Module - II - Environmental Laws & Regulations in India

Module – II- Environmental Laws & Regulations in India
Environmental Legislation
Environmental legislation is a set of laws and regulations, which aim at

protecting
the environment from harmful actions.
Need for Environmental Legislation

Effective legislation is needed in order to prevent misuse and degradation
of the environment. To curb the destructive practices of people, forest mafia
groups, poachers, polluters and over exploitation of environmental resources,
effective legislation is necessary. Pollution is an important factor, and it does
not observe political territories or legislative jurisdictions.
Environmental Legislation in India:

Articles 48-A and 51-A. Clause (g):
Article 51-A, Clause (g): Article 51-A (g) which deals with Fundamental Duties
of the citizens states: “It shall be the 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.” Thus, protection and
improvement of natural environment is the duty of the State (Article 48-A) and
every citizen (Article 51- A (g)).
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

The Government of India enacted Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 with the
objective of effectively protecting the wild life of this country and to control
poaching, smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife and its offshoots
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted in 1974. The
main objectives of the Water Act are to provide for the prevention and control
of water pollution, and for the maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of
water in the country. in this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment which
may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand
rupees or with both,
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 was enacted to control deforestation; it
ensured that forestlands could not be de-reserved without prior approval of the
Central Government. This was created as some states had begun to de-reserve
the Reserved Forests for non-forest use.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
The Central Government used Article 253 to enact this law and made it
applicable throughout India. This Act defines air pollutant as ‘any solid, liquid or
gaseous substance (including noise) present in the atmosphere in such
concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living
creatures or plants or property or environment’.
The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 [EPA]

The Environment (Protection) Act was enacted in the year 1986. The Act is one
of the most comprehensive legislations relating to protection and improvement
of environment. This act defines environment as ‘water, air and land and the
interrelationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and
human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro- organism and property’.
The main objective of the Act was to provide the protection to and improvement
of environment and for matters connected therewith
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

a tool used to assess the significant effects of a project or development
proposal on the environment. EIAs make sure that project decision makers think
about the likely effects on the environment at the earliest possible time and aim
to avoid, reduce or offset those effects.
● Objectives
○ To inform decision-makers and the public about significant

environmental impacts of proposed projects.
○ Identifying methods to avoid or reduce environmental damage.
○ To avoid negative environmental consequences by requiring the

implementation of viable
alternatives or mitigation measures.
○ To make public the reasons for approvals for projects with

significant environmental impacts.
○ To improve inter-agency coordination.
○ To increase public participation.
Need for EIA

. All anthropogenic activities have an effect on the environment in some
or the other way
. Because of the complex relationship between the natural and human
environments, it is critical to predict the environmental and social
impacts of programmes, projects, and planned developments that may
affect environmental quality and well-being.
. As the human population grows and natural resources become
scarcer, the importance of improving development sustainability and
identifying mitigation measures—and thus the importance of
producing high-quality EIAs—increases.
The Benefits of Environmental Assessment

● Reduced cost and time of project implementation.
● Cost-saving modifications in project design.
● Increased project acceptance.
● Avoided impacts and violations of laws and regulations.
● Improved project performance.
● Avoided treatment/clean up costs.
1. Screening Deciding if an EIA is required

2. Scoping Deciding what needs to be covered
in the assessment and reported in
the 'EIA Report'
3. Preparing the EIA Report The EIA report has to include the
likely significant environmental
effects of the development
4. Making an application and The EIA Report and development
consultation application must be publicised
(including electronic
advertisement), interested parties
and the public must be given an
opportunity to give their views on it
5. Decision making The EIA Report and any comments
made on it must be taken into
account by the competent
authority before they decide
whether to give consent for the
development. The decision notice
has to be published
6. Post decision The developer starts any
monitoring required by the
competent authority.
whether to give consent for the
development. The decision notice
has to be published
6. Post decision The developer starts any
monitoring required by the
competent authority.
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
As per the notification, the coastal land up to 500m from the High Tide Line
(HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, estuaries, backwater
and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations, is called the Coastal Regulation
Zone(CRZ).
under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986,
attempting to regulate development activity on India’s coastline, imposing
restrictions on industries, operations and processes in the Coastal Regulation
Zone (CRZ).
Objectives
• To conserve and protect coastal stretches from uncontrolled and
unregulated development
• To ensure livelihood security to the fishing & local communities living in
the coastal areas
• To promote development in a sustainable manner based on scientific
principles, taking into
account natural hazards and sea level rise.
Importance of Regulation of Coastal Zones
. Protection of ecologically Sensitive Areas like mangroves, coral reefs

which act as a shield against tsunami and cyclone
. improving the lives of coastal communities like fishing communities
. Resilient measures for mitigating impacts of Climate Change and high-
intensity Cyclones
. To balance development with conservation of the coastal environment.
Challenges in implementation
. Ambiguity - the possibility of being understood in more than one way;

something that can be understood in more than one way
. Frequent amendments - Introduction of new clauses and repeated
amendments diluted the original CRZ notification
. Weak social basis
. Inadequacy public participation
. Poor governance and corruption
. Increasing CZR violations
. Economic reforms

Module - II - Environmental Laws & Regulations in India

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module - II - Environmental Laws & Regulations in India

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module - II - Environmental Laws & Regulations in India

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module – II- Environmental Laws & Regulations in India

Environmental legislation is a set of laws and regulations, which aim at

Need for Environmental Legislation

Environmental Legislation in India:

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 [EPA]

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

○ To inform decision-makers and the public about significant

○ Identifying methods to avoid or reduce environmental damage.

○ To avoid negative environmental consequences by requiring the

○ To make public the reasons for approvals for projects with

○ To improve inter-agency coordination.

○ To increase public participation.

Need for EIA

The Benefits of Environmental Assessment

1. Screening Deciding if an EIA is required

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

Importance of Regulation of Coastal Zones

. Protection of ecologically Sensitive Areas like mangroves, coral reefs

. Ambiguity - the possibility of being understood in more than one way;

You might also like