NATURAL RESOURCES LAW AND POLICY (2004) Dr.MD.ZAFAR MAHFOOZ NOMANI, UPPAL PUBLISHING HOUSE DELHI Pp 471 + xxiv Price 895HB
Reviewed By Anis Ahmad, Assistant Professor National Law Institute, Faridabad.
The dire necessity of scientific treatment of Natural Resource Law and Policy as a valuable guide for researchers, students, lawyers, judges and activists is being fulfilled by second generation environmental law scholar Dr.Md. Zafar Mahfooz Nomani in the shape of the book Natural Resources Law and Policy. The book under review endures that the protection and improvement of the Environment is possible by having an approach that human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development and entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. The paradigmatic strategy of the book is a clear departure from techno-centric approach to ethnocentric approach wherein development of man in relation to environment is placed on higher pedestal. The author has covered a wide range of issues and highlights the new emerging complex enviro-legal problems encountered by the humanity in the wake of unsustainable maneuvering of ecological resources. The work is exhaustive in contents and classified into twelve chapters including a list of appendix of notable enactment on the subject. Chapter I focuses the constitutional dimensions of environmental protection. An attempt is being made to locate the over all impacts of constitutional stewardship in the wake of environmental movements bordering around deep and shallow ecology and to what extent the concurrent but contradict notion of ethnocentrism and techno-centrism was being sensitized under the constitutional engineering of the nation. Chapter II encapsulates the federal dimension of EIA law in India by comparative analysis of the U S federal EIA model to tune the existing legal framework for better federal friendly environmental governance. The shadow of pan Indian federalism also looms large as central government has an omnibus role in the environmental clearances. Chapter III envisages a kaleidoscopic perception of legislative and judicial contribution in the arena of water conservation, atmospheric pollution hazardous substances management, forests, bio-diversity, wildlife and animal protection in India. It also strives to augur the organic development of nascent comparative environmental law. Chapter IV appraises water pollution laws and enforcement in the backdrop of judicial development. The authors believes that in spite of the salubrious enactments and judicial intervention and administrative initiatives little has been done and vast seem to be undone. Chapter V reviews the regulatory thicket and judicial articulation relating to air pollution control law and policy. According to author, the existing legal policies of standardization restrict the range of alternatives to the polluters regardless of the financial soundness and opportunity cost of compliance. Chapter VI reflects on the environmental impact of radiation pollution and calls for sensitization of safety norms for environmental sustainability and inter-generation security. The chapter is highly informative as the deleterious impact of nuclear installation are seldom brought to the forth. Chapter VII takes a legal stance on access and equitable use of environmental resources and biological diversity under international and national legal regime. It also subsumes the community oriented indigenously designed models of conservation of bio-diversity. Chapter VIII identifies futuristic attitudinal shift for a better eco-friendly industrial jurisprudence. The author suggested that industrialist, environmentalist, trade unionists and socially spirited organization should advance constitutional conscience of development with human face. Chapter IX examines wildlife protection and animal welfare laws to strengthen transanthropocentric approach to environment and animal rights to augur sustainable development in India. Chapter X analyses the regime of public participation under the environmental statutes already passed and those, which are on the anvil from the standpoint of rotation the legal machinery by environmental conscious groups .A scanning of the legal and judicial responses to arrive at a prognosis of existing laws and revamp administrative agencies in order to cope with the present environmental crisis Chapter XI exhibits the criminal sanctions and enforcement under the environmental laws from the stand point of principles of criminal liability, enforcement machinery and efficacy of sanctioning regime is highly relevant for the protection and improvement of environment. Chapter XII explores the possibilities of people participation and the role to be played by the environmental action groups in reference to the Constitutional law, Water Act, Air Act, Environment Act and other incidental law to evolve a participatory model best suited to the socio- legal set up of the country. Every chapter has been prepared meticulously taking into consideration the entire case law on the subjects laid down by the Supreme Court as well as various High Courts .The view expressed by the author are pragmatic and not fashioned in black letter law tradition. It candidly offers an erudite explanation of complex enviro-legal problems with great pragmatism. The quality of print is very good but the price appears to be little on the higher side. There are, however, a few printing errors and omissions. Be that as it may this book is a very useful contribution to the enviro-legal epistemology and the Environmental law in India. The author deserves praise for putting thickets of polemics of natural resource laws and policies of India by suggesting paradigmatic changes in the existing discourse under one cover. The only suggestion that the reviewer would like to add that if the author had thrown some light on the topics like sustainable development and noise pollution it may be a good creative work for the enviro-legal community.