State initiative for sustainable development

 The South Asian countries give a high priority to environmental protection. For instance, in India, through the years, the ministry has passed innumerable laws to help them in their task of environmental protection. Sadly, all the regulations and acts have not done enough to protect the environment. The greed of many in the governing bodies has led to misuse of the laws and ruthless exploitation of the land, leading to ecological destruction and social injustices. Most leaders of industry, too, have been lacking in a social conscience. They have exploited our country’s resources and polluted our earth, water and air.

Public apathy has not helped either. We, as citizens of this country have not made our voices heard. The opening up of our economy and globalization has put a greater pressure on our resources, further vitiating our fragile eco-system. A recent trend which is heartening to note is the role of the Indian Judiciary in environmental protection, which has adopted Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for the cause of environmental protection. This has proved an effective tool.

Legislative Measures 

Over the years, together with a spreading of environmental consciousness, there has been a change in the traditionally-held perception that there is a trade-off between environmental quality and economic growth as people have come to believe that the two are necessarily complementary. The current focus on environment is not new environmental considerations have been an integral part of the Indian culture. The need for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources has been expressed in Indian scriptures, more than three thousand years old and is reflected in the constitutional, legislative and policy framework as also in the international commitments of the country.

Even before India’s independence in 1947, several environmental legislations existed but the real impetus for bringing about a well-developed framework came only after the UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972). Under the influence of this declaration, the National Council for Environmental Policy and Planning within the Department of Science and Technology was set up in 1972.

This Council later evolved into a full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 1985 which today is the apex administrative body in the country for regulating and ensuring environmental protection After the Stockholm Conference, in 1976, constitutional sanction was given to environmental concerns through the 42nd Amendment, which incorporated them into the Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Rights and Duties. 

Since the 1970s an extensive network of environmental legislation has grown in the country. The MoEF and the pollution control boards (CPCB i.e. Central Pollution Control Board and SPCBs i.e. State Pollution Control Boards) together form the regulatory and administrative core of the sector. A policy framework has also been developed to complement the legislative provisions.

The Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution and the National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development were brought out by the MoEF in 1992, to develop and promote initiatives for the protection and improvement of the environment. The EAP (Environmental Action Programme) was formulated in 1993 with the objective of improving environmental services and integrating environmental considerations in to development programmes. 

Other measures have also been taken by the government to protect and preserve the environment. Several sector-specific policies have evolved, which are discussed at length in the concerned chapters. This chapter attempts to highlight only legislative initiatives towards the protection of the environment.

Legislation for Environmental Protection in India

Water Pollution:– Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 represented India’s first attempts to comprehensively deal with environmental issues. The Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into water bodies beyond a given standard, and lays down penalties for non-compliance. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 provides for a levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by industries and local authorities. It aims at augmenting the resources of the central and state boards for prevention and control of water pollution.

Air Pollution: To counter the problems associated with air pollution, ambient air quality standards were established, under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The Act provides means for the control and abatement of air pollution. The Act seeks to combat air pollution by prohibiting the use of polluting fuels and substances, as well as by regulating appliances that give rise to air pollution. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for major pollutants were notified by the CPCB in April 1994.

These are deemed to be levels of air quality necessary with an adequate margin of safety, to protect public health, vegetation and property. Complementing the above acts is the Atomic Energy Act of 1982, which was introduced to deal with radioactive waste. In 1988, the Motor Vehicles Act, was enacted to regulate vehicular traffic, besides ensuring proper packaging, labelling and transportation of the hazardous wastes. Environmental Protection: The WPA (Wildlife Protection Act), 1972, provides for protection to listed species of flora and fauna and establishes a network of ecologically-important protected areas. 

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EPA) is an umbrella legislation designed to provide a framework for the coordination of central and state authorities established under the Water (Prevention and Control) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control) Act, 1981. Under this Act, the central government is empowered to take measures necessary to protect and improve the quality of the environment by setting standards for emissions and discharges; regulating the location of industries; management of hazardous wastes and protection of public health and welfare.

Hazardous Substances: There are several legislations that directly or indirectly deal with hazardous waste. The relevant legislation is the factories Act, 1948, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and some notifications under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986. Public Liability Insurance Act (PLIA),

1991 covers accidents involving hazardous substances and insurance coverage for these. Where death or injury results from an accident, this Act makes the owner liable to provide relief as is specified in the Schedule of the Act.  The PLIA was amended in 1992, and the Central Government was authorized to establish the Environmental Relief Fund, for making relief payments.

Forests: The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the British. The first and most famous was the Indian Forest Act of 1878. Both the 1878 Act and the 1927 one sought to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife, to regulate movement and transit of forest produce, and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce.

It also defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest or a Village Forest. It defines what is a forest offence what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved Forest, and penalties leviable on violation of the provisions of the ACT With a view to checking further deforestation, the Forest (Conservation) Ordinance, 1980 had been promulgated on 25th October, 1980.

The present Act has replaced the said Ordinance and contains similar provisions. The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir and came into force on 25th October, 1980.

Wildlife: The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 refers to a sweeping package of legislation enacted in 1972 by the Government of India. Before 1972, India only had five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or harvesting these species was largely outlawed.

Biodiversity: The recently adopted Bio-diversity Act, 2002 aims to“…provide for conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge….”

The Act provides for the constitution of a National Biodiversity Authority at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards at the state levels and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local levels to implement the provisions of this Act. The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir which has its own wildlife act. It has six schedules which give varying degrees of protection.

Schedule I and part II of Schedule II provide absolute protection offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties. Species listed in Schedule IV are also protected, but the penalties are much lower.  Enforcement authorities have the power to compound offences under this Schedule (i.e. they impose fines on the offenders). Upto April 2010 there have been 16 convictions under this Act relating to the death of tigers.

Policies: The above-mentioned legislations are augmented by numerous policies that have been formulated by the government to further the objective of environmental protection in our country. For instance, the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002, the National Forest Policy, 1988; the Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution, 1992; and the National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development, 1992.

India has ratified over forty Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MBAS) relating to various components of environmental protection. Moreover, India has also made remarkable appearance in all major international conferences relating to environmental protection and sustainable development and has tried to follow the guidelines about it.

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