Abstract

Amid the surge of development, India’s fragile ecosystems are suffering destruction at the hands of unbridled urbanisation, indiscriminate infrastructure work and corporate indifference. From the sinking town of Joshimath to the Drakos-like threats posed by the Tehri Dam, the perils of transgressing the limits that nature sets are not distant prophecies — they are lived catastrophes. This paper looks at the legal and moral failures that allows for such tragedies to happen, and the loopholes in India’s legal structure that allow for developers, corporations and the state to escape genuine accountability. The issue is vexed at the core of Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a provision intended to punish those whose negligent actions result in a death. Through case laws, this study signals the pressing need to redraw the perimeter of criminal negligence to cover disasters environmental or infrastructural in nature. It argues for a radical rethink of the notion of sustainable development in India. The only way out of this is through very strict laws holding corporations accountable and through amendments to existing laws which require holding responsible corporations accountable to climate-sensitive areas, and to changing the nature of Environmental Impact Assessments from an assessment of environmental loss to preventing it. Drawing on international best practices— from the UK’s Corporate Manslaughter Act to Japan’s climate-sensitive urban planning — it lays out a roadmap for India to make sure that progress occurs in tandem with the planet’s well-being. This is not just a legal debate; it’s a call to action. As climate disasters accelerate in scale and severity, this country cannot afford the luxury of negligence anymore, and it must decide: Does it wish to continue down the road of negligence, or will it embrace a future that connects development and sound environmental management?

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