Smaller evil is tolerated for achieving greater good: HC

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A smaller evil is tolerable for achieving greater good, the High Court said, while allowing the utilization of five acres of gomala land for establishing a solid and liquid waste disposal unit in Shivamogga.

"In all human institutions, a smaller evil is tolerated for achieving the greater good. The greatest happiness of the greatest number of people, which Jeremy Bentham (1747-1832) propounded in the ‘Introduction to the Principles of Moral and Legislation’ animate such public projects," the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit said, while dismissing a public interest litigation on September 11.

The unit is coming up in the Kupaturu Village in Soraba Taluk. Two local residents, Veerabhadra Gowda and Balavindrappa, filed the PIL alleging that deputy commissioner had passed the order on January 31, 2022, for establishing the unit "without assessing environmental impact."

It was also claimed that the "extent of 5 acres is too huge and would affect the cattle of the rural public."

The government advocate argued, "The establishment of dry and wet waste management unit has enormous public interest that outweighs the arguable public interest in the petition.

“Two acres of land, earlier reserved for the purpose was found to be inadequate. Now, a larger extent in 5 acres is allocated keeping in view the population growth and expansion of the towns in question."

The HC accepted the arguments of the government advocate saying, "By no stretch of imagination it can be said that the same is not in public interest. We are also convinced that the public interest in the project in question outweighs the arguable public interest in the petition."

Further the judgment said that the public interest in such establishment again overrides the public interest that prompted them to reserve the land for the purpose of gomal/gairon.

It is not that the gomal land can never be diverted to other larger public purpose like the one put in challenge."

On the question raised on the trees that would have to be uprooted for the project, the HC said, "Any venture of the kind would inevitably extract some price, is true. What one has to see is the quantum of the price qua the enormity of benefit that would accrue by virtue of the project in question. Viewed from this angle, we do not find any merit in the submission."