This document discusses environmental laws and policies in India. It outlines how environmental legislation in India began with laws passed under British rule to limit pollution and forest degradation. Key developments include the 1972 Stockholm Declaration inspiring new constitutional provisions and acts like the Water Act of 1974, Air Act of 1981, and Environment Protection Act of 1986 after the Bhopal gas tragedy. Central and state pollution control boards along with the National Green Tribunal were established to enforce these laws and address issues in enforcing environmental legislation in India.

1. PUC –I
ENVIRONEMTNAL EDUCATION
UNIT –VII
CHAPTER 2
ENVIRONEMENTAL LAWS & POLICIES
Lecture By:
SRINIVAS GAJJELA
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Biosciences –RGUKT

2. Concepts to learn
I. Genesis of Environmental Laws in India
II. The Stockholm Declaration, 1972
III. Constitutional Provisions for Environment
Protection
IV. Acts for Environment Protection
V. Enforcement Agencies (Pollution Control Boards
& National Green Tribunal)
VI. Issues involved in Enforcement of
Environmental Legislation

3. I. Genesis of Environmental
Laws in India

4. • The Environmental law in India protects the
environment – pollution prevention of air,
water, Soil, noise, forests and wild life, &
Protection of ancient monuments .
• Awareness of environment through
education and public awareness has
increased.
• Most of the laws were codified by the British
for Environmental Protection by preventing
discharge of pollutants, limiting /banning
their discharge, prevention of poaching and
felling of trees: -

5. Some of British codified laws that are
codified by British are
–Shore nuisance Act 1853
–Indian forest Act 1865
–Wild birds & Animal Protection Act 1912
–Explosive substance Act 1908 &
– The poison Act 1919

6. II. The Stockholm Declaration,
1972

7. The Stockholm Declaration (1972)
• Held At Stockholm (Sweden) at the UN
Conference on human environment &
Development in 1972.
• It is magna carta of Environmental Law.
• About 26 principles related to environment
& development were laid down in this
conference.
• After the conference, India made 42nd
amendment in the constitution, &
incorporated article 48 A& Article 51A (g).

8. III. Constitutional Provisions for
Environment Protection

9. • Constitutional Provisions for Environment Protection:
• Article 21 : The ‘Right to Life’ – The constitution of
India provides us - The right to live in a clean &
healthy environment.
• Article 38: social order for the welfare of people
through unpolluted & clean environment.
• Article 51 A (g):
– It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to
Protect and improve the natural environment –
forests, lakes, rivers, wild life, and have compassion
for living creatures.
– It is fundamental duty of citizen but not
enforceable as Law.

10. Constitutional Provisions for Environment Protection:
• Article 48A: comes under PART IV of
‘Directive Principles of the constitution’.
– For protection and improvement of the
environment & safeguard forests, wild life of
India
– Protectionist Policy : imposes a ban on those
things that have environmental degradation ex:
ban on plastic bags , leaded petrol etc.
– Improvinstic policy: refers to the alternatives
that can be used for improvement of
environment

11. IV. Acts for Environmental
Protection

12. Acts for Environmental Protection
• The Water(prevention & control of pollution)
Act – 1974:
– For the prevention & control of water pollution &
for maintaining or restoration of wholesomeness
of water in the country.
– The first law passed in India with objectives is to
prevent that domestic & Industrial pollutants are
not to discharged into rivers / lakes without
adequate treatment.
– To achieve its objectives CPCB & SPCB were
established.

14. What can individuals do to prevent water
pollution?
1) Bring to the notice of concerned
authorities about water pollution . Ex:
one can write to CPCB, SPCB or even to
Press.
2) Do not dump wastes in to a household
or industrial drain- which can enter in
to any near by water bodies – rivers,
streams, pond, lake or the Sea.
3) Use compost instead of chemical
fertilizers.
4) Avoid use of pesticides at home like
DDT, Melathion, Aldrin. Instead use
boric acid mixed with fluor or dried
neem leaves to keep away insects.
5) Do not use toilets for flushing down
the waste.

15. THE AIR (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF
POLLUTION) ACT -1981
• The objective of the Air Act 1981 is to prevent,
control reduce / abatement of air pollution
including noise pollution.
• Under provisions of this Act, no person shall,
without previous consent of the SPCB, establish
or operate any industrial plant in air pollution
control area
• The investor has to apply to the SPCB/CPCB to
consent.
• Preservation of quality of air.

16. THE AIR (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION)
ACT -1981
• No person operating any industrial plant shall
emit any air pollution in excess of the
standards laid down by the SPCB and have to
comply with the stipulated conditions.
• This act was amended in 1987.

19. The Environmental Protection Act: EPA-1986
• It was BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY1984/Dec 3rd which
spurred the GOI to enact comprehensive
environmental legislations, including rules related
to storing, handling, use of hazardous waste.
• On the basis of these rules Indian parliament
enacted in1986 EPA.
• (Bhopal gas tragedy: occurred at BHOPAL, UCIL-
Union Carbide India Ltd. – a pesticide company
due to leakage of MIC gas, caused 3787 deaths,
& effect on 5,00,000 people.)

20. The Environmental Protection Act: EPA-1986

21. What can individual do to control air
pollution ?
1) Bring notice of the concerned authorities
Ex: Vehicular pollution to the RTO,
open biomass burning to the local bodies,
industrial emission to the SPCB/CPCB
2) Use cars when only absolutely necessary or share
space(car pooling).
3) Walk or use cycle as much as possible instead of
using fossil fuel powered vehicles.
4) Use public transport as far as possible to reduce
the pollution as more people can travel in a single
large vehicle than using multiple small vehicles .

22. 5). DO NOT USE AIR
FRESHNERS & OTHER
AEROSOLS or SPRAYS
which contain ozone
layer depleters like CFC.
6).DO NOT SMOKE in public
places. It is Illegal &
endangers not only your
health but also Others.
7).GROW MORE TREES &
Report to the Authorities
on cutting down trees.

23. The noise pollution (Regulation & control)
Rules 2000:
• There was no direct provision for noise
pollution under the EPA 1986, or any other
legislation.
• The increasing ambient noise levels in public
places from various sources like –industrial
activity, generators, loud speakers, vehicles
horns –cause harmful effects on human
health.
• The noise pollution regulation & control rules
was framed by central govt. in 2000.

24. • Ambient air quality standards with
inclusion of noise pollution was set.
• The permissible noise levels are set
for-
–Industrial area,
–residential area,
– commercial, and
–silence zones(hospitals, courts,
educational institutions).

25. Public liability Insurance Act 1991
• The act aims to provide relief to the persons
affected by an accident occurring while handling
any hazardous substance.
• The every owner who ever shall handle
hazardous substance shall take one or more
INSURANCE POLICIES- to guarantee the
compensation resulting from accident .
• The collector of the are is empowered to verify
the occurrence of any accident.& inviting
applications from the victims.
• The central govt. also funds for compensation
under ‘Environment relied fund’

26. National environmental Tribunal Act 1995
• This act aims to provide :
– For Strict liability damages arising from any accident
while handling hazardous substances.
– For the establishment of National environmental
tribunal for effective, speedy, efficient disposal of the
cases arising from such accidents.
– helps the victims to get compensation and get relief
at early.
– The owner is made liable for strict enforcement incase
of hazard to the public.
– The claimant is not required to plead and establish
that death / injury/ damage in respect of which claim
has been made due to any wrongful act / neglect.

27. V. Enforcement Agencies
(Pollution Control Boards &
National Green Tribunal)

28. Pollution Control Boards are statutory bodies (has
own laws for governance). They were constituted to
control pollution in 1974, thereby protecting the
atmosphere from further degradation.
Central Pollution State Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) Control Boards (SPCBs)

29. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
Functions:
1) Improve the quality of water streams in the country.
2) Improve the quality of air in the country.
3) Advise the Central Govt. on matters of pollution and
improvement of quality of air/water.
4) Provide technical assistance and guidance to the State
Pollution Control Boards.
5) Prepare guidelines related to treatment & disposal of
sewage & effluents.
6) Lay down or modify (in consultation with the State
Governments) the standard norms of pollution limits from
time to time.

30. State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)
Functions:
1) Advise the State Govt. on matters of pollution and on
‘siting’ of industries.
2) To carry out inspection of polluting industries and areas.
3) To lay down effluent & emission standards.
4) To issue consent to industries and other activities for
compliance of prescribed emission and effluent standards.

31. National Green Tribunal (NGT)
• A tribunal (A tribunal, generally, is any person
or institution with authority to judge) is
established for solving the disputes related to
some specific areas, where courts exists
formal judgment of all kinds of disputes
regardless of any specific area.
• Every court is a tribunal but tribunals are not
courts.
• Rules of natural justice ensures fairness.
• Final judgment of a tribunal is called ‘award’.

32. • The NGT (National Green Tribunal) was
established on 18th October 2010 under
national green tribunal act 2010.
• For fast and efficient way of solving the
disputes related to environmental
issues- conservation of forests, natural
resources.

33. NGT..
• it includes enforcement of any right relation to
the environment and giving relief &
compensation for damage to person / property.
• It is a specialized body with expertise to handle
environmental disputes with multiple issues.
• NGT makes efforts for disposal of appeals within
6 months.
• NEW DELHI is the principle place for sitting NGT,
& other places include- BHOPAL, PUNE,KOLKATA
& CHENNAI.

34. VI. Issues involved in
Enforcement of Environmental
Legislation

35. Issues involved in enforcement of
environmental legislation
• The objective of any rule or Law is not to
impose restrictions on the individual but to
ensure the safety of the individual
• Environmental legislations are to protect the
environment as a whole , health and the
earth’s resources.
• Legislation once introduced at state , national
and global levels, it can be implemented only
with the support of individuals.

36. Role of citizens and action groups
• Citizens must learn to protect their environment.
• Well informed citizens not only have rights but also
duties.
• They can join action groups to strengthen
environmental movements in country, state, town
or village.
• Individuals can take one / several actions against
the offenders who, in their self interest damage the
environment.
• The help of NGOs can be sought.
• It is possible to move courts by a PIL(Public Interest
Litigation) & even can approach the apex court- the
supreme court of India.

37. Summary
 In the previous chapter, we discussed Sustainable development as
holistic development of economy, people and planet. In this
chapter, a glimpse of how imbalance in planet is being controlled
in India to prevent unsustainable future has been illustrated.
 Mainly there are three main aspects involved: (i) Environmental
Legislations, (ii) Enforcement of Environmental Legislations and
(iii) Addressing issues involved in enforcement of Environmental
Legislations
 Environmental Legislation in India started with the laws encoded
by the British rule. The main objective then was to limit pollution
discharge and prevent forest degradation.

38.  In Independent India, major legislations related to Environmental
Protection occurred after the Stockholm Declaration in 1972. This
conference had a significant impact in catalyzing the legal
framework for environmental protection in India.
 Constitutional provisions were made, Acts were enacted and
Enforcement Bodies were constituted in India after this
conference.
 The horrific incident of Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 made India
enact a comprehensive environmental legislation called “The
Environment Protection Act, 1986.”

39. • Water Act, 1974
• Air Act, 1981
• Public Liability
Insurance Act, 1981
• Environment Protection
Act, 1986
• National Environmental
Tribunal Act, 1995
Legal framework of Environmental Protection for
Sustainable Development in India
• Article 21
• Article 38
• Article 48A
• Article 51A(g)
• Pollution Control
Board (1974)
• National Green
Tribunal (2010)
Constitutional
Provisions
Acts Enforcement
Bodies

40. End of the chapter
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