Who Really Bears Responsibility for Environmental Destruction?

The Tibet-Nepal floods of August 2026 have left a trail of destruction, wiping out several houses, localities, markets, hydropower projects, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure built along the riverbanks. The estimates put the number of dead at around 1450, while several hundred remained untraced. The devastation in the Himalayan region has become a recurring incident. The events of the past few years, such as floods in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and this year’s Assam floods, are still fresh in our memories.

After every such event, media reports mostly focus on human suffering, visuals of destruction, rescue efforts, and government initiatives. Governments hold meetings to deliberate on the causes of disasters, their aftermath, resource losses, and efforts to rehabilitate the affected masses. However, instead of addressing the underlying causes of such events, governments often focus on tackling them through technological interventions, such as deploying integrated early warning systems.

Organising debates, discussions, and public events, along with using media channels, has created a public discourse over the last several years where the onus of saving the environment is placed on the common masses. Common people have been advised to plant more trees, save water by turning off taps, dispose of garbage in dustbins and switch off electrical appliances, thus helping protect the environment.

All these exercises have become an annual ritual, while environmental degradation and its impacts have grown more dangerous for ordinary people.

Do all humans share the responsibility to save the environment?

The idea that every human shares some responsibility for protecting the environment has become ubiquitous over the last two decades among the public of democracies worldwide.

In our opinion, this idea is deeply flawed in the context of India as well as across the world. Take the case of the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, under which over 80 crore Indians have been receiving free rations since 2020. Similarly, according to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council Report of 2022, a person earning more than Rs 25,000 per month falls in the top 10 per cent of Indians. This simply means that over 90 per cent of Indians have been unable to earn Rs 25,000 per month, and with such meagre income, their living conditions can be easily understood.

According to the World Inequality Report 2026, income inequality is highest in India, with the top 10 per cent of earners capturing 58 per cent of national income, while the bottom 50 per cent receive only 15 per cent. All these datasets point towards one reality: the majority of the Indian public is very poor and struggling for survival.

Similarly, citizens do not hold an equal level of political power. It is claimed that every citizen has the power of one vote, which can be used once every five years. Barring this constitutional right, many may not have the agency to challenge injustices perpetrated against them. A wrongful confinement can condemn them to prolonged incarceration in prison. Development models can lead to their unjustifiable dispossession, and many of them may not have the resources to challenge these realities.

When a majority of the population lacks economic or political power, what can they do to save the environment when they are in such a vulnerable position and their foremost concern is survival? They can hardly be held responsible for environmental destruction. Any harm to the environment stemming from their activities may arise from their struggle for survival, not deliberate intention.

Who is responsible for nature’s exploitation and destruction?

In India, 1688 wealthy individuals possess a wealth of over 50 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Those included and those close to this band comprise the elite, mainly politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, corporate houses and big contractors who reap the benefits of nature's exploitation.

Reckless development stands as the major cause of destruction of forests, rivers, mountains and hills. This includes mining in mineral rich regions, hydropower projects over rivers, construction of multi lane roads, railway networks, tunnels, flyovers and bridges.

Politicians and corporate dominated media houses have been trying to convince the public with a flawed developmental discourse, arguing that vast road networks, mining and the construction of hydro projects have been undertaken for public benefit.

However, a hierarchy exists among the beneficiaries of these developmental projects. In that hierarchy, industrial growth, infrastructure development for investment in the country, market flows and contracts with big corporate houses sit at the highest level, while benefits to the public, if at all, rank at the bottom.

A parallel could be drawn with the establishment of Indian railways by the British in India. It served the benefit of industrial growth and the East India Company, not the common masses.

Clout of the Elite

This elite class also holds the greatest political power in our country. They have easily secured laws in their favour, while environmental regulations have been relaxed to benefit these corporate houses.

Every year, on average, over 1 Lakh crore in loans from big corporate houses have been waived off by banks in India. In the last 12 years, Public Banks have wrote-off over 12 Lakh Crore rupees in corporate loans. The latest settlement of a Rs. 22,000 crore loan, with around 6 Crore in repayments, though now stayed by a court, shows the political clout of the elites.

These same elites serve as major sources of funding for political parties and indirectly hold political power. They benefit from rampant mining, establishment of hydropower projects in the fragile Himalayan region, construction of express highways and railway expansion.

In such a socio political economic system, where a few elites hold all power and have been making fortunes by destroying the environment, how can responsibility be placed on the common masses?

Blame should not fall on nature or on all humans, because elite beneficiaries of the corporate business model have been responsible for the destruction of nature. The underlying cause behind environmental destruction is the neo liberal economic model, in which crony capitalists have been making fortunes. For the benefit of these crony capitalists, all the environmental safety regulations are either relaxed or discarded.

Until this crony capitalism is questioned and held accountable, the tragedies in the Himalayan region will continue, and the common masses will suffer more.