BREATHE FREELY: OUR RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR

There has been considerable deterioration in air quality in the twenty-first century. This paper mainly deals with the judicial development of the right to clean air in India. It describes how the right to clean air developed from the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, to the present-day Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The highlight is the contribution of judicial activism in incorporating the right to a clean environment within Article 21 of the Constitution.