oppn parties Supreme Court: Balance Needed Between Concern For Environment And National Security Needs

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Supreme Court: Balance Needed Between Concern For Environment And National Security Needs

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-11-10 08:34:50

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

The Supreme Court today rightly said that concerns for the environment must be balanced with concerns for national security. The NGO "Citizens for Green Doon" had objected to the Centre's plea that feeder roads leading to the India-China border needed to be widened for national security reasons. The NGO said that such widening would lead to an "environmental disaster". But the court was of the view that "there is no doubt that sustainable development has to be balanced with national security requirements. Can the highest constitutional court override the concerns of armed forces, particularly given the contemporary developments at the Indo-China border?"

The court is right. China has been building infrastructure along the border and the LAC heavily and rapidly. It has created, and is creating, a situation where its army can rapidly mobilize troops, including heavy artillery and tanks, at the border through the maze of roads it has built, even in high mountainous regions. All reports, backed by satellite pictures, point to the fact that India has fallen way behind. Even if a war does not take place, it is urgently required that for purely deterrent purpose, India must upgrade its border infrastructure, including widening roads, building new ones and building cantonments, to keep up with China.

Obviously this does not mean that the Centre can go around indiscriminately felling trees or blasting mountains to construct infrastructure. The mountainous region has already been subjected to too much abuse and that is evident in the many landslides and floods that keep ravaging the region with alarming regularity. Hence, it is required that the Centre move with due diligence in building this infrastructure. Experts must be consulted to ensure minimum damage to the environment and the precarious ecology of the region must be protected as far as practicable. As the court rightly said, a balance must be struck. 

Pic courtesy: Border Roads Organization, building road in Arunachal Pradesh

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