PrevEnvironment (Protection)
Act, 1986
Introduction
§ Overview: The Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing the protection and improvement of the environment.
o It empowers the
Central Government to establish authorities charged with the mandate
of preventing environmental pollution in all its forms and to tackle specific
environmental problems that are peculiar to different parts of the country.
o The Act is one of
the most comprehensive legislations with a pretext to protection and
improvement of the environment.
§ Background: The roots of the
enactment of the EPA lies in the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment held
at Stockholm in June, 1972 (Stockholm Conference), in
which India participated, to take appropriate steps for the improvement of the
human environment.
o The Act implements the
decisions made at the Stockholm Conference.
§ Constitutional
Provisions:
o The EPA Act was enacted
under Article
253 of
the Indian Constitution which provides for the enactment of legislation
for giving effect to international agreements.
o Article 48A of the Constitution
specifies that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment
and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
o Article 51A further provides
that every citizen shall protect the environment.
§ Coverage: The Act is
applicable to the whole of India including the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Salient Features of the
EPA Act
§ Powers of the Central
Government: The
Central Government shall have the power to take all such measures as it deems
necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality
of the environment in coordination with the State Governments.
o The Central government is
also empowered to:
·
Plan and Execute a nation-wide programme for the prevention,
control and abatement of environmental pollution.
·
Lay down standards for the quality of environment in its various
aspects.
·
Lay
down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from
various sources.
·
The restriction
of areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of
industries, operations or processes shall/ shall not be carried out subject to
certain safeguards.
o The Central Government
may appoint officers under this Act for various purposes and
entrust them with the corresponding powers and functions.
o The central government as
per the Act has the power to direct:
·
The
closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or process.
·
The
stoppage or regulation of the supply of electricity or water or any other
service.
§ Restriction on Pollutant
Discharge: No
individual or organisation shall discharge/emit or permit to discharge/emit any
environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards.
§ Compliance with
Procedural Safeguards: No individual shall handle or shall be caused to
handle any hazardous substance except in accordance with the procedure and
without complying with the safeguards, as prescribed.
§ Powers of Entry and
Inspection: Any
person empowered by the Central Government shall have a right to enter (with
the assistance deemed necessary) at any place:
o For the inspection of
compliance of any orders, notifications and directions given under the Act.
o For the purpose of
examining (and if required seizing) any equipment, industrial plant, record,
register, document or any other material object may furnish evidence of the
commission of an offence punishable under this Act.
§ Establishment of
Environmental Laboratories: The Central Government, as per the Act, is entitled
to:
o Establish environmental
laboratories.
o Recognise any laboratory
or institute as environmental laboratories to carry out the functions entrusted
to such a laboratory.
·
The
Central Government is also entitled to make rules specifying the functions of
environmental laboratories.
§ Appointment of Government
Analyst: A
Government Analyst is appointed by the Central Government for the analysing the
samples of air, water, soil or other substance sent to a recognised
environmental laboratory.
§ Penalties for Offences: Non-compliance or
Contravention to any of the provisions of the Act is considered as an offence.
o Any offences under the
EPA are punishable with the imprisonment of upto five years or a fine upto one
lakh rupees or both.
§ Offences by Companies: If an offence under
this Act is committed by a company, every person directly in charge of the
company, at the time of the commitment of offence, is deemed to be guilty
unless proven otherwise.
§ Offences by Government
Departments: If
an offence under this Act has been committed by any Department of Government,
the Head of the Department (HoD) shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence
unless proven otherwise.
o Any officer, other than
HoD, if proven guilty, shall also be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly.
§ Cognizance of offences: No Court shall take
cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by:
o The Central Government or
any authority on behalf of the former.
o A person who has
approached the Courts after a 60-day notice has been furnished to the Central
Government or the authority on its behalf.
Drawbacks of the Act
§ Complete Centralisation
of the Act: A
potential drawback of the Act could be its centralization. While such wide
powers are provided to the Centre and no powers to the state governments, the
former is liable to its arbitrariness and misuse.
§ No Public Participation: The Act also says
nothing about public participation as regards environmental protection.
o There is a need to
involve the citizens in environmental protection to check arbitrariness and
raise awareness and empathy towards the environment.
§ Incomplete Coverage of
Pollutants: The
Act does not address modern concept of pollution such as noise, overburdened
transport system and radiation waves which are also an important cause for the
deteriorating environment.
National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) and
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
§
It
was established by the Central Government under the The National
Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997.
§
NEAA
was established to hear appeals regarding the restriction of
areas in which any industries, processes or operations shall be/shall not be
carried out subject to certain safeguards under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986.
§
However,
NEEA (along with the National Environment Tribunal) was found to be
inadequate giving rise to the demand for an institution to deal with
environmental cases more efficiently and effectively.
o
As
a result, the National
Green Tribunal (NGT) was
established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for
effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental
protection.
o
Along
with the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, NGT also deals with civil cases
under six other laws.
Important Notifications Issued Under EPA
§
The Coastal Regulation
Zone Notification (1991), which regulates activities along coastal stretches.
o
In
December 2018, the Union cabinet approved the Coastal Regulation Zone
(CRZ) Notification, 2018.
§
The Environmental
Impact Assessment of
Development Projects Notification.
International Conventions for Environment Protection to
which India is a Signatory
§
The Montreal Protocol
to the Vienna Convention on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer,
1987.
§
Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous
Wastes, 1989.
§
Rotterdam Convention, 1998.
§
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs).
§
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992.
§
Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992
§
UN Convention to Combat Desertification, 1994
§
International Tropical Timber Agreement and The
International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), 1983, 1994:
o
The
ITTO established by the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 1983,
came into force in 1985 and became operational in 1987.
o
The
ITTO facilitates discussion, consultation and international cooperation
on issues relating to the international trade and utilization
of tropical timber and the sustainable management of its resource
base.
o
The
successor agreement to the ITTA (1983) was negotiated in 1994, and came into
force on 1 January 1997.
o
The
organization has 57 member countries. India ratified the ITTA in 1996.
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