ABSTRACT
In July 1996 the Supreme Court of India began a series of far-reaching judgments affecting the city of Delhi in response to petitions by the environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta.1 The issue was industrial pollution; a year earlier the Court had ordered the Central Pollution Board to issue notices to thousands of “hazardous” industries, demanding their relocation outside the city. In the 1996 order the Court decided that the industries be relocated outside the city by November.2 The initial slot of units was around 168 in number, dealing with “heavy” industries, “hazardous and noxious” in nature, according to the Court. This judgment was only the beginning of a series of wide-ranging pronouncements; soon more industries were asked to move: hot-mix plants, “extensive industries” in residential areas, and brick kilns.3
