Copernicus Marg is one of the 10 roads peeling off from the Indian Gate C Hexagon in the Capital, and not much traffic enters it. Yet, during peak hours of the working day, the neck of even this prim two-lane road has a tendency to get choked for just a wee bit, as cars temporarily block one lane on a small stretch adjoining an old building.
Lawyers in white shirts and black coats can be seen entering or exiting cars or the building, or just walking around, a phone on the ear.
The blue board on Copernicus Marg announces the building: National Green Tribunal (NGT). This forum, set up in 2010 to challenge orders passed by the ministry of environment, is increasingly seeing more activity, and one of the direct beneficiaries of that action is Sudhir Mishra.
Mishra is the founder of niche law firm Trust Legal, which deals with environment and health litigation. Till a few years ago, Mishra only had non-government organisations (NGOs) as clients.
But today, several business houses are queuing up to seek litigation and advisory services from him. The same is the case with Sanjay Upadhyay’s firm in Delhi, Enviro Legal Defence.
Fringes to mainstream
India, which has seen the investment cycle grind to a halt in the last three years, is seeing more demand for environment lawyers to rescue businesses from huge losses arising out of poor compliance and unfavourable verdicts. As the government became more stringent about implementing environment regulations, and set up the NGT, Indian companies faced cancellations of projects worth thousands of crore of rupees.
A look at the judgments passed by the NGT between May 2011 and July 2014 shows that the maximum percentage — 35 per cent — related to environment impact assessment studies, which a project proponent has to carry out while applying for an environment clearance. This was followed by cases related to pollution, 31 per cent.
Businesses are not only seeking lawyers to fight cases against NGOs and challenge government rulings. They are also engaging legal help right from the beginning of a project to avoid differences with the authorities at a later stage.
This is a sea change from a few years ago, when environment lawyers in defence of business houses was not even a concept, according to Mishra of Trust Legal. Environment lawyers mainly represented project-affected people, and companies appointed corporate lawyers on a case-by-case basis.
But this equation is changing. “Now, companies are involving lawyers right from inception,” says Ranjit Prakash, senior partner at HSA Advocates.
“Lawyers are involved in drafting contracts and doing due diligence. They are checking whether the company is compliant with the Environment Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act before they start the project.”
Small pool of lawyers
HSA Advocates, one of the leading law firms in regulatory practice, is currently setting up a separate vertical to deal with environment litigation. Prakash expects “tremendous growth” in this vertical in the next four to five years.
Another big law firm Economic Laws Practice has made environment law as one of its focus areas. ELP partner Vikram Nadkarni says corporates are becoming conscious about forest rights, environment rights and tribal rights.
He adds that environment law is still a small area, but it is growing and affects almost all sectors.
“Companies are increasingly doing a pre-feasibility environment audit with the help of social scientists, local communities and environment lawyers,” says Mishra. “They are submitting these reports to agencies for financial closures.”
Many funding agencies and foreign investors, say officials of law firms, have started seeking clarity on compliance to environment laws before closing deals or funding projects in India. But the pursuit to engage environment lawyers is not easy as they aren’t many around.
According to ADN Rao, an environment lawyer with the Supreme Court, there is a serious dearth of people with genuine knowledge, and not all corporate lawyers understand this subject.
Sanjay Upadhyay, also a Supreme Court lawyer, says India only has five or six dedicated environment lawyers.
“Environment law has become complex over the years, and lawyers need to spend time on the field to understand ground realities,” he says. The demand for their services is there — and growing.
