A Critique on Right to Environment vs. Right to Development: A Need to have a Balanced Approach

In the 21st century, the major challenge before every nation in the world is ‘environmental protection’. Due to the population explosion in many countries, especially in Asia and Africa, the demand for jobs, housing, and industries, has shown a sharp increase. To meet the needs of the citizens at large, countries are encouraging a greater number of industries in their geographical territories. This, undoubtedly, solves the problem of unemployment to a major extent, but at the same time, creates problems for the environment as meeting these demands generally comes at the cost of ‘environment degradation’. A recent flood-like scenario in Gurugram reflects the fact that constructing more houses, industries, and other modes of ‘convenience’ results in chaotic conditions for the people. Exploitation of natural resources through various means like illegal mining, deforestation, etc. is problematic for the nature at large. Hence the paper attempts at delving into the circumstances that are responsible for the degradation of the environment and their impact on the people at large, and also the need for taking prolific steps for ensuring the development of society at the same time. Development is possible by ensuring a good standard of living for the citizens by providing them jobs, building good infrastructure, etc., which is primarily possible due to the establishment of companies, industries, etc. There has to be a balance between the demands of the society and the environment, as over-exploitation of natural resources and deforestation will lead to more problems in the coming days for a country like India that is densely populated and has 17 percent of the share of the world’s population, but occupies only 2.4 percent of the world’s geographical area. The study focusses on creating a balance between the right to environment and development. The research methodology is doctrinal including the principles of applied research.