Indian environmental law concerns the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

concerning the protection of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, measures taken to reverse

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and achieve a zero carbon economy. Since the sixties concern over the state of environment has grown the world over. There has been substantive decline in environment quality due to increasing pollution, loss of vegetal cover and biological diversity, excessive concentration of harmful chemicals in the ambient atmosphere and in food chains, growing risks of environment accidents and threats to life support systems. The Decision which were taken at united nation conference on the human conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972 were based on the world community's resolve to protect and enhance the environmental concerns. Although several measures had been taken for environmental Protection both before and after the Conference it was found necessary to enact a comprehensive law on the subject to implement the decision of the conference. Accordingly the Environment (Protection) Bill passed was introduced in the Parliament Various different areas of environmental protection have been covered by different laws, drawn up at different times. Some of the areas covered include :- * Air pollution * Water pollution * Forest and wildlife protection * Waste management * Wild Life As with environmental protection legislation in many countries, the regulations are only effective if they are properly enforced, which hasn't always been the case in India, for a number of reasons, some of which are down to local administrative authorities. Because of the huge population of India, there have been enormous demands placed on the environment, with the regulations not proving to be entirely satisfactory in dealing with the tremendous pressures.

General protection

The

Environment Protection Act, 1986 Environment Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It was enacted in May 1986 and came into force on 19 November 1986. It has 26 sections and 4 chapters. The Act is widely considered to have been a response to the Bhopal ...

. is enforced by the Central Pollution Control Board and the numerous State Pollution Control Boards. *The National Green Tribunal established under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010 has jurisdiction over all environmental cases dealing with a substantial environmental question and acts covered under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. *The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 *

National Green Tribunal Act The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables the creation of a special tribunal for the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues. It draws inspiration from Article 21 of ...

#Air pollution *The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 *Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Union Territories) Rules, 1983

Water

Legislation to protect water quality include: *The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 *The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 *Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Rules, 1978 *Ganga Action Plan, 1986 *

National Water Policy National Water Policy is formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources of the Government of India to govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum utilization. The first National Water Policy was adopted in September, 19 ...

Coastal Regulation Zone Under the section 3 of Environment Protection Act, 1986 of India, Coastal Regulation Zone notification was issued in February 1991 for the first time, for regulation of activities in the coastal area by the Ministry of Environment and Forests ( ...

Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal is a common tribunal to solve river water disputes, created by the Government of India on 10 April 1969. Detailed information The Government of India (GoI) constituted a common tribunal on 10 April 1969 to ...

Interstate River Water Disputes Act The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted under Article 262 of Constitution of India on the eve of reorganization of states on linguistic basis to resolve the water disputes that woul ...

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal The government of India constituted a common tribunal on 10 April 1969 to adjudicate the river water utilization disputes among the river basin states of Krishna and Godavari rivers under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act � ...

Forests and wildlife

Indian Forest Act, 1927 The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the ...

Wild life protection act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for the protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedule ...

*Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 *

National Forest Policy, 1988 The National Forest Policy, 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of India to revise the previously enacted National Forest Policy of 1952. The 1988 National Forest Policy strongly suggested the idea of empowering and involving local communities in ...

*'' M. C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath'' (1997) 1 SCC 388 *

Biological Diversity Act, 2002 The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act by the Parliament of India for the preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides the mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resou ...

Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 The Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India that was enacted to provide for the establishment of an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmer ...

Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for the protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedule ...

, which does not fall within the jurisdiction of the National Green Tribunal. Appeals can be filed in the Supreme Court of India. *

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1960 to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals. ...

1960 * * *

CAMPA bill CAMPA Act or Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act is an Indian legislation that seeks to provide an appropriate institutional mechanism, both at the Centre and in each State and Union Territory, to ensure expeditious utilization in efficient an ...

Waste management

*Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001 *Recycled Plastics, Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 *Basel Convention on Control of TransboundaryMovements on Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 1989 and Its Protocols *Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Amendment Rules, 2003 *Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 *

Notes
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References
{{Reflist

Further reading
* Saravanan, Velayutham. ''Environmental History of Modern India: Land, Population, Technology and Development'' (Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2022
online review
Environmental law Environmental protection Environmental law in India

General protection

Water

Forests and wildlife

Waste management

See also

Notes/h1> References {{Reflist Further reading * Saravanan, Velayutham. ''Environmental History of Modern India: Land, Population, Technology and Development'' (Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2022online review Environmental law Environmental protection Environmental law in India

References

Further reading

Notes
/h1>

References
{{Reflist

Further reading
* Saravanan, Velayutham. ''Environmental History of Modern India: Land, Population, Technology and Development'' (Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2022
online review
Environmental law Environmental protection Environmental law in India