SVKM’s NMIMS School of Law’s Centre for Environment established in the year 2016, proposes to be one of Learning and Advocacy in the field of Environmental Law ("CELA”). A rich resource center, CELA aims to be a full- fledged "Green” arm of School of Law, having faculty coordinator and a core team of research scholars working on critical environmental issues by providing a platform for learning, research, , policy analysis, capacity building and consultation with all stake- including grass-root people, industry, legal experts, environmentalists and concerned State authorities. To meet its objectives, CELA seeks to build linkages with Government and Non-Government (NGOs).
Constitutional Mandate for Environment Protection
Taking inspiration from the landmark UN Conference on Human Environment held at Stockholm in 1972 also popularly known as the "Stockholm Conference”, the law makers in India, inserted provisions in the Constitution which obligates the State and the citizens to protect and improve the natural environment under Articles 48A and 51A(g) respectively. Thus by responding to the international call, the Indian Constitution, perhaps became the 1st Constitution in the world to attempt to secure the protection of our fragile environment.
Genesis of the problem
The problem of environmental pollution is transboundary in nature, thus affecting one and all. On a global plane, environmental threats are noticeable in various forms for instance, acid rains, ozone layer depletion, global warming and climate change, to name a few. Today the interaction of human beings with nature is so extensive that environmental issues have assumed such proportions to affect all humanity. Industrialization, urbanization, population explosion, over-exploitation of resources and disruption of natural ecological balances are some of the major challenges we are facing, not only in India but also globally. The conditions prevalent today requires knowledge, capacity and a concerted effort of all stakeholders to bring about any effective change and to make the system of regulatory environment management and ecological conservation more meaningful and proactive. With the proliferating environmental issues in the society today, we conceptualized the idea to set up a Centre to contribute towards the betterment of the environment. Our aim is to raise such concerns and issues, participate in seeking answers and more importantly disseminating the answers and possibly transform them into policy and practice.
Majority of the population today, although aware about the climatic changes and other critical environmental issues, do not have a thorough understanding of the same. For example, although knowing about the existence of greenhouse gases, many people are not aware about the science behind it as well as its effect. The main objective of the Centre is to disseminate information that even a lay person will understand such that every person can contribute towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
Green Vision & Mission
CELA thus seeks to aid Ecological conservation through strategic legal interventions by being an effective platform for dialogue, discussion and debate on critical environmental issues.
CELA aims to educate and empower all concerned to strive for and secure environmental conservation & justice.
In particular, CELA seeks to:-
Areas of Green Concern
Green Reporting
CELA seeks to be a forum for knowledge dissemination by reporting developments in the field of environmental law including recent Judgments, ongoing Court cases, Changes in the Legal and Policy framework, Executive Action; Environmental challenges facing India and the world amongst other information through publication of Articles/Journals/Newsletters/Hand-outs and such other literature.
Green Activities/Plans of CELA
Green Collaborations
The Green Team
Faculty Co-coordinator
- Prof. Nadisha Vazirani
Advisory Body
- Dr. Rhishikesh Dave, Dean, School of Law
- Others
Committee Members
Faculty & concerned students of SVKM’s NMIMS School of Law