Justice takes root in Haryana: 15.17 lakh trees planted in mega drive

The State-wide mega tree plantation drive undertaken by the Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA), in collaboration with the Forest Department, Haryana, concluded successfully on August 5.

It began with a target of approximately 15 lakh trees. It ended with 15,17,985 trees planted across Haryana.

The drive was launched on World Environment Day, June 5, under the leadership and guidance of Justice Deepak Sibal, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Executive Chairman, HALSA, with the objective of promoting environmental conservation and strengthening public participation in the protection of the environment.

The target was not only achieved but surpassed. Justice Sibal asserted that the success of a plantation drive could not be measured merely by the number of saplings planted. Their protection, maintenance and nurturing were equally essential to ensure their healthy growth and long-term survival.

Justice Sibal further emphasised that the plantation targets fixed by the DLSA were required to be realistic, achievable and commensurate with the availability of adequate arrangements for the protection, maintenance and regular care of the planted saplings. The objective, he stressed, should be to ensure that plantation efforts translate into sustainable and lasting environmental benefits.

As a part of the initiative, all DLSAs of Haryana undertook plantation activities in court complexes, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) centres, judicial residential complexes and other suitable public places, in coordination with the Forest Department and other stakeholders.

The launch of a monsoon-long plantation drive is significant as it marks a rare occasion where the judiciary chose to carry the philosophy it has developed inside courtrooms into the public sphere, demonstrating that environmental protection is not merely a subject of litigation or judicial pronouncements, but a constitutional value capable of being practised by constitutional institutions themselves.

India’s constitutional framework never envisioned environmental protection as an obligation resting solely on the executive. Through Article 48A, the Constitution directs the State to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife. Equally important, Article 51A(g) places a corresponding Fundamental Duty upon every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment. Together, these provisions create a shared constitutional responsibility rather than an exclusive governmental function.

Over the past four decades, the judiciary has added another important constitutional layer. Through an evolving body of environmental jurisprudence, the Supreme Court has consistently interpreted Article 21—the right to life—to include the right to live in a clean, healthy and pollution-free environment. In doing so, the Court transformed environmental protection from a policy objective into an enforceable constitutional guarantee. Clean air, safe water, ecological balance and sustainable development are now recognised as inseparable components of the right to life and human dignity.