Rule of Law is basic obligation for sustainable economic development: CM Biswa Sarma

Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 29 : Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday the Rule of Law is a basic obligation for sustainable economic development and if progress is to be achieved, the poor must have access to functioning institutions of justice.
He also elaborated on the Sustainable Development Goals and said that sustainability is a combination of a high level of human well-being and a high level of ecosystem well-being that supports it.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the national seminar on environment and sustainable Development -- Role of Judiciary' and 'Digitization of Indian Judiciary- its impact on Dispensation of Justice' organised by the Gauhati High Court in collaboration with the Assam government at Kaziranga.
He further said that in any modern polity, the Rule of Lawis a basic obligation for sustainable economic development and if progress is to be achieved, the poor must enjoy the benefits of the Rule of Law and have easy access to functioning institutions of justice.
The Chief Minister also appreciated the Indian Judiciary for its remarkable steps in the protection of the Environment and upholding the principles of Sustainable Development.
He said, "the Indian judiciary's commitment to environmental protection has resulted in the innovative use of Public Interest Litigation as a tool for social and environmental justice. Moreover, its judgments in many of the cases have established the doctrine of sustainability in the development paradigm of the country."
"Today climate change and global warming due to environmental degradation have emerged as real challenges to the existence of lives and livelihoods of billions of people across the world. The present circumstances have increased our responsibility manifold towards protecting the environment. This calls for a sense of urgency towards sustainability and environmental conservation in our day-to-day life".
Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said this while speaking at the inaugural session of the National Judicial Seminar in the presence of Union Minister of Law & Justice Kiren Rijiju at Kaziranga on Saturday.
Dr. Sarma said that India's traditional practices always reflected a sustainable lifestyle. The Vedic philosophy emphasized the undeniable connection that human beings share with nature.
He further said that the environment provides us with almost all the resources for our survival. But all natural endowments are not limitless. Over-exploitation of resources and transformation of the natural environment in course of economic development has compelled society to revisit its actions and look for urgent corrective measures to restore the wounded environment.
Highlighting various provisions incorporated in the Indian Constitution regarding environmental protection, the Chief Minister viewed that sensible planning, balanced development and deployment of green technology would give us realistic solutions to save the environment.
Dr. Sarma also spoke about various steps taken for environment and wildlife protection by the state government saying that Assam is also actively pursuing the SDGs in all its Departments and many other government organizations.
He said that the government has strengthened and increased the Protected Area network by upgrading Reserve Forests to National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, declaring Wildlife Sanctuary as National Parks. This has been done for better protection and conservation of wild animals including elephants in Assam.
He also informed that the State Government has also decided to increase the forest cover of Assam from 36 per cent to 38 per cent in the coming 5 years by way of large-scale plantations.
Further speaking about the digitization of the Indian judiciary, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given special importance to the digitization of the entire system. His vision is that digitalization, enabled by appropriate technologies, should be interoperable so that maximum benefits can be harnessed for the benefit of the entire system."
Emphasizing that the Digitization of Judiciary should not be seen in isolation, he said adding that the use of Digital platforms across all pillars will ultimately help the early disposal of cases in the judiciary and would benefit the entire system.
Further appreciating the Supreme Court for introducing a new system of e-filing as a process tool and artificial intelligence as reference support infrastructure, which is characterized by efficiency, transparency and access to the justice delivery system, the Chief Minister said, " with the introduction of this new system, India's courts have ushered in a new and future-ready justice delivery system."
He exuded confidence that the use of technology in courts will ensure that by the end of the decade, the judicial system is revamped and rationalized towards objective criteria.