It would be extremely significant to note that while taking suo motu cognizance of the extreme heatwave across the country, the Single Judge Bench of the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled In Re Save The Planet Earth And The Future Generations Of This Universe that was pronounced as recently as on May 30, 2024 called upon the Central and State governments to take remedial steps to address climate change which affects all of us. The Court issued some immediate measures also which we shall discuss above the rest to be taken by the State government to address effectively and contain the growing number of deaths due to heatstroke which is definitely a cause of grave concern. The Court also very rightly urged the Central Government to enact the Prevention of Deaths Due to Heat and Cold Waves Bill, 2015 which is yet to see the light of the day. To this end, it also asked its Registry to send a copy of this order to the Union Ministry of Law & Justice.
DIRECTIONS
Before stating anything else, it would be in order to consider what is the “heart and arteries” of this notable judgment as encapsulated in para 27 directing that, “By an interim measure, looking to current emergent situation, this Court issues the following directions to the respondents:-
(i) To implement the “Heat Action Plan” prepared under the Rajasthan Climate Change Project with immediate effect in its true letter and spirit and do effective implementation of the scheme ‘Strengthening Health Systems Preparedness for Heat Related Illnesses’ and the Advisory issued for the State Health Department on Heat Wave Season–2024 with immediate effect in the interest of public at large.
(ii) To sprinkle water on the roads where huge movement of public at large is there.
(iii) To provide cooling spaces, shades on the traffic signals, spots, etc. near the roads and highways where the Government may deem necessary for the benefit of general public at large, daily wage earners, rickshaw or cart pullers and porters, birds and animals with facility of drinking water, ORS packets, mango panna, etc. in such a manner for their benefit to save them from heat stroke.
(iv) The Department of Health is directed to provide all possible facilities at all the Health Centers for treatment of heat wave patients.
(v) The Government is directed to issue advisory for all the workers who work in open including the porters, cart and rickshaw pullers, etc. to allow them to rest between 12 Noon and 3 PM during extreme heatwave in summer season.
(vi) The Government is further directed to issue alerts in the form of Short Message Service (SMS), FM, Radio, Television, Mobile apps, Print and Electronic Media, Newspapers, etc. to alert the people about the extreme heatwave conditions.
(vii) The Government is further directed to pay appropriate & suitable amount of compensation to the dependents of the victims of heatwave, who lost his/her life due to heat stroke.
(viii) The Government is directed to bring suitable legislation to save human and living beings from the pollution and consumption of adulterated food items. This is the right time and high time for taking appropriate steps to save the future generations from all kinds of life threatening diseases occurring due to climate changes and adulteration in eatable items.
For clarity, the Bench clarifies in para 28 stating that, “Certain more appropriate directions would be issued on the next date of hearing.
At the very outset, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that, “Earth is the only known planet having life in this Universe. Earth is the only planet which can sustain life on it. We do not have a planet-B which we can move onto. Earth is the home of million species including living and non-living.”
Quite frankly, the Bench observes in para 2 that, “Our planet is definitely a priceless gift from God. It is the principal saver of all essential nutrients for all living things on the planet. Earth provides everything we need, including the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the homes we live in. Earth is known as ‘Mother Earth’ because like our mother, she is always nursing us and providing for all of our needs.”
As we see, the Bench then underscores in para 3 that, “On Earth, there are humans, animals, plants, water bodies, land, mountains, dirt and so on. Our planet is the only place on the globe where living things can survive. As a result, it becomes increasingly critical and crucial to save our planet.”
Most significantly, the Bench points out in para 4 what constitutes the cornerstone of this notable judgment that, “Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Extreme heart now-a-days crossing the temperature more than 50 Degree Celsius have affected millions of people of the State of Rajasthan and across the nation. Climate change, man-made change to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, cutting of trees, land use changes, destroying natural water bodies, etc. can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet. Rapid cutting of trees has caused disaster climate change.”
Equally significant is what is then exhorted upon by the Bench in para 5 asserting that, “So we should respect and maintain everything we get from our mother Earth. We should save the mother Earth so that our future generations can live in a safe environment. This makes it all the more serious to save the Earth and save our lives. If we do not take strict action now, we will lose the chance of seeing out future generations flourish forever. Everyone must come together for the same cause, as we are inhabitants of this planet firstly and then anything else.”
No less significant is what is then urged upon by the Bench in para 7 stating that, “We all should respect and maintain everything we get from our mother Earth. We should save the mother Earth so that our future generations can live a safe environment. We can save the Earth by saving the trees, natural vegetation, water natural resources. We should strictly follow all possible measures to control the environment pollution and global warming. Everyone should plant more trees in the surrounding areas to curb the pollution and reduce the efforts of global warming.”
Finally, the Bench then concludes by holding in para 32 that, “The Registry is further directed to list this matter before the appropriate Division Bench having roster of ‘Public Interest Litigation’ on 01.07.2024.”
In sum, we thus see very clearly that the Rajasthan High Court has very rightly taken suo motu cognizance of the extreme heatwave engulfing environment. What all the Jaipur Bench has directed in this leading case must be implemented on a war footing as part of the damage control exercise. No denying it!
By Sanjeev Sirohi
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
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