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"Where an administrative action or order of the government involves the problem of environment and the government is alive to the various considerations requiring thoughts and deliberation and has arrived at a conscious decision after taking them into account, it may not be for the Court to interfere in the absence of malafides. On the other hand, if relevant considerations are not borne in mind and irrelevant considerations influenco the decision, the Court may interfere in order to prevent a likelihood of prejudice to the public. Whenever, a problem of ecology is brought before the Court, the Court is bound to bear in mind Article 48A of the Constitution, the Directive Principle....... and the Article 51(A), which proclaims to be the Fundamental duty of every citizen of India...... When the Court is called upon to give effect to the Directive Principle and the Fundamental Duty, the court is not to shrug its shoulders and say that priorities are a matter of policy making authority. The least that the court may do is to examine, whether appropriate considerations have are borne in mind an irrelevant are excluded.............(emphasis supplied).
108.
The Supreme Court made these observations, after noting the following:
Today society's interaction with nature is so extensive, that the environmental question has asumod proportions affecting all humanity. Industrialisation, urbanisation, explosion of population, ovar exploitation of resources, depletion of traditional sources of energy and raw materials and the disruption of natural ecological balances, the destruction of multitude of animal and plant species for no good reasons at all are factors, which have contrituled to onvironmental deterioration........(emphasis supplied).
The Court further observed:
"Ecologists are of the opinion that the most important ecological social problem is the widespread disappearance all over the world of certain species of living organisms. Biologists forecast the extinction of animal and plants species on a scale that is incomparably greater than their extinction over the course of million of years.
It is said that over half the species which became extinct over the last 2000 years did so after 1900. The International Association for the Protection of the Nature and Natural Resources calculates that now, on the average, some species or sub-species is lost every year. It is said that approximately 10.000 birds and animals species are facing extinction at present. So it is that the environmental question has become urgent and has to be properly understood squarely by Man. Nature and history. It has been said are two components part of the environment in which we live move and prove ourselves".
109. It may be noted that even in 1958, when the number of slaughter houses was not so large as today, nor there was Corporate Sector or Meat Industry as such engaged in the trade of export of moat, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India clearly spelt out the role of cattle and livestock animals in the agricultural economy of India, and future needs of the nation. It upheld the total ban of slaughter of Cow, and Calves of all ages and Calves of Butfaloes, male and female. The Supreme Court of India emphasised the importance of protecting these animals and improving of their breeds etc. and clearly outlined the triple role the Cattle play namely (i) to produce milk for food. (ii) bulls for draught and (iii) manure for agriculture. The fourth role is of breeding future stock. The Supreme Court, after balancing the competing needs of man and animals, and the interest of very poor class of butchers, who made little earnings of about Rs. 150-300/- in those days by slaughtering of that cattle which was now unproductive or useful for any other purpose, and keeping in view, the interest of small traders in hides, skins and other products held that only that part of cattle or buffalo can be allowed to be sacrificed, which were not capable of yielding milk, or of breeding or
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