Nepal disaster impact: Sikkim High Court initiates PIL on climate justice
The Sikkim High Court has initiated a suo motu public interest litigation regarding climate justice following devastating flash floods in Nepal. The court is examining the environmental impact of infrastructure projects in the fragile Himalayan region and has summoned several government departments.
Why it matters
This legal action highlights the growing trend of using the judiciary to address climate change impacts and infrastructure accountability in vulnerable mountain regions.
The High Court of Sikkim has initiated a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on climate justice after “taking note of the severe hardship and impact of the recent flash floods in Nepal”.
The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, left 1,410 people dead and 6,145 still missing in northern and central Nepal.
In an order on September 17, a Bench comprising Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan made the Railway Ministry and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), along with the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority and the State Power Department, respondents in the PIL on “climate justice”.
The court issued notices to these four authorities.
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