Tara Singh Rajput vs. State of Uttarakhand, (2016) SCC Online Utt 1730 (India)

Petitioners sued the state to prevent indiscriminate tree cutting and unauthorized constructions near the Bhimtal Lake area in Uttarakhand state. The petitioners argued that indiscriminate tree cutting and unauthorized constructions were damaging the fragile Bhimtal Lake area. Concerned about glaciers, the court also discussed the impacts of climate change and fossil fuel pollution. Declining snowfall and ice melt due to climate change meant that that glaciers were rapidly retreating. Shrinking glaciers would mean reduced river flows in the future, causing immense hardship to communities that rely on rivers for water. In the face of such dire consequences, the court reasoned that everyone had a duty to protect the glaciers and restore them to their pristine glory. It issued orders regulating construction and sewerage treatment. The orders also banned plastic use, fossil fuel use, logging, and the open burning of garbage near glaciers. Noting that it had taken nature millions of years to form the glaciers, society could not permit glaciers to be “lost forever by one or two reckless/irresponsible generations.”