🌁 Environmental Legislation

Environment and Constitution

• The 42^nd amendment of our constitution has added Clause (g) to Article 51A of the Indian constitution and has thus made it a fundamental duty to protect and improve the natural environment.

Fundamental Duty

• Clause (g) to Article 51A of the Indian constitution states “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and have compassion for living creatures.”
• There is a directive, given to the State as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy regarding the protection and improvement of the environment.

Directive Principles of State Policy

• Article 48A states “The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country”.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and Amendment, 1988

• The main objective of this act is to provide prevention and control of water pollution.

👉🏻 Some important provisions of this Act are given below:

• The Act vests regulatory authority in State Pollution Control Boards to establish and enforce effluent standards for factories.
• A Central Pollution Control Board performs the same functions for Union Territories and formulates policies and coordinates activities of different State Boards.
• The Act grants power to SPCB and CPCB to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis.
• Prior to its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated by the Boards.
• The 1988 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 and amendment, 1987

• To implement the decisions taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June 1972, Parliament enacted the nationwide Air Act.
• The main objectives of this Act are to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control and abate air pollution in the country.

👉🏻 Important provisions of this Act are given below:

• The Air Act’s framework is similar to that of the Water Act of 1974.
• The Air Act expanded the authority of the central and state boards established under the Water Act, to include air pollution control.
• States not having water pollution boards were required to set up air pollution boards.
• Under the Air Act, all industries operating within designated air pollution control areas must obtain a “consent” (permit) from the State Boards.
• The states are required to prescribe emission standards for industry and automobiles after consulting the central board and noting its ambient air quality standards.
• The Act grants power to SPCB and to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis from any chimney, fly ash or dust or any other.
• Prior to its amendment in 1987, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated by the Boards.
• The 1987 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
• Notably, the 1987 amendment introduced a citizen’s suit provision into the Air Act and extended the Act to include noise pollution.

The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986

• In the wake of the Bhopal tragedy, the government of India enacted the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
• The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment of 1972, in so far as they relate to the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.
• The Act is an “umbrella” for legislations designed to provide a framework for Central Government, coordination of the activities of various central and state authorities established under previous Acts, such as the Water Act and the Air Act.
• In this Act, main emphasis is given to “Environment”, defined to include water, air and land and the inter-relationships which exist among water, air and land and human beings and other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property.
• “Environmental pollution” is the presence of pollutant, defined as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such a concentration as may be or may tend to be injurious to the environment.
• “Hazardous substances” include any substance or preparation, which may cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plants, microorganisms, property or the environment. The main provisions of this Act are given below:
• The Act empowers the centre to “take all such measures as it deems necessary”
• The Act explicitly prohibits discharges of environmental pollutants in excess of prescribed regulatory standards.
• There is also a specific prohibition against handling hazardous substances except those in compliance with regulatory procedures and standards.
• The Act provides provision for penalties. For each failure or contravention the punishment included a prison term up to five years or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh, or both.
• The Act imposed an additional fine of up to Rs. 5,000 for every day of continuing violation.
• If a failure or contravention occurs for more than one year, offender may be punished with imprisonment which may be extended to seven years.
• Section 19 provides that any person, in addition to authorized government officials, may file a complaint with a court alleging an offence under the Act.
• This “Citizens’ Suit” provision requires that the person has to give notice of not less than 60 days of the alleged offence of pollution to the Central Government.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body constituted in the Ministry of Environment and Forests under ‘Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989’, under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
• Aim of ‘Rules 1989’ is to protect environment, nature and health in connection with application of gene technology and micro-organisms.

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

• Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation of NGT to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.
• It was enacted under India’s constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment.
• The specialized architecture of the NGT will facilitate fast track resolution of environmental cases and provide a boost to the implementation of many sustainable development measures.
• NGT is mandated to dispose the cases within six months of their respective appeals.

Members

• The sanctioned strength of the tribunal is currently 10 expert members and 10 judicial members although the act allows for up to 20 of each.
• The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also serves as a judicial member.
• Every bench of tribunal must consist of at least one expert member and one judicial member.
• The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Jurisdiction

• The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction on matters of “substantial question relating to environment” (i.e. a community at large is affected, damage to public health at broader level) & “damage to environment due to specific activity” (such as pollution).
• The term “substantial” is not clearly defined in the act.
• Notable orders: Ban on decade old Diesel vehicles at Delhi NCR. NGT cleared three-day World Culture Festival (Art of Living) on the floodplains of the Yamuna in March but imposed a fine of Rs 5 crores as an interim compensation.

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

• The coastal stretches of seas, bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers and back waters which are influenced by tidal action are declared “Coastal Regulation Zone” (CRZ) in 1991.
• India has created institutional mechanisms such as National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) and State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) for enforcement and monitoring of the CRZ Notification.
• These authorities have been delegated powers under Section 5 of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 to take various measures for protecting and improving the quality of the coastal environment and preventing, abating and controlling environmental pollution in coastal areas.

Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010

• MoEF has notified the rules in order to ensure that there is no further degradation of wetlands.
• The rules specify activities which are harmful to wetlands such as industrialization, construction, dumping of untreated waste and reclamation and prohibit these activities in the wetlands.
• Other activities such as harvesting and dredging may be carried out in the wetlands but only with prior permission from the concerned authorities.
• Under the Rules, wetlands have been classified for better management and easier identification.
• Central Wetland Regulatory Authority has been set up to ensure proper implementation of the Rules.