Glaciers, forests, rivers ‘living entities’: Uttarakhand HC

HAVING declared the Ganga and the Yamuna as “living entities”, Uttarakhand High Court has now declared glaciers, forests and lakes also as similar “biologically living” entities. “Rivers and Lakes have intrinsic right not to be polluted. Polluting and damaging the rivers, forests, lakes, water bodies, air and glaciers will be legally equivalent to harming, hurting and causing injury to person,” the judgment, delivered on Friday, observed.

In its 66-page order, the division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Alok Singh declared that rivers, forests, lakes, water bodies, air, glaciers — Gangotri and Yamunotri — and springs are all living entities. The bench said that like human beings, they also have a right to exist, persist, maintain, sustain and regenerate their vital ecology system.

“The rivers are not just water bodies. These are scientifically and biologically living. Rivers are grasping for breath. We must recognise and bestow Constitutional legal rights to Mother Earth,” the court said.

The bench said rights of these entities shall be equivalent to rights enjoyed by human beings, and injury/harm caused to these bodies shall be treated as harm/injury caused to human beings.