INTRODUCTION

In the contemporary scenario when the havoc of environmental degradation is at new heights, the need for effective environmental regulations is even more stringent. Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. In this ongoing situation that the world is going through, it should have been more strict and framed with more rational technicalities to be implemented. Throughout the continuous development of the human species on just this earth, a point was already approached. We have obtained the ability to change the human environment in numerous ways but on an unparalleled scale through all of the gradual rises of technology and science. Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, either partially or permanently.

This has been recognized and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Initially, the Constitution of India had no direct provision for environmental protection. Initially, the Constitution of India had no direct provision for environmental protection. Since the 1960s, movements for the protection of the environment have created awareness about various environmental issues. The legislative and executive efforts have been notable over the past two decades toward the development of environmental jurisprudence in India.

EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN INDIA

Environment plays a pivotal role in human life as well as in the development of society. Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment at individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. With growing technological advancement and industrialization, the purity of the environment has been threatened to an appalling extent. The need to protect and improve the environment is so compelling for the peaceful survival of mankind and other life forms on planet Earth that the right to the environment has emerged as a human right. It is a developing country, with comparatively low per capita incomes and a recent legacy of colonial rule.

India is a large country with a high population density. Over the last two decades, the Indian judiciary has fostered an extensive and innovative approach to environmental rights in the country. Complex matters of environmental management have been resolved and consequently, a series of innovative procedural remedies have evolved to accompany this new substantive right. The new environmental right is therefore championed as a legal gateway to speedy and inexpensive legal remedies. A highlight of international efforts in combating environment-related problems is also made. Ultimately, the author throws light on the Indian experience of environmental law and its resultant tool of the human right to live in a clean and healthy environment. An interdisciplinary approach to environmental protection may be another reason for the operation of the right to a healthy environment. This has been undertaken through international environmental treaties & conventions, national legislative measures, and judicial responses.

LEGISLATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN INDIA.

Water and Environmental Laws:

Water quality standards especially those for drinking water are set by the Indian Council of Medical Research. These bear close resemblance to WHO standards. The discharge of industrial effluents is regulated by the Indian Standard Codes and recently, water quality standards for coastal water marine outfalls have also been specified. In addition to the general standards, certain specific standards have been developed for effluent discharges from industries such as iron and steel, aluminum, pulp and paper, oil refineries, petrochemicals, and thermal power plants.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974:

This Act represented India’s first attempts to comprehensively deal with environmental issues. The Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into water bodies beyond a given standard and lays down penalties for non-compliance. The Act was amended in 1988 to conform closely to the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. It set up the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) which lays down standards for the prevention and control of water pollution. At the State level, the SPCBs (State Pollution Control Board) function under the direction of the CPCB and the state government.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amended Act, 1988:

This Act provides for a levy and collection of an Amended on water consumed by industries and local authorities. It aims at augmenting the resources of the central and state boards for the prevention and control of water pollution. Following this Act, The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amended Rules were formulated in 1978 for defining standards and indications for the kind of and location of meters that every consumer of water is required to install.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:

The (Wildlife Protection Act), of 1972, provides for protection to listed species of flora and fauna and establishes a network of ecologically-important protected areas. The WPA empowers the Central and State governments to declare any area a wildlife sanctuary, national park, or closed area. There is a blanket ban on carrying out any industrial activity inside these protected areas. It provides for authorities to administer and implement the Act; regulate the hunting of wild animals; protect specified plants, sanctuaries, national parks, and closed areas; restrict trade or commerce in wild animals or animal articles; and miscellaneous matters. The Act prohibits hunting of animals except with permission of an authorized officer when an animal has become dangerous to human life or property or so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery (WWF-India, 1999). The near-total prohibition on hunting was made more effective by the Amendment Act of 1991.

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, I concluded that the constitution provides us rights but it’s our responsibility to clean the environment and be aware of the surrounding people. There are so many laws but people are not aware of these laws hence they violate the law so we can aware the people through awareness programs, protests and this is most useful at the individual level if everyone thought not to throw the garbage on the roads and save the Environmental and also thought that it’s their duty then we can protect the environment from degrading.

Over the centuries, a forest governance system was instituted that was alien, induced, and most particularly that excluded forest-dependent communities in the name of scientific forestry, public interest, national development, conservation, and industrial growth. That’s why the government of India launches an environmental program every year or monthly but it should be useful only when every single person keeps in mind not to pollute the environment then only it is beneficial.

REFERENCES

• Phillipe Sands (2003) Principles of International Environmental Law. 2nd Edition.
• https://moef.gov.in/en/rules-and-regulations/environment-protection/.
• MacKinnon, A. J., Duinker, P. N., Walker, T. R. (2018). The Application of Science in Environmental Impact.
• Bajaj R., CITES and the wildlife trade in India, New Delhi: Centre for Environmental Law, WWF – India, 182.
• Armin Rosencranz, Shyam Divan and Martha L.Noble, Environmental Law and Policy in India (1991), p. 25.

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