Environmental Rights and the Role of the National Human Rights Commission of India

This paper outlines the circumstances under which the NHRC was formed, its aims and its powers so as to provide a context for the interventions related to the protection of the enviroment. It then discusses the various interventions that the NHRC made, taking up issues that directly impacted the rights of the citizens, more specifically rights of the marginalized sectons such as agricultural workers and miners. To the questions whether an overarching national institution for human rights should venture into areas where it does not have expertise, the paper argues that its early interventions were well intentioned though it did not have an immediate impact. Yet, the interventions led to a certain consciousness that can be termed positive.

Keywords:
Human Rights, Civil Liberties, Democratic Rights, Environmental Rights