Important Environmental Laws and Acts
So far various laws, acts and conventions have been dealt at various places in different chapters. Besides them, there are many other legal provisions which exist in India for the protection and conservation of environment.
These are as follows.1. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Amended in 1988
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 was passed by the Parliament in 1974 under Article 252 of the Constitution. It came into force on 13th March 1974. The main objectives of the Act are as follows:
(i) To provide for the prevention and control of water pollution and maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water (in the stream or well or sewer or land).
(ii) To establish Central and State Boards for the prevention and control of Waterpbllution.
(iii) For conferring on and assigning to such Boards, powers and functions relating thereof and for matters connected there with.
Section 2 of the Act defines terms such as pollution, stream, sewage effluent, trade effluent etc. It also describes the functions of the Central and State Boards. The functions of the Central Board include collection, compilation and publishing of technical and statistical data relating to water pollution and take measures for effective control of water pollution. It is also entrusted with the preparation of manuals, codes or guides relating to the treatment and disposal of sewage and trade effluents and dissemination of the related information. It is also responsible for planning and execution of nationwide programme for prevention, control and abatement of water pollution. In addition, there are many more functions assigned to the Board which are carried out in coordination with the State Boards.
Any person empowered by a State Board has right to enter any plant for examining it or its records. The Board also has powers to take samples from the plant and from its effluent and get its analysis done.
Under the Amendment Act, 1988, the State Boards are empowered to issue directions, orders of closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry or its operation and to stop its water, electricity or any other services.
There are strict penalties and punishments for not complying with the procedures of the Act.
2. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977
This Act was passed by the Parliament on 7th December 1977 and it came into force on 1st April 1978. It provides for a levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by industries and local authorities. It aims at augmenting the resources of Central and State Boards for prevention and control of water pollution. The Act provides for rebate to any industry/authority, which installs sewage or trade effluents. If any person delays the paymeftt of cess within the stipulated time, then he is liable to pay 12% interest on the total amount per year. There are other penalties for non-payment and furnishing false returns. The Act has been amended in 1991 for augmenting the resources of the Boards by removing the short comings and providing rebate to the industries complying with the consumption and effluent quality standards. The Amendment Act was enforced in May 2003.
3. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Amended in 1987
The air pollution was raised as a matter of concern at the UN Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1972 to which India is one of the signatories. The Act was passed for prevention and control of air pollution under Article 253 of the Constitution of India. It provides means for the control and abatement of air pollution. It defines various terms such as air pollution, air pollutant etc. The Act also provides for Central and State Boards for prevention and control of pollution which have the powers for planning and executing nationwide programmes as well as providing technical assistance and publishing of technical and statistical data, manuals, codes and guides.
They are also assigned the function of specifying standards for air quality.The Act seeks to combat air pollution by prohibiting the use of polluting fuels and substances, and regulating appliances causing air pollution. The establishment and operation of any industrial plant requires permission from the State Boards. The Boards are also responsible for the inspection of the manufacturing processes and equipments and testing the air quality. These Boards have been re-designated as Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards.
The Central Pollution Control Board has notified the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for major pollutants in April 1994 for maintaining the necessary air quality. These standards specify the limits for industrial, residential, rural and other sensitive areas. The industrial standards for specific industries such as steel, cement, fertilizer, oil refineries etc. have been notified. The Amendment of 1987 was enacted to empower the Boards for meeting grave emergencies where in the Boards were authorized to take immediate measures and recover the expenses incurred from the offenders. The Amendment also provides for the power to cancel the permission / consent if the industry is not complying with the prescribed standards. The Amendment has, thus, strengthened the enforcement machinery and introduced stiffer penalties. It has also included the noise in the category of air pollution.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules were formulated in 1982 and these define various procedures.
Various other acts such as Atomic Energy Act of 1982 dealing with the radioactive waste and the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 for regulating vehicular traffic and transportation of hazardous wastes, compliment the above acts.
The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 also notifies various aspects of pollution due to vehicles. The emission standards, which were notified in 1990, were made more strict in 1996 and were revised in the year 2000.
The Supreme Court also notified Euro I and Euro ∏ emission norms for Delhi on 29th April 1999.4. The Environment Protection Act, 1986
This Act became effective on 19th November 1986. It is an umbrella legislation to provide a framework for coordination of the Central and State Authorities established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. This Act empowers the Central Government to take necessary measures for the improvement of the quality of the environment by setting emission and discharge standards, regulating the location of industries, management Ofhazardous wastes, and protection of public health and welfare.
This Act is superior in approach to the previous Acts. It defines various terms such as environment, environmental pollutant, environmental pollution, hazardous substance etc.. It also gives various powers to the Central Government for laying down procedures and safeguards for prevention of accidents and handling of hazardous substances; inspection of any premises, plant, machinery, equipment, materials, manufacturing or other processes; preparation of manuals, codes or guides relating to prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution and collection and dissemination of related information. The powers also include the closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or process and stoppage or regulation of supply of electricity or water or any other service. The non- compliance to the provisions to this Act carries the punishment of imprisonment extending to 5 years or a fine upto Rs. 1 Lakh or both. The continued violation envisages an additional fine of Rs. 5000 per day and if the failure is for more than 1 year, then the imprisonment may be extended up to seven years.
Section 17 of the Act provides that any person, in addition to the authorized government officials, may file a complaint with the court alleging an offence under this Act.
This provision of “Citizens’ Suit” is not contained in any other pollution control legislation.Several notifications under this Act have been issued which are mentioned below:
1. Doon Valley Notification, 1989
It prohibits the setting up of an industry in which the daily coal or fuel consumption is more than 24 million tonnes per day in the Doon Valley.
2. Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991
It regulates the activities along the coastal zones. It prohibits dumping of ash or any other waste in the coastal regulation zones.
3. Dhanu Taluka Notification, 1991
It declares Dhanu Taluka district as economically fragile region and prohibits the setting up of power plants in the vicinity of this area.
4. Revanda Creek Notification, 1989
It prohibits setting of industries around the Revanda Creek.
5. The Environmental Impact Assesment of Development Projects Notification, 1994 and as Amended in 1997
It requires that all projects listed under schedule I should get an environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The clearance is also required by projects under de-licensed categories of the New Industrial Policy and the projects located in fragile regions. Industrial projects with investments above Rs. 500 million need a clearance from the Ministry OfEnvironment and Forests and Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Ministry OfIndustty and No-Objection Certificate from the State Pollution Control Board. In case the location is in a forestland, then the clearance from the State Forest Department is also required.
6. Ash Content Notification, 1997
It requires the use Ofbeneficiated coal with ash content not exceeding 34% with effect from June 2001, which was later, extended to June 2002. This notification is applicable to all thermal plants located beyond 1000 km from the pithead or thermal plants located in urban area or sensitive area.
7. Taj Trapezium Notification, 1998
It requires that no power plant be setup within the geographical limit of Taj Trapezium assigned by the Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.
8. Disposal of Fly Ash Notification, 1999
It aims to conserve the topsoil, protect the environment and prevent the dumping and disposal of fly ash discharged from lignite based power plants. It provides mixing of at least 25% of ash by weight, with soil, for the manufacture of clay-bricks or tiles manufactured within a radius of 50 km from a coal or lignite based power plant. The Notification also provides that coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall provide ash for manufacturing products such as cement, bricks, panels or blocks, construction of roads, embankments, dams, dykes or any other construction activity for at least 10 years from the date of above notification.
9. Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms, Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cell, 1989
Various aspects for the protection of the environment involving the use of gene technology and microorganisms have been covered under these rules. There is a scheme Oflabeling environment friendly products with ‘ECOMARK’. This scheme provides incentives to the manufactures and importers for reducing environmental impacts and rewarding genuine initiatives for improving the environmental quality.
10. Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999
11. Environment Protection Rules, 1986
These rules prescribe the procedure for setting of standards of emission and discharge of pollutants. They also lay down procedures for sampling, analysis, laboratory reports etc.
12. The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997
It provides for the establishment of a National Environment Appellate Authority for hearing appeals regarding the restriction of location of any industry, operation or process, class of industries and safeguards to be undertaken for getting permission to carry out the above activities.
13. Hazardous Wastes
There are several legislations related to hazardous wastes. The Factories Act, 1948, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1999 and the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995, cover various aspects.
The Factories Act, 1948 ensures the safety, health and welfare of workers in their working conditions as well as the employment benefits. There are 29 categories of industries which involve hazardous processes which affect both human health and pollute the environment.
The Public Liability Insurance, Act 1991 deals with the accidents involving hazardous substances and the insurance aspects. In case of an injury or death, the owner is responsible for providing the relief. An amendment of 1992 led to the establishment of Environmental Relief Fund by the Central Government for making relief payments.
The Natural Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 provides for the establishment of a National Environment Tribunal for effective and quick disposal of accident cases occurring by handling Ofhazardous substances.
There are several notifications related to the management of hazardous waste. These are as follows.
(1) Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989
(2) Bio medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998
(3) Municipal Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2004
(4) Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Amendment Rules, 2004
14. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and Amendments 1982,1991
This Act was enacted by the ParHament in 1972. It provides for the protection of listed species of flora and fauna, establishment of sancturies and national parks. The State Wildlife Advisory Boards come under this Act. The Act describes regulations for hunting wild animals and birds, trade in wild animals and animal products. There are several penalties for the violation of the Act. The Amendment of 1982 permits the capture and transportation of wild animals for the scientific management of their population. The Amendment of 1991 makes the near total prohibition on hunting of animals more effective.
15. The Forest (Conservation) Act
It provides that forestland cannot be used for non-forest purposes without the permission of the Central Government. The non-forest purpose includes clearing of forestland for cultivation of cash crops, plantation crops, horticulture or any purpose other than reforestation. The 1998 Amendment makes the provisions more stringent for the violators of the Act. The Amendment included the cultivation of tea, coffee, rubber, palm, oil-bearing plants, medicinal plants under the non-forest purposes.
16. The Bio-Diversity Act, 1994
This act was made for the conservation of biodiversity and has already been discussed in Chapter 13.
India is also party to various International Conventions and Protocols which have been dealt at relevant places in different chapters. They are as follows:
(1) The Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer, 1987
(2) Montreal Protocol
(3) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992
(4) Kyoto Protocol
(5) Convention on Biological Diversity
(6) Cartagina Protocol
(7) Convention on Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal - Basal Convention
(8) The United Nations First, Second and Third Conventions on the Law of the Sea (1958, 1960 and 1967)
(9) Convention of the Prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping of waste and other matter - London Convention, 1972
(10) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES), 1973
(11) UN Convention on Desertification, 1994
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