UNIT 5

Wildlife Protection Act 1972

The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 is a law in India that aims to protect and conserve the
country’s wildlife. It was created to prevent the illegal hunting, poaching, and trade of wildlife
species, as well as to preserve their natural habitats. Wildlife management has been seen in
India for a long time as Vedas contain hymns in praise of animals and have linked animals
with Gods or goddesses to conserve wildlife. So the Government of India introduced
the Wildlife Act 1972 to provide a legal framework to protect animals and plants and
properly manage their habitats. The Wildlife Protection Act also regulates wildlife trade and
products made from them.

Objectives of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1872

1. One of the main objectives is to prohibit the hunting of wild animals, various
species of birds etc.
2. It lays down various punishments for the violation of rules and regulations to have
proper control over the activities of human beings and to serve the various
purposes of this Act.
3. Various Schedules contained under this Act give absolute protection to some
endangered species so that they can be protected.
4. To provide shelter and protect the animals which are not in danger but need
protection and security.
5. To specially protected animals that can be hunted like ducks, deer etc. For
hunting such animals, the hunter has to obtain a license from the District Officer. If
the license is granted, he would be given a certain restricted area to shoot the
animals and in a particular season. Any of the acts which result in infringement of
such a license will be cancelled.
6. One of the important objectives is to give powers in the hand of officers to punish
the one who is guilty under this Act.
7. To help the state government and central government to declare any area as
sanctuaries or national parks.
8. To plant trees and build protected animal parks so that such animals are protected
in environment-friendly and natural areas.
9. To establish wildlife advisory boards, wildlife warden and to appoint the members
with their duties and power.
10. To support the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of
Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1976).
11. To support the launching of the National component of UNESCO’s Man and
Biosphere Programme, 1971.
12. To provide protection even for some endangered plants.
13. To impose a ban on trade and commerce of certain protected species.
 14. To provide trade and commerce of some wild species by providing a license for
possession, sale, and transfer.
15. To maintain the diversity of flora and fauna of the country and also to maintain a
healthy ecological balance.

Authorities to be appointed under this Act

Section 3

This section deals with the appointment of various officers such as a director of wildlife
preservation; assistant directors of wildlife preservation; and any officers which may be
deemed necessary to be appointed.

The directors so appointed shall exercise their rights and powers in accordance with the
rules or special directions of the Central Government. The assistant director appointed
herein will act as subordinate to the director.

Section 4

The Government under this section can appoint a chief wildlife warden, wildlife wardens, one
honorary wildlife ward can be established in each district, and any officials that may be
necessary.

All such officers as appointed by the government shall exercise their rights and powers in
accordance with the rules or special directions of the State Government or rules given by
notification in form of Official Gazette.

The wildlife warden and one honorary warden and all other employees will act subordinate to
the chief wildlife warden.

Section 5

This section talks about the power of authorities to delegate.

The director, the chief wildlife warden can delegate all of his powers or any of his powers
and duties with the prior approval of the State Government to any officer who is subordinate
to him.

The person to whom the power and duties are delegated by the director or by the chief
wildlife warden shall act according to the direction given by his superior and all of his acts
shall take effect from within the provisions of this Act and not by way of delegation which is
moving outside the purview of this Act.
Section 6

1. This section deals with the constitution of the wildlife advisory board. This section
states that it is the duty of the administrator that once this Act has been
commenced, he/she should constitute a wildlife advisory board including the
following members.

 The Minister Incharge of the Forest, or if there is no such minister then Chief
Secretary to the government will be the chairman of the concerned board.
 It should consist of two members of the State Legislature, or two members of the
Legislature of the Union Territory, as the case maybe.
 Secretary of the state government or incharge of forest of the government of
Union territory.
 The Forest Officer of the State Forest Department
 An officer which has been nominated by the Director
 Chief Wildlife Warden
 This board shall also include Officers not exceeding the number five, from the
State Forest Department
 It should also include in the board the representative of the tribals not exceeding
three and also the person who are in the opinion of the State, interested in
protection of wildlife, not exceeding the number ten.

1. The State Government shall appoint the Vice-chairman of the Board.

2. The State Government shall appoint the forest incharge of the forest department
or the chief warden as the secretary of the Board.
3. The members of the board will receive the allowance for the performance and
exercising of their duties and responsibilities.

Section 7

This section prescribes the procedure to be followed by the board. It states that the board
shall meet twice a year at a place which the State Government may order. The acts or
proceedings of the court cannot be declared invalid merely due to irregularity in the
procedure of the board or due to the vacancy therein or in case of defects in the constitution
of the board. The board is bound to regulate its own issues and its own procedure.

Section 8

This section describes the duties of the Wildlife Advisory Board.

It states that it is the duty of the State Advisory Board to advise the State Government on
the issues relating to the selection of areas for declaring the same as Sanctuaries, National
park, and Closed areas and also it has to guide the Government in formulation of the policy
for protection and conservation of wildlife and some specified plants.
Section 13

This section states that the Chief Wildlife Warden or any such authorised officer can cancel
or suspend the license of a person, by general or special order of the State Government in
writing and also provide such valid reasons for the suspension or cancellation of the license.

Hunting of wild animals

‘Hunting’ as described under the Wild life (Protection) Act, 1972, includes poisoning, killing,
trapping any wild animal or making an attempt to do so. It also includes driving or using any
animal for transport purposes, injuring any wild animal or any of their body parts or killing the
eggs of reptiles and birds, or disturbing the nest or eggs of the reptiles or birds. No person is
allowed to hunt any animal who is specified in Schedule 1, Schedule 2, Schedule 3 and
Schedule 4.

Cases where hunting of Wild Animals is permitted

Section 11

Section 11 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 states that in certain circumstances
hunting of wild animals is permitted and are stated below-

1. If the Chief Wildlife Warden is satisfied that the animals listed in Schedule 1 are
becoming a threat to human life or any property or such animal has been affected
by the incurable disease from which it cannot be recovered, in such a situation the
chief warden may give in writing the permit and also stating the reasons for
granting the permission to a person to hunt such animal.
2. If the Chief Wildlife Warden is satisfied that the animals listed in Schedule 2,
Schedule 3, or Schedule 4 are becoming a threat to human life or any property or
such animal has been affected by the incurable disease from which it cannot be
recovered, in such a situation the chief warden may give in writing the permit and
also stating the reasons for granting such permission to a person to hunt such a
animal.
3. Hunting is permitted and is not an offence if the animal has been killed or
wounded to save the life of one own self or to save the life of others. Any injury
done to an animal due to self-defence is not an offence. Provided that such a
person has not violated any rules under this act and such killing of an animal was
necessary, it could not be avoided.
4. Any animal killed in such a defence will be government property.
Grant of permit for special purposes

Section 12

This section states that permission for hunting can be granted for special purposes. Under
this section, it will be lawful for the Chief Wildlife Warden to grant permission for hunting by
giving an order in writing and collecting the prescribed fee from that person so that he may
be entitled for hunting for special purposes. Provided that such a permit should be granted
with previous permission of the Central Government or State Government. Such special
purposes are given below-

1. For the purpose of education.

2. For scientific research such as shifting of a wild animal to different habitats to
observe the scientific changes in them.
3. For scientific management such as to maintain the healthy population of any kind
of particular species.
4. For collecting the specimens of various kinds from the animal body so as to
display it in a museum or any such similar institutions.
5. For collecting the snake venom for manufacturing various kinds of medicinal
drugs.

Trade and commerce in wild animals, articles, and trophies

Section 39

This section says all the wild animals are Government Property. It states-

 wild animals other than vermin, also wild animals which are found dead, or killed
by mistake, Trophy or uncured trophy or other animal article or meat derived from
the wild animal, ivory imported to India or any article made by such ivory, any
vessel, weapon, trap, tool used to hunt the wild animal in the Zoo shall be the
property of the State Government and in case of a National Park or Sanctuary
then such will be the property of the Central Government.
 Any person who possesses any Government property, within the time of 48 hours
should return it to the nearest police station or authorised officer.
 No person shall without the prior permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden acquire
or keep anything in his possession or control, transfer such property by way of gift
or sale, destroy or damage such government property.

Section 43

This section talks about the regulations in the trade and transfer of the animals. It states-
  A person who doesn’t have the certificate of ownership, shall not in any case sell
or offer to sell by the way of sale or by the way of gift any wild animal which are
specified in Schedule 1, Schedule 2, they shall not make any article containing
part or whole of any animal part or body, should not be involved in the process of
taxidermy except when they have the permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden.
 If any person is shifting from one state to another and acquires by transfer any
animal article, trophy or any uncured trophy from the state in which he used to
reside earlier. Such transfer should be within 30 days reported to the Chief
Wildlife Warden or any authorised officer whose jurisdiction the transfer has
effected. No person who does not possess the ownership certificate should
involve in any act of transfer of any animal or animal article or any uncured
trophy.
 While issuing the certificate the Chief Wildlife Warden should do a proper enquiry,
shall investigate to whom the earlier ownership certificate belongs to and then
issue a fresh certificate in the name of the new owner. Also he or she may affix
the identification mark on the body of the animal or uncured trophy or animal
article.
Prevention and detention of offences

Section 50

This section deals with the power of entry, search, arrest and detention. It states-

 Notwithstanding with anything contained under any other law in force in the
country if any authorised officer or the Director or any other person authorised by
him or any other person authorised by the Chief Wildlife Warden or by Chief
Wildlife Warden himself or any forest officer or any police officer who is not below
the rank of sub-inspector has certain reasonable grounds that any person has
committed any offence against this Act-

1. Can ask such person to produce the required documents or any licence, permit
for the inspection of the captive animal, plant or part or derivative of any animal
under his control, trophy, uncured trophy, animal article, meat, any specified plant
2. Can stop any vehicle or vessel for the required search or inquiry of any land,
vehicle, premises, any baggage or any other things of such kind in his possession
3. Can seize any such animal article, vehicle, vessel, weapon, captive animal, meat,
trophy, wild animal, uncured trophy, plant or any part of it unless such authorised
person is satisfied that person who has committed crime against this Act will
appear and answer any charge which is preferred against him. If the fisherman
residing within 10 kms of a Sanctuary or National park uses a boat not used for
commercial fishing, in the territorial waters in the sanctuary or national park, no
such boat will be seized.

 Any authorised person can order to stop any activity done by a person without
any ownership certificate or licence or any permit, provided that according to this
Act the permit or licence is required for such act. It is even lawful for the
authorised officer to detain any person, to arrest such person unless if he satisfies
the officer arresting him that he will duly answer any summons or proceedings
which may be taken against him.
 Any person detained or the things which were seized in the course of exercising
the power by any authorised officer, shall be produced before the Magistrate to be
dealt in accordance with the law.
 Any person who has been suspected of acting unlawfully under this Act, if fails to
produce the required documents, permit or licence or fails to prove his innocence
shall be guilty for an offence under this Act.
 Where any uncured trophy, wild animal, meat, plant or any derivative of it has
been seized by authorised officer, such authorised officer can arrange the sale of
the same and will acquire and use the proceeds as may be prescribed under this
Act. If it was proved that such property does not belong to the Government then
such sale proceeds will be given to the owner.
 If any person approaches any authorised officer for prevention or detection of an
offence, such assistance must be provided by the authorised officer.
 No person who is below the rank of Assistant Director or Wildlife Chief Warden
shall have the power to issue the warrant, to compel any person to produce any
document, to receive any evidence or to issue a search warrant.
UNIT 3

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

The Water (Prevention and Control) Act, 1974 was introduced to prevent and control water
pollution and to restore and maintain the wholesomeness of water for the establishment. The
Act came into force in 1974.

Powers and Functions of Boards (Chapter IV)

This chapter provides for the powers and functions of Boards.
1. Functions of Central Board [Section 16]
a. Advise the Central Government on any matter concerning the prevention and
control of water pollution
b. Coordinate the activities of the State Boards and resolve disputes among them
c. Organize through mass media a comprehensive program regarding the
prevention and control of water pollution
d. Provide technical assistance and guidance to the State Boards
2. Functions of State Board [Section 17]
a. To plan a comprehensive program for preventing and controlling the pollution
of the wells and streams in the state and to secure its execution
b. To advise the State Government on matters relating to prevention and
controlling water pollution
c. Collaborating with the central board to train persons employed or to be
employed in preventing, and controlling water pollution
d. To lay down, and modify the effluent standards of sewage and trade effluents
and for the quality of receiving water resulting from the discharge of effluents
and to classify waters of the state
e. To evolve methods of utilizing sewage and suitable trade effluents in
agriculture
AIR ACT DEFINATION

 Section 2(a) defines an ‘air pollutants’ as any solid liquid or gaseous substance which may cause
harm or damage the environment, humans, plants, animals or even damage property. A 1987
amendment to the act also added ‘noise’ in the list of harmful substances.
 The air act defines ‘air pollution’ as the presence of any dangerous pollutant that makes the air
unbreathable

Penalties and Procedure under the Air Act

The failure to comply with the Central Pollution Control Board directives would result in
imprisonment of 1 year. It can be extended to 6 years with a fine with the additional fine of
5000Rs per day added provided the directives are still not met.

Any environmental complaint will only be taken into consideration by a court if it is made by
the following:

 An officer authorised by the CPCB

 A person who has made a complaint to the board or an officer authorised by it. The complaint
must be made within sixty days of the offence commited.

Sustainable Development in Environmental Law in

India
The roots of environmental rules in India can be traced back to ancient times when
texts like the Vedas, Arthashastra, and Manusmriti emphasized the importance of
protecting the environment. For instance, the Vedas stressed the need for a good
relationship between people and nature, while the Manusmriti prohibited harming
forests and wildlife. However, as modernization and industrialization took hold,
environmental problems became urgent, leading to the need for formal legal
frameworks.

India’s Constitution, established in 1950, includes the right to a healthy environment

as a fundamental right under Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and
personal liberty. This has become the foundation for environmental law in India, with
the courts playing a vital role in interpreting and expanding environmental rights.

Sustainable Development in Constitution of India

When we examine the Constitution of India, we find that there are no specific laws or
rules directly addressing sustainable development in environmental law. However,
Article 47 indirectly touches upon environmental concerns. Article 47 of the
Constitution of India states that “The state shall regard the raising of the level of
nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public
health as among its primary duties.”

Stockholm conference
The Stockholm Conference was the first conference conducted by the United
Nations Conference on Human Environment that focused on Environmental
Issues at the International level. This conference was organised in Stockholm
(Sweden) from 5th to 16th June 1972 and it was the very first conference
which communicated the Environmental Issues at the International level and
tried to find a way to tackle the air, land and water pollution by working
together as a unit to safeguard the human environment for a better
tomorrow. The Stockholm Conference also led the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) in December 1972 to coordinate the global
efforts to safeguard our natural human environment.

The proposal of the Stockholm Conference was made in 1968 in Sweden and
contended that the United Nation must hold an International conference to
examine environmental issues that required International cooperation to
solve the problems related to environmental pollution. The Stockholm
Conference was attended by 114 government delegations. At the time of the
Stockholm Declaration, 26 principles were broadly declared to recognize the
human impact on the environment, and that was for the first time in history
that the environmental issues had been recognised publicly on a global scale.
The conference came up with several frameworks for environmental actions,
an action plan containing 109 recommendations related to human
settlements, development, natural resource management, educational and
social aspects of the environment, pollution and International organizations.

Stockholm declaration
The Stockholm Declaration of 1972 broadly recognizes global issues and has
eventually come up with 26 principles and with some frameworks as well to
bind all the countries together to deal with these environmental issues. The
conference has created history in the world by addressing environmental
issues at the global level. The Stockholm Declaration accentuated the needs
of the nations to design development plans with the combination of science
and technology in order to lessen air, land and water pollution and human
impact on the environment. The main purpose of the Stockholm Declaration
was to save the world from all the evils that were destroying the
environment, to preserve natural resources, to control the pollution and to
protect from several other environmental issues. In other words, we could
say that the main purpose was to save the earth, there even is a slogan of
the Stockholm Declaration, 1972 i.e., “Only One Earth”.
The Declaration urges every country to create regulations for protecting
wildlife and natural resources that are available in that country and suggests
that every country create national population policies since overpopulation is
also one of the major causes why we are left with limited natural resources
today.