Even as successive governments have diluted norms and rules established to ensure that developmental projects do not harm ecosystems or compromise human health, the Supreme Court has interpreted constitutional provisions, especially Article 21, to strengthen the guardrails. It has emphasised that a clean environment is essential to the Right to Life. In May, for instance, a two-judge bench of the Court struck down a 2017 notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and an Official Memorandum of 2021, which had systematised the violation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Rules — allowing developers to obtain green clearances after commencing work on a project. Responding to a petition by a Mumbai-based NGO, Vanashakti, the Court described post-facto environmental clearance

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