New Delhi, 29 March

On 29 March, Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath stressed the need to regulate emissions and invest in clean technologies to tackle pollution, saying it is unacceptable for children to grow up in an environment where they need to wear masks to play outside.

Justice Nath also said there is a need to find solutions that maintain a balance between economic growth and environmental welfare and government policies should focus on green technologies.

He was speaking during the inaugural session of the National Conference on 'Environment - 2025' at Vigyan Bhavan. President Draupadi Murmu was the chief guest at the event.

"India's capital regularly experiences high levels of pollution. I believe we can all agree that it is not acceptable for our children to grow up in an environment where they need to wear masks to play outside or have to worry about respiratory diseases at an early age," Justice Nath said.

He flagged water pollution as another major concern and said many sacred and pristine rivers are filled with untreated wastewater. He affirmed that the judiciary is committed to upholding the constitutional guarantee of a healthy environment and ensuring that green violations are checked.

Attorney General R Venkataramani said urbanisation means increased energy consumption, resulting in increased exploitation of natural resources. "There is a lack of social awareness and social acceptance towards environmental consciousness or there are serious barriers which call for deeper engagement," he said.