SC 'banyan tree' of environmental justice: CJI Surya Kant

NEW DELHI: Terming Supreme Court the "banyan tree" of environmental justice for its role in protecting the environment and ecology, CJI Surya Kant Saturday said conservation and development are not in conflict with each other and there is need to maintain balance between them.Addressing the inaugural session of 'The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics' organised by NGT, he said there are constitutional provisions for protection of environment, but words in a constitution are only seeds which need the nurturing waters of judicial wisdom to sprout into life and SC has played that role."And it is here that SC has stood tall as the banyan tree of environmental justice, with roots deep in our civilisational ethos and branches sheltering the rights of unseen generations. It has over the decades championed the idea that progress without preservation is but a mirage that vanishes in the desert of ecological ruin.