Right to Environmental Information in India

The right to environmental information refers to the underlying idea that people have the right to obtain information about the environment and environmental issues affecting them. Without such a right, there cannot be any effective participation of the citizenry in environmental decision-making, and consequently, there cannot be any participatory democracy or environmental justice. Access to such information can ensure healthy checks and balances and help in the attainment of the larger goals of sustainable development by ensuring the sustainable and optimum utilisation of existing natural resources.

There are broadly two ways of guaranteeing this right: (i) by providing environmental education and (ii) through publication and dissemination of information by the government using various channels like newspapers and electronic media, publishing government reports, maintaining government portals for information dissemination, etc.