A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered to initiate a suo motu case in connection with the landslides in Wayanad.
The Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. gave the directive when cases connected with quarrying and construction activities in Wayanad came up for hearing.
The court observed that the “State government should first evolve a comprehensive policy on the developmental activities that could be permitted in different areas of the State. It should thereafter examine, on a case to case basis, whether there is a need to grant any licence/permit for any developmental activity in a particular area concerned or to renew such licence/permit, taking into account the inherent nature of the land, the availability of natural resources, the report of the Biodiversity Boards, and the impact that any such activity would have on the ecological balance of the region and other environmental factors.”
‘Reconsider policies’
The court observed that it is now time for the government to reconsider its policies with regard to regulation of all developmental activities in the State that may contribute to environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. The government has to remind itself of its role as a guardian of the natural resources within the State and introduce measures to check the indiscriminate developmental activities being permitted within Kerala. Towards this end, the State government has to keep in mind the doctrine of public trust, which was developed as a legal theory by the ancient Roman Empire, and was founded on the idea that certain common properties such as rivers, seashore, forests and the air were held by the government in trusteeship for the free and unimpeded use of the general public.
These resources were deemed to be of such great importance to the people as a whole that it was seen as wholly unjustified to make them the subject of private ownership. The resources being a gift of nature, it was felt that they should be made freely available to everyone, irrespective of the status in life. The doctrine therefore enjoins upon the government to protect the resources for enjoyment of the general public rather than to permit their use for private ownership or commercial purposes, the court added
The suo motu case will come up before the Bench on Friday.
