FROM PUNISHMENT TO PLANTATION: REIMAGINING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED GREEN SENTENCING IN INDIA
Keywords:
Environmental Justice, Green Sentencing, Restorative Ecological Justice, Community-based Punishment and Environmental Rehabilitation.Abstract
Green sentencing is an emerging concept that has emerged as a viable and transformative alternative within the Indian legal landscape. The central argument of this chapter is that community-based green punishment, particularly through mandatory
plantation drives, offers a promising pathway to reimagine environmental justice in India. This chapter will critically analyse the legal feasibility, ethical considerations, and practical challenges of institutionalising such a model in India, drawing insights from comparative international experiences and landmark judicial pronouncements. The proposed model envisions a structured process where individuals convicted of environmental offences, particularly those involving damage to natural resources, are mandated to participate in specific environmental restoration activities, thereby fostering accountability, rehabilitation,
and community empowerment. The paper will also provide a comparative analysis of judicial innovations in environmental punishment from different jurisdictions, focusing on the potential efficacy, symbolic versus transformative nature, the comparative effectiveness of restorative ecological justice, and the possibility of its institutionalisation.
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