development crises.

2. Multidimensional and multi-sectoral approach.

3. It emphasizes on greenery eco-friendly practices.

4. Use of renewable resources of water.

5. Use of biodegradable material.

6. Non-polluting constructions practices.

7. Changes in awareness and ethics as prerequisites.

8. Involvement of public and private sectors .

INDIAN APPROACH AND CONSTITUTION OF INDIA: RIO

EARTH SUMMIT AGENDA 21

The Earth Summit Agenda 21 is the environmental

development action plan for future. It is not legally binding but
forms the basis for a new international partnership for
sustainable development and environmental protection
worldwide.

Agenda 21 was the major document of the Rio Conference and

was planned to deal with some basic problems of natural
resources and to provide help to the developing world. The
main aim or the primary issue of the Agenda 21 is to ensure the
development proceed for the sustainable development: “the
system of incentives and penalties which motivate economic
behavior must be reoriented to become a strong force for
sustainability3 .”

Another aim is to ultimately eradicate poverty from the world

for the better standard of living through access to shelter and
improving the quality of water and also by improving the
sewage and the drainage system of the country.

Agenda 21 addresses to all groups and professions involved in

the achievement of its goals. This will lead to a rise in the
transfer of environmental technologies and throws the light on
the need of finance from industrialized to the developing.

Agenda 21 is also drawn to achieve the sustainable use

atmosphere, seas, oceans and freshwater and marine
organisms. The final and the very important object of the
Agenda 21 is improved management of chemicals and wastes.
It is observed that the one third of the deaths in the world is
caused by the food and water.

Issues of Agenda 21 was not agreed prior to the conference for

forest protection, desertification, financing and how would it be
implemented. It is believed that the minimum amount of
funding needed to implement Agenda 21 was not committed.
For the funding process environmentalism is concerned very
costly and also involves high cost technologies and expensive
measures.

Heavy financial countries as a creditors were requested to

provide debt relief to poorest indebted countries which are
pursuing for structural adjustment. For this issue government
agreed for the strong solution to be found for the debt issues of
low and middle income nations.

The Rio Earth Summit prejudiced all the UN conferences, which

have judged the relationship between human rights,
population, women settlements and need for the sustainable
development.

PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

As we throws light on social, economic, and environmental side

of sustainable development we look at the:

 Precautionary principle

 Polluter pay principle

 Eradication of poverty

 Inter generalization equity

 Public trust doctrine

 Eradication of poverty:

The first Sustainable Development Goal aims to “End poverty in

all its forms everywhere”. Its aim is to remove poverty from the
country for the better and the suffice development of the
country as a whole. Its main aim is to eradicate extreme
poverty from the society and implement nationally appropriate
social protection system and measures.

 Intergeneralizatio of equity:
 Generally in a local families savings are kept for the
emergencies with the members of the families for the future
requirement by the next generation. As if the family secured
the savings it will be fruitful to the next generation and if the
families is debited with loan the next generation had also to
pay for it4 . Equity in general sense is equality among all. Thus,
with regard to sustainable development intergeneraliztion of
equity means securing the resources of today for the benefit for
the future generation.

 Public trust doctrine:

According to Supreme Court “doctrine of public trust” which

existed in Roman and English law, has been incorporated in
Indian law. As per this doctrine, natural resources are held by
the state as “Trustee” of the public. However, natural resources
can be disposed of only in a manner that is consistent with the
nature of such a trust. A high decree of the judicial scrutiny is
laid down on any action of the government that attempts to
restrict the use of natural resources freely available for the
public.

PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

Environmental scientists play a key role in society's responses

to environmental problems, and many of the studies they
perform are intended ultimately to affect policy.

The term PRECAUTIONARY RINPCIPLE had its origin in

German word Vorsoregepinzip means a foresight- which could
have given positive and negative impression attached with
precaution principle.

The precautionary principles states that if there is a risk of

severe damage to humans and the environment, absence of
unquestionable, conclusive or definite scientific proof is not a
reason for inaction. The precautionary came up with the new
methods, proposed as a new guideline in environmental
decision making.
The Precautionary principle is one of the most contentious
principles in contemporary international development6 .
Precautionary Principle is a strategy to cope with possible risks.
It is a legal rationale basis of governmental action in the
context of inconclusive scientific evidence. In general it is
"better safe than sorry".

“When there is an threat to any activity or any act done which

can raise a threat in a society or to the environment and also to
human health, precautionary principle should be taken as a
measures solution although even if some cause and effect
relationships are not fully established scientifically.

The principle applies to secure the human health and the

environment for the development of the society. The moral
statement behind the precautionary principle is that human
being is responsible to preserve, protect, and to restore the
economy globally on which the lives are dependent of each and
every individual.

 Prayer of precautionary principle consist of two elements:

(a) The principles is to be applied only in the cases in which

there is an adverse impact on the human health with serious
effect.

(b) Governmental should take some action even though

"complete" scientific proof is not available. These situations are
referred to as illustrations of scientific uncertainty.

ORIGIN OF PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

The first step taken by UN for the environmental issues was in

1972 at UN conference on Human Environment in Stockholm,
Sweden. Then after the Brundtland Commission on
environment formally came and convened by UN in 1983. The
commission’s main aim was to focus on the natural resources
and human environment and also for the results of that decline
for economic and social development. It was sin the mutual
interest of all nations to implement policies for sustainable
development

. Over the past two decades, the Principle has been built-in into
approximately twenty international environmental treaties and
agreements The first premeditated incorporation of the
Precautionary Principle in environmental policy was at the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) also known as the Earth Summit. The principle themes
discussed were:

1. Sustainable Development and

2. Environment.

JUDICIAL TRENDS FOR PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

The Indian Courts have particularly embraced the

precautionary principle.

In Vellore Welfare Citizens V. Union of India8 : The

petitioner filed a PIL under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.
The PIL was filed for causing the pollution to the Palar river due
to discharge of the effluents by the tanneries and the industries
in Tamil Nadu. More, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Research Centre, Vellore found that nearby 35,000 hectares of
agricultural land has become either fully or partially unfit for
cultivation. The problem was raised before the Supreme Court
was whether the tanneries should be allowed to continue to
operate at the cost of lives of lakhs of people. The Supreme
Court of India noted that:“tough the leather industry is of the
major importance to the country for generating Foreign
exchange and also for providing employment avenues it has no
right to destroy to ecosystem and to degrade the environment.
The Court recognized that development and ecology opposed
to each other, is no longer acceptable; ‘Sustainable
Development’ is the answer. The Supreme Court of India
confirmed the decision in Vellore Citizen’s Welfare Forum v.
Union of India upholding the precautionary principle as a part of
environmental law of India .

In AP Pollution Control Board v. Prof. MV Nayuduthe

Supreme Court comprehensively reviewed the precautionary
principle. An application was submitted by a company to the
Pollution Control Board for permission to set up an industry for
production on “BSS Castor Oil Derivatives”. Later the letter had
been received by the company and the Board did not give no
objection certificate to the industry of the site proposed. The
Pollution Control Board, while rejecting the application for
consent stated that the factory fell under the red category of
polluting industry and will not be desirable to locate an
industry. The appeal filed by the company against the Pollution
Control Board the court noted that uncertainty in science in the
environmental conference to formulate new legal theories and
rules of evidence. One of these is the precautionary principle.

In Narmada BachaoAndolam v. Union of India,

the Court was called upon to decide various legal questions

arising from the Sardar Sarovar Project involving the
construction of a dam on the Narmada River. An environmental
clearance had been given for the project. At the time it was
granted there was no obligation to obtain any statutory
clearance. Nevertheless, the environmental clearance was
challenged. It was further supposed that the execution of the
project, having diverse and far reaching environmental impacts
and without proper planning of mitigating measures was a
violation of fundamental rights of life of the affected people
guaranteed under Article 21 of Constitution of India.

It was that the construction of Sardar Sarovar dam would bring

considerable improvement in environment concerning whole of
the area and demerits of such project. Merely on point of a
meagre damage like submerging of areas, the construction of
such major beneficial project cannot be stopped.
 In Ratlam Municipal Corporation v. Vardichand, it was held
that where there existed a public nuisance in a locality due to
open drains, heaps of dirt and public excretion by human for
want of lavatories and consequential breeding of mosquitoes,
the court could require the municipality under Section 133 of
Cr.P.C. and in view of Section 123 of the municipalities Act to
abate the nuisance by taking affirmative action on a time
bound basis. When such order was given the municipality could
not take the plea that notwithstanding the public nuisance
financial inability validly exonerated it from statutory liability.
CONCLUSION

The precautionary principle is a bunch of principles for ecologically

sustainable development. The concept of precautionary principle is to
taking healthy measures to prevent environmental damage. The
precautionary principle will not apply if there is no considerable scientific
uncertainty but there is a threat of serious or irreversible environmental
damage. In putting the precautionary principle there must be a
proportionality of replies or cost effectiveness of margins of fault to show
that the selected precautionary principles measures is not unduly costly
as the precautionary.

principle prescribe to take a better precaution before

implementing any act to the society and it was adopted by the
Rio conference as the main aim or the primary issue of the
Agenda 21 is to ensure the development proceed for the
sustainable development. Thus, precautionary principle in
today’s era plays an essential role in the support of Sustainable
Development and also for the economic development of the
society in environmental scheme