Explain how Indian ecology, forests and forestry, and wildlife were adversely affected under East India Company Raj during early modern period of Indian history.

 India is a unique sub-continent with vast variations in geographic area, topography and climate.  It has a great diversity of ecosystems from the cold and high Himalayan ranges to the seacoasts, from the wet northeastern green rainforests to the dry northwestern arid deserts. Different types of forests, wetlands, islands, estuaries, oceans, and plains endow the country combined with a rich blend of diversified natural settings.

Natural and biological resources in the country being abundant, the kind of exploitation they had to undergo through the ages has also been awful, leading to the large-scale degradation of the environment in multifarious ways. Since time immemorial, the efforts of the people to conserve and utilize the natural resources in a sustainable manner have been quite exemplary. Many customary and community norms were evolved by the society to protect the environment. With changing times and scenario, these undocumented traditional doctrines took a back seat, paving the way to codified laws in India.

Industrial development, increased population, urbanization, pollution, deforestation, mismanagement of water resources, etc., have resulted in a distraught state of India’s pristine environment. It now becomes imminent for us to look into the evolution of environmental legislation in India during three epochs; environmental conservation during ancient and medieval periods; environmental regulation during British rule; and protection and improvement of environment in independent India. The advent of British rule significantly changed the nature of environmental governance in India.

The early days of the British rule marked large-scale plundering of natural resources from India. The forest resources were the major casualties (17. However, the British regime resorted to a legalized exploitation in due course. The exploitation of forest resources in a legitimate manner was included in the first forest law, the Indian Forest Act, 1865, passed by the Supreme Council in England. Subsequently, it was amended in 1878. The provisions of this Act established a virtual state monopoly over the forest in a legal sense on one hand and attempted to establish, on the other, the customary use of forest by the villagers as not a right, but a privilege that could be withdrawn at will.

The principles of eminent domain’ and ‘public purpose’ were used to validate the acquisition of forestland by the government. In 1884, a Forest Policy was formulated by the British Government with the objectives of promoting the general well being of the people and, preserving climate and physical conditions of the country. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was enacted to implement this Forest Policy. The 1927 Act was passed with an objective to consolidate the existing laws relating to forests, the transit of forest produce, and the duty leviable on timber. This Act also established reserved forests, protected forests, and village forests.

Another aspect of the British Rule is that, it marked the establishment of industries in coastal and other parts of the country. Through this process many enactments were made by them to deal with water, air, and land pollution. The then prevailing common law system viewed the environmental problems as public nuisance. The Shore Nuisance (Bombay and Colaba) Act 1853, was one of the earliest laws made by the British Regime to counter water pollution caused by industries.

The Oriental Gas Company Act, 1857 contained provisions to regulate pollution caused by the Oriental Gas Company. It recognized the compensation to the persons whose water was affected by the company’s discharges. The North India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 was another legislation which contained provisions prohibiting any interference with or alteration in the flow of water in any river or stream so as to endanger, damage, or render less useful any canal or drainage.

The Indian Easements Act, 1882, the Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, the Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act, 1912, and the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act, 1905, was other enactments that dealt with different aspects of environment. The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 in Chapter 14 (Sections 268 to 291) contains provisions relating to public nuisance, public health, safety, and convenience. The Criminal Procedure Code (Sections 133 to 144) also deals with abatement of public nuisance. On wildlife conservation, the British regime undertook two significant steps. They were the Elephants Preservation Act 1879 enacted by the Madras Government and the Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act 1912.

The purpose of British rule in India was not to protect the nature’s wealth and people’s interests in India. Hence, one cannot expect that they would make laws for the betterment of the country and environment.  It is obvious that the content of their laws furthered their own intention of getting the best out of available resources for their benefit. However, their initiatives in making laws on every aspect paved the way for establishment of a formalized legal regime in the country and provided a platform for environmental jurisprudence in India.

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