Development should come at cost of environment: Justice Gavai on Wayanad tragedy

Kottayam: In a passionate speech on the loss of lives due to the Wayanad landslide, Supreme Court judge Justice B.R. Gavai on Saturday emphasised the need to have sustainable development instead of mindless destruction of the environment.

“Human greed should not cross a limit that we cease to care for the future generations,” said Justice Gavai while speaking at the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) International Conference on ‘Law and Technology: Sustainable Transport, Tourism and Technological Innovations’ at Kumarakom.

He said that given the fragile environment of Kerala, it becomes important to hold this conference on sustainable transport, tourism and technological Innovations.

“We have seen that on account of conflict between the development and environmental concerns, in the last decade, we have suffered many tragedies,” said Justice Gavai.

While Justice Gavai pointed out that development is necessary for progress, he also said that all three wings, legislature, executive and judiciary have to work together to balance the development with environment.

“No doubt that development is necessary for progress but it cannot come at the cost of the environment. Man has always been said to be greedy but greed should not go beyond limits where there is no concern for future generations,” he said.

He added that the concept of sustainable development over the last couple of decades has been of importance, adding that the citizens also have a fundamental duty to protect nature.

Justice Gavai also recalled his experience when heading the Green Bench and pointed out: “On one hand, we have demand permits to built dams for electricity front the governments while on the other hand, there are environmental concerns for our fragile ecosystems.”

On the adverse effects of climate change, Justice Gavai said the challenges of climate change are being noticed worldwide and the adverse effects are one of the aspects which need to be looked into seriously.