Development must reduce inequality, not deepen it: Justice Gavai

Hyderabad: Former Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai, highlighted that structural inequalities shape access to resources and opportunities, and that environmental and developmental challenges disproportionately affect marginalised communities. Citing drought, agrarian distress and extreme climate conditions, he underscored that vulnerability is not incidental but socially produced. Justice Gavai was delivering the inaugural lecture, ‘Sustainable development and substantive equality: A constitutional dialogue', at Nalsar University of Law. Speaking as chair professor of the Ambedkar Chair, Justice Gavai said sustainable development must be understood as a constitutional principle integrating social justice, and that development cannot be considered sustainable if it perpetuates inequality. "Rather, it must actively reduce vulnerability, redistribute access, and prioritise those most at risk. This requires moving beyond formally neutral policies towards frameworks that recognise unequal starting points," he added. Referring to BR Ambedkar's vision, he said it went beyond formal equality and called for dismantling entrenched social hierarchies. He emphasised the role of constitutional jurisprudence in advancing this vision, noting that principles of environmental protection and sustainable development have been read into the right to life under Article 21. He also pointed to the growing recognition of both state and corporate responsibility in ensuring environmentally and socially just development. Justice Gavai further noted that Ambedkar had cautioned against a life of contradictions, where political equality coexists with persistent social and economic disparities, adding that such contradictions continue to test constitutional ideals.
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