16-04-2012, 12:19 PM
COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION LAWS IN INDIA
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Environmental Challenges
According to the State of Environment Report India 2009, made public by the Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, India faces many important environmental challenges which currently threaten both the development of India and the outlook for its future. The state of India's environment is in upset at the hands of uncontrolled human activities, and these ecological ailments are affecting social growth potential. Degradation of land, increasing air pollution, depletion of water resources, loss of indigenous species of flora and fauna and the background of overwhelming poverty are depicted in the report to detract from the positive growth of Indian people and the country as a whole.
Constitution and National Policies
The Forty-Second Amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1976 introduced principles of environmental protection in an explicit manner into the Constitution through Articles 48A and 51A(g). Article 48A, part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, obligated the State to protect and improve the environment. On the other hand, Article 51A (g) obligated citizens to undertake the same responsibilities. As far as legislative power was concerned, the Amendment also moved the subjects of “forests” and “protection of wild animals and birds” from the State List to the Concurrent List.
Legal Framework
India has an elaborate legal framework with over two hundred laws relating to environmental protection. Key national laws for the prevention and control of industrial and urban pollution include the following:
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: prohibits the discharge of pollutants into water bodies beyond a given standard, and lays down penalties for non-compliance.
CURRENT SITUATION AND KEY CHALLENGES
Compliance Monitoring:
All polluting facilities are legally required to obtain from a respective SPCB a consent (permits) to establish (CTE) and a consent to operate (CTO). In accordance with a Notification issued by the MOEF in September 2006, certain new industrial projects/activities or those planning major notifications also require a Prior Environmental Clearance (from the CPCB for Category A or from an SPCB for Category B) based on an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. Monitoring and inspection are a key function of SPCBs. The frequency of on-site visits to verify compliance is determined by the pollution potential (red/orange/green) and size (based on the value of capital investment) of the industry.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In India environmental statute though impressive in range and coverage are more often observed in breach than practice. Environmental law enforcement, being a highly specialized area of implementation, entrusted to different agencies under different laws, presents a none-too-happy-a-picture. Lack or inadequacy of skill; less than satisfactory infrastructural facilities; poor and unimaginative understanding of the law ; jurisdictional conflicts and lack of coordination, among different agencies of implementation, appear to contribute to poor and in effective implementation of the laws.