ENVIRONMENT
ACT 1986
UNNIT 13
The Environment Protection Act was passed in the year 1986 to protect and improve the environment
and related matters. Earlier, the Indian Constitution did not have a provision for environmental protection.
However, after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the 1986 Environment Protection Act was passed by the Indian
government for the protection of the environment against air, water, noise, and soil pollution.
The constitution of India did not have any provisions related to natural environment conservation.
However, by the 42nd amendment to the constitution, fundamental duties were added describing the
protection of the natural environment including the protection of lakes, forests, wildlife, and rivers as the
fundamental duty of all citizens.
•This act was launched in 1986 with the objective of preserving the environment and protecting it.
•After the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, in 1972, measures
were taken for improving the environmental condition.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
SECTION 2(a) "environment" includes water, air and land and the inter-
relationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and human
beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property;
SECTION 2(b) "environmental pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous
substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to
environment;
SECTION 2(c) "environmental pollution" means the presence in the
environment of any environmental pollutant;
•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.
•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.
•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.
•The Central Government may appoint officers under this Act for various
purposes and entrust them with the corresponding powers and functions.
•The central government as per the Act has the power to direct:
1. The closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or
process.
2. The stoppage or regulation of the supply of electricity or water or
any other service.
•Establishment of Environmental Laboratories: The Central Government, as per
the Act, is entitled to:
1. Establish environmental laboratories.
2. Recognise any laboratory or institute as environmental laboratories to carry
out the functions entrusted to such a laboratory.
3. 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 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.
•Cognizance of offences: No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a
complaint made by:
• The Central Government or any authority on behalf of the former.
• 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.
In the definition of environmental pollutant, the understanding
appears to be traditional and elementary in nature, it emphasizes
only upon the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance.
The definition does not include one of the major environmental ills of
the present time that is noise.
Heat, radiation and vibration, have also been great contributors of
environmental degradation but they have not been adequately dealt
by the Act. Hence, it is quite desirable that the legislature takes
account of these latest changes/increments in the elements of
environment and accordingly modifies the definitions.
It is undeniable that environment law seeks to perform a very critical
role in the society, that is of balancing the considerations of scientific
and technological development and thereby improving the
“material” quality of life of the people and also at the same time
protecting environment and the ecosystem.
The aforesaid nature of work, requires the concerned authorities to
be quite proactive in their approach and operate with an impartial,
unprejudiced and unbiased state of mind, driven with utmost
sincerity and honesty towards the protection of environment and
the well-being of people
Any agency charged with the duty of environmental protection should have certain essential qualities of it
is to function effectively they are namely:
(i)environmental expertise; and
(ii) ability to make independent decisions based on valid environmental criteria; and
(iii)freedom from extraneous influences,
the Environment Act does not take into account these considerations and thus in totality the agency
created by it may be in no better position than the boards constituted under the Water Act.
The Act lays down in Section 24(2) that where any act or omission is a punishable offence under this Act
and also under any other Act then the respective convict shall be liable to punishment under the other Act
and not under the EPA. Quite possibly, a single act may be an offence under two or more other legislations
and consequently in such a situation, a polluter, by virtue of this mandatory punitive provision of the
Environment Act, is bound to be subjected to the comparatively less punitive provisions of the Water Act or
Air Act rather than that of the Environment Act. Thus, this section significantly whittles down the effect of
enhancement of punishments under the Act and consequently its deterrent and punitive effects.
Another problematic element with respect to prosecution for environmental crimes is that the EPA
under section 19 of the Act provides that for a court to take cognizance of any offence under this
Act, it is essential that the person making the complaint should have given a notice of not less than
60 days of the alleged offence and his intention to make a complaint, therefor to the Central
Government or the concerned officer or authority.
In a country, where there are a handful of people, who are conscious and cognizant about
environmental issues and seek to actively participate in the process of environmental conservation
and reconstruction.
This section, further makes it difficult for them to approach the Court and also lingers the entire
process of prosecution and not only gives an opportunity to the polluter to continue polluting the
environment for this period, but also gives him the chance to destroy the evidences or make such
manipulations or arrangements, which could prevent him from getting convicted in the court. Thus,
in effect this provision thwarts the Act from achieving its objects adequately.
LOOPHOLES
1. Lack of Effective Implementation and Enforcement
The Act provides wide discretionary powers to authorities, but enforcement remains
weak due to bureaucratic inefficiencies. Poor monitoring and lack of stringent penalties
allow industries to violate environmental norms without fear of consequences.
2. Absence of Public Participation
The Act does not adequately involve local communities in decision-making. Public
consultation is often bypassed in granting Environmental Clearances, leading to
unchecked industrial expansion.
3. Inadequate Penalties and Punishments
The penalties prescribed under Section 15 (imprisonment up to five years or a fine of ₹1 lakh) are
too low compared to the damage caused by environmental violations. Many companies prefer to
pay fines rather than comply with environmental regulations.
4. Weak Provisions for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The Act does not define a clear EIA process, leading to arbitrary project approvals. The 2020 EIA
Notification diluted previous norms, allowing post-facto approvals and exempting certain
industries from prior clearance.
5. Lack of Clarity in Defining "Environmentally Hazardous Substances
The Act gives the central government full discretion to decide what constitutes a hazardous
substance. This allows corporate lobbying to influence the classification of pollutants.
