The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 is India's primary environmental legislation. It gives the central government sweeping powers to protect and improve environmental quality by setting ambient standards, regulating industrial siting, and managing hazardous substances. It also provides authorities with enforcement powers and allows for citizen suits. However, the government has failed to fully utilize these powers, such as by not collecting necessary pollution samples and developing mass transit systems. The act aims to coordinate regulatory agencies and provide deterrent punishments for environmental offenses.

1. Environmental Protection Act 1986

2. Introduction (1)
• It is an umbrella legislation under which various rules and notifications have been framed
and issued to take care of the different dimensions of the environmental challenges
• After the Stockholm Conference, it was considered appropriate to have uniform laws all
over the country
• India is the first country which has made provisions for the protections and
improvement of the environment in its Constitution
• In the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976, provisions to this effect were
incorporated in the Constitution of India with effect from 3rd Jan 1977
• Article 48-A was inserted which enjoins the State to make endeavour for protection and
improvement of the environment and for safeguarding the forest and wildlife of the
country
• Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution stipulates that it shall be duty of every citizen of India to
protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife
and to have compassion for living creatures

3. Introduction (2)
• Water Act and the Air Act were designated to deal with only water and air pollution
problems, it was in the year 1986 that the Parliament envisaged a comprehensive
or umbrella legislation for the environment in its entirety. This was the
Environment (Protection) Act 1986
• The act was enacted under the provisions of Art 253 of the Constitution and seeks
to supplement the existing laws on control of pollution by enacting a general
legislation for environmental protection.
• Objectives:
• Creation of authorities with adequate powers for environmental protection
• Coordination of the activities of the various regulatory agencies
• Regulation of discharge of environmental pollutants and handling of hazardous substances
• Speedy response in the event of accidents threatening the environment and Provision for
deterrent punishments

4. Environmental Protection Act 1986 (1)
• Features
The act empowers the central government to take all such measures which are
necessary for the purpose of
• Protecting and improving the quality of the environment
• Preventing controlling and abating environmental pollution, which include setting new national
standards for the quality of the environment (ambient standards) as well as standards for
controlling emissions and effluent discharges
• To regulate industrial locations
• To prescribe procedures for managing substances
• To establish safeguards preventing accidents and to collect and dismantle information
regarding environmental pollution
• Effectiveness
• The Act gives the central government a sweeping power to conserve the environment

5. Environmental Protection Act 1986 (2)
• The Act provides for collection and dissemination of
information related to environmental pollution which the
government has failed to do so
• The Act gives the public significant powers to enforce the
Act but only Government Officials are given the power
under the Act to collect samples needed as evidence of
violation of the Act
• All the issues like comparative late roll out of better
emission control norm for fuels, failure to develop mass
transport system etc

6. Recent Developments
• Under the EPA 1986, the central government prescribed the noise standard for fire crackers in
1999 and was used in curbing noise pollution besides other laws
• Environmental clearances for industrial projects as per provisions of Environment Impact
Assessment notification 2006
• Section 5 of act has been used to give directions to control air pollution