CHANDIGARH: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that humans had destroyed nature "beyond repair" in their pursuit of growth and called for a people's movement to protect it. He also asked the country's lower courts to take an eco-centric approach to their decisions, keeping the interests of local inhabitants and biodiversity in mind.

After inaugurating 'The International Conference on Environmental Diversity and Environmental Jurisprudence' at Chandigarh University in Mohali, Naidu spoke to a crowd.

"In our pursuit of progress, we have irreversibly injured nature, destroyed forests, disrupted ecological balance, contaminated the environment, encroached upon water bodies, and are now paying the consequences," Naidu added.  "My remarks may appear harsh, but they are genuine. A shift in perspective is required. We have enough laws and regulations in place, but a shift in thinking is essential.

The future is quite grim unless environmental conservation becomes a global people's movement," he said. "We're all seeing the results." He said, "We have played with nature, and nature is playing with us." "It is not only the role of the government to deliberate, but it is the obligation of every citizen and human being on Earth to rescue this planet," Naidu said, calling for serious introspection and strong efforts to alleviate the realities of growing catastrophic events and declining biodiversity. Naidu emphasised that India has always been at the forefront of global climate action. He reaffirmed India's commitment to achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious national targets set out at the recent COP 26 Summit in Glasgow.

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