ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Abstract

Environmental justice, as a concept, has gained considerable traction in recent years, particularly within the context of environmental sustainability and contemporary debates surrounding justice theories (Ali, 2006). The genesis of the environmental justice movement can be traced back to the United States, arising from the activism of African American communities protesting the disproportionate placement of hazardous facilities in their neighborhoods, thereby highlighting that pollution is not color blind (Temper, 2019). The movement underscores the fair distribution of environmental quality across all social groups and originated from concerns in the 1970s United States, where hazards like toxic waste disposal facilities were often located in low-income and minority communities (Mitchell, 2011). This concern evolved into a broad-based advocacy for equitable environmental protection, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, aiming to ensure that all communities have a say in decisions affecting their environment (Scott, 2014). Environmental justice issues manifest at various levels, from international disputes over multinational corporations exploiting indigenous populations to local concerns about the unequal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens (Kuehn, 2000).