Environmental Policy Assignment

On the topic

Evolution of Environmental Policy in India and Salient Feature of

the Policy

Prepared by

Raghwendra Narayan Shandilya (ist424572)

Rakesh Lala (ist424566)

Instituto Superior Tecnico,

University of Lisbon

Environmental Policy of India

Policy and Laws in Ancient (500 BC-1638 AD) India

In ancient India, protection and cleaning up of environment was the essence of Vedic (1500–

500 BC) culture. The conservation of environment formed an ardent article of faith, reflected

in the daily lives of the people and also enshrined in myth folklore, art, culture and religion.

In Hindu theology forests, trees and wildlife protection held a place of special reverence.

Cutting green trees was prohibited and punishment was prescribed for such acts. Under the

Hindu culture moral injunctions acted as guidelines towards environmental preservation and

conservation. For instance, to maintain the quality of water and to avoid the water pollution,

Manu (In Hindu tradition, Manu is the name of accorded to a progenitor of humanity being

the first human to appear in the world in an epoch after universal destruction) advised not to

contaminate water by urine, stool or coughing, un-pious objects, blood and poison.

Yagyavalkya Smriti (a Hindu text of tradition of 300 to 500 AD) and Charak Samhita

(medical Science book of 900 BC - 600 BC) give many instructions for the use of water for

maintaining its purity.

Under the Arthashastra (an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military

strategy), various punishments were prescribed for cutting trees, damaging forests, and for

killing animals. The State assumed the functions of maintenance of forests, regulation of

forest produce and protection of wildlife. Arthashastra also prescribed punishment for

causing pollution and un-civic sanitation. Thus, ancient India had a philosophy of

environmental management principally enshrined in old injunctions as they were contained in

many scriptures. The environmental ethics of nature conservation were not only applicable to

common man but the rulers and kings were also bound by them.

Policy and Laws in Medieval (1338 AD to 1800 AD) India

During the Mughal period (1526-1857 AD) environment conservation did not receive much

attention. To Mughal rulers, forest meant no more than woodlands where they could hunt. To

their governors, the forests were properties which yielded some revenue. Barring “royal

trees” which enjoyed patronage from being cut except upon a fee, there was no restriction on

cutting of other trees. Thus, forests during this period shrank steadily in size. However, the

forests were managed with the help of a complex range of rules and regulations woven

around the socio-cultural features as well as the economic activities of local communities.

Further, the religious policy of Akbar (a Mughal Emperor) based on the principal of complete

tolerance also reflects concern for protection of birds and beasts in so much so as endeavours

were taken during his region to stop their unnecessary killing. During medieval era, another

set of legal principles were inducted, governed by the holy Koran which declares that “we

made water from every living things”.

Policy and Laws in British (1800-1947 AD) India

With the establishment of British Colonial rule, many changes were brought in the religiously

oriented indigenous system. The British regime saw the beginning of organized forest

management. It was the forestry, wildlife and water pollution which attracted their attention

in particular. In the field of forest protection, the enactment of the Forest Act, 1865 was the

first step at asserting the State monopoly right over the forests. The customary rights of rural

communities to manage forests were curtailed by the Act. The Forest Act of 1927 specifically

denied people any rights over the forest produce simply because they were domiciled there.

In the field of wildlife protection, the British practiced selective wildlife conservation. During

this period, the concern for protection and management of water resources in India came

through the first major development in the form of Bengal Regulation VI of 1819, which did

not mention protection of water environment from pollution but invested the Government

with sovereignty over water resources. It marked radical shift from earlier practices, which

treated the water resources as “common property” of all, with control lying in the hands of

the people.

The Shore Nuisance (Bombay and Kolaba) Act of 1853 and the Oriental Gas Company Act

of 1857 imposed restrictions on the fouling of water. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1858

dealt with prevention of pollution of sea by oil.

In 1860, for the first time, an attempt was made to control especially water and atmospheric

pollution through criminal sanctions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. As against

prohibitive provisions under the IPC, 1860, the Easement Act of 1882 allowed a prescription

right to pollute the water but it was not an absolute right (one was not to “unreasonably

pollute” or cause “material injury to other”). The Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act of 1905 and

Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act of 1912 were the earlier laws enacted during the British Raj,

aimed at controlling air pollution. Thus, the environmental policy during the British rule was

not directed at the conservation of nature but rather was directed at the appropriation and

exploitation of common resources with a primary objective of earning revenue. Neither were

there effective laws for the protection of environment. Further, these laws had a narrow scope

and limited territorial reach.

Policy and Laws after Independence (1947)

The India Constitution, as adopted in 1950, did not deal with the subject of environment or

prevention and control of pollution as such (until 1976 Amendment). The original text of the

Constitution under Article 372(1) has incorporated the earlier existing laws into the present

legal system and provides that notwithstanding the repeal by this Constitution of enactments

referred to in Article 395, but subject to other provisions of the other provisions of the

Constitution, all laws in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution

shall remain in force until altered, repealed or amended by a competent legislature or other

competent authority. As a result, even after five decades of independence, the plethora of

such laws is still in operation without any significant charge in them. The post-independence

era, until 1970, did not see much legislative activity in the field of environmental protection.

Two early post-independence laws touched on water pollution.

The Factories Act of 1948 required all factories to make effective arrangements for waste

disposal and empowered State Governments to frame rules implementing this directive.

Under the River Boards Act of 1956, river boards established are empowered to prevent

water pollution of inter-state rivers.

To prevent cruelty to animals, the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act was framed in 1960.

Thus, there were scattered provisions for checking pollution of air, water, etc., but there was

no unified effort in developing any policy concerning the pollution emanating from these

areas. This position went up to the seventies. Meanwhile concern arose over, inter-alia,

population increase, greater pollution levels; human impact on animal populations and natural

landscapes and other aspects of resource depletion. It was the Stockholm Declaration of 1972

which turned the attention of the Indian Government to the boarder perspective of

environmental protection. The government made its stand well known through five year plans

as well as the legislations enacted subsequently to curb and control environmental pollution.

Environmental Laws Since 1970’s

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, aimed at rational and modern wild life management.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, provides for the establishment of

pollution control boards at Centre and States to act as watchdogs for prevention and control

of pollution.

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 aimed to check deforestation, diversion of forest land

for non-forestry purposes, and to promote social forestry.

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, aimed at checking air pollution via

pollution control boards.

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is a landmark legislation which provides for single

focus in the country for protection of environment and aims at plugging the loopholes in

existing legislation. It provides mainly for pollution control, with stringent penalties for

violations.

The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, provides for mandatory insurance for the purpose

of providing immediate relief to person affected by accidents occurring while handling any

hazardous substance.

The National Environment Tribunals Act, 1995, was formulated in view of the fact that civil

courts litigations take a long time (as happened in Bhopal case). The Act provides for speedy

disposal of environmental related cases through environmental tribunals. Under the Act, four

benches of the tribunal has been set up in Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.

The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997, provides for the established of a

National Environment Appellant Authority (NEAA) to hear appeals with respect to

restriction in areas in which any industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or

shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards under the Environment (Protection) Act,

1986.

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is a major legislation intervention effected in the name of

the communities supposed to be involved in the protection of biodiversity around them. The

Act intends to facilitate access to genetic materials while protecting the traditional knowledge

associated with them.

Environmental Policy Since 1970’s

By early 1972 it had been realized that unless a national body was established to bring about

greater coherence and coordination in environmental policies and programmes and to

integrate environmental concerns in the plans for economic development, an important lacuna

would remain in India´s planning process. Thus, in Feb. 1972, a National Committee on

Environmental Planning and Coordination (NCEPC) was established in the Dept. of Science

and Technology. The Committee was to plan and coordinate, but the responsibility for

execution remained with the various ministries and governmental agencies. Over time the

composition of the Committee changes significantly and it became unwieldy, and decision

making more complex. Greater bureaucratization occurred with the addition of more

secretaries.

The Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) stressed that the NCEPC should be involved in all major

industrial designs and a link and balance between development planning and environmental

management has to be maintained. In this context, Minimum Needs Programme (covering

rural education, health, nutrition, drinking water, etc.) received a fairly high priority, and was

expected to minimize environmental pollution and degradation in rural areas.

In the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85), an entire chapter on “Environment and Development”

was included that emphasized sound environmental and ecological principles in land use,

agriculture, forestry, mineral extraction, energy production, etc. It provided environmental

guidelines to be used by administrators and resource managers when formulating and

implementing programmes, and lay down an institutional structure for environmental

management by the Central and State Governments.

The basic approach taken by the Seventh Plan (1985-90) was to emphasize sustainable

development in harmony with the environment, as the federal government had recognized the

negative effects that development programmes were having on the environment. The Plan

called for the government and voluntary agencies to work together to create environmental

awareness. The Seventh Plan recognized that the nation´s planning for economic growth and

social well-bring in each sector must also work to secure improvement in environmental

quality. The leaders of the country had realized that poverty and under-development, as

opposed to development activities, had led to many of the country´s environment problems.

The Eight Five Year Plan (1992-97) gave an important place to the environment by moving it

to the fourth category of subjects examined in the text. The Plan stated:

“Systematic efforts have been made since the Sixth Plan period of integrate environmental

considerations and imperatives in the planning process in all the key socio-economic sectors.

As a result of sustained endeavour, planning in all major sectors like industry, science and

technology, agriculture, energy and education include environmental considerations”.

The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) has emphasized “Growth with Social Justice and Equity”. The

Joint Forest Management and Community Forestry have been specially emphasized in the

Plan. The Tenth Plan (2002-2007 & further) is on the similar lines.

National Environmental Policy 2006

Preamble

A diverse developing society of India provides numerous challenges in the economic, social,

cultural, and environmental arenas. All of these coalesce in the dominant imperative of

alleviation of mass poverty, reckoned in the multiple dimensions of livelihood security,

health care, education, social stigmas, and elimination of gender disparities.

The present Indian environmental policies for environmental management are contained in

National Forest Policy, 1988, the National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on

Environment and Development, 1992. Some sector policies such as the National Agriculture

Policy, 2000 National Population Policy, 2000 and National Water Policy, 2002; have also

contributed towards environmental management. All of these policies have recognized the

need for sustainable development in their specific contexts and formulated necessary

strategies to give effect to such recognition.

Across the political spectrum of India there has been recognition of the role natural resources

play in providing livelihoods, and securing life support ecological services. In this

perspective a need for a comprehensive policy statement has been evident for some time in

order to infuse a common approach to the various sectoral and cross-sectoral, including

fiscal, approaches to environmental management. As the development challenges in the

country have evolved and understanding of the centrality of environmental concerns in

development has sharpened, there is also a need to review the earlier objectives, policy

instruments, and strategies.

The National Environmental Policy is a response to national commitment to a clean

environment, mandated in the Indian Constitution in Articles 48 A and 51 A (g), strengthened

by judicial interpretation of Article 21. It is recognized that maintaining a healthy

environment is not the state's responsibility alone, but also that of every Indian citizen. A

spirit of partnership should thus be realized throughout the spectrum of environmental

management in the country. While the state must galvanize its efforts, there should also be

recognition by each individual - natural or institutional, of its responsibility towards

maintaining and enhancing the quality of the environment.

Key Environmental Challenges: Causes and Impacts

The key environmental challenges that India faces relate to the nexus of environmental

degradation with poverty in its many dimensions, and economic growth. These challenges are

intrinsically connected with the state of environmental resources, such as land, water, air, and

their flora and fauna. The proximate drivers of environmental degradation are population

growth, inappropriate technology and consumption choices, and poverty, leading to changes

in relations between people and ecosystems, and development activities such as intensive

agriculture, polluting industry, and unplanned urbanisation. However, these factors give rise

to environmental degradation only through deeper causal linkages, in particular, institutional

failures, resulting in lack of clarity or enforcement of rights of access and use of

environmental resources, policies which provide disincentives for environmental

conservation (and which may have origins in the fiscal regime), market failures (which may

be linked to shortcomings in the regulatory regimes), and governance constraints.

Environmental degradation is a major causal factor in enhancing and perpetuating poverty,

particularly among the rural poor, when such degradation impacts soil fertility, quantity and

quality of water, air quality, forests, wildlife and fisheries. The dependence of the rural poor,

in particular, tribal societies, on their natural resources, especially biodiversity, is self-

evident. Women in particular face greater adverse impacts of degradation of natural

resources, being directly responsible for their collection and use, but rarely for their

management.

The poor are also more vulnerable to loss of resilience in ecosystems. Large reductions in

resilience may mean that the ecosystems, on which livelihoods are based, break down,

causing distress. The loss of the environmental resource base can result in certain groups of

people being made destitute, even if overall, the economy shows strong growth. For the poor,

several environmental resources are complementary in production and consumption to other

commodities, while a number of environmental resources are a source of income or food.

Poverty and environmental degradation are also reinforced by, and linked to population

growth, which in turn, depends on a complex interaction of diverse causal factors and stages

of development.

Poor environmental quality has adversely affected human health. Environmental factors are

estimated as being responsible in some cases for nearly 20 percent of the burden of disease in

India, and a number of environment-health factors are closely linked with dimensions of

poverty. It has been shown that interventions such as reducing indoor air pollution, protecting

sources of safe drinking water, protecting soil from contamination, improved sanitation

measures, and better public health governance, offer tremendous opportunities in reducing

the incidence of a number of critical health problems. It is also evident that these

environmental protection measures would be difficult to accomplish without extensive

awareness raising, and education, on good practices with respect to public and private

behaviour.

Objectives of the National Environment Policy 2006

The objectives relate to current perceptions of key environmental challenges. They may,

accordingly, evolve over time:

1) Conservation of Critical Environmental Resources:

To protect and conserve critical ecological systems and resources, and invaluable natural and

man-made heritage, which are essential for life support, livelihoods, economic growth, and a

broad conception of human well-being.

2) Intra-generational Equity: Livelihood Security for the Poor:

To ensure equitable access to environmental resources and quality for all sections of society,

and in particular, to ensure that poor communities, which are most dependent on

environmental resources for their livelihoods, are assured secure access to these resources.

3) Inter-generational Equity:

To ensure judicious use of environmental resources to meet the needs and aspirations of the

present and future generations.

4) Integration of Environmental Concerns in Economic and Social Development:

To integrate environmental concerns into policies, plans, programmes, and projects for

economic and social development.

5) Efficiency in Environmental Resource Use:

To ensure efficient use of environmental resources in the sense of reduction in their use per

unit of economic output, to minimize adverse environmental impacts.

6) Environmental Governance:

To apply the principles of good governance (transparency, rationality, accountability,

reduction in time and costs, participation, and regulatory independence) to the management

and regulation of use of environmental resources.

7) Enhancement of Resources for Environmental Conservation:

To ensure higher resource flows, comprising finance, technology, management skills,

traditional knowledge, and social capital, for environmental conservation through mutually

beneficial multi stakeholder partnerships between local communities, public agencies, the

academic and research community, investors, and multilateral and bilateral development

partners.

Principles

This policy has evolved from the recognition that only such development is sustainable,

which respects ecological constraints, and the imperatives of justice. The Objectives stated

above are to be realized through various strategic interventions by different public authorities

at Central, State, and Local Government levels. They would also be the basis of diverse

partnerships. The following Principles, May accordingly, guide the activities of different

actors in relation to this policy.

1) Human Beings are at the Centre of Sustainable Development Concerns

2) The Right to Development

3) Environmental Protection is an Integral part of the Development Process

4) The Precautionary Approach

5) Economic Efficiency

a) Polluter Pays

b) Cost Minimization

6) Entities with “Incomparable” Values:

Significant risks to human health, life, and environmental life-support systems, besides

certain other unique natural and man-made entities, which may impact the well-being,

broadly conceived, of large numbers of persons, may be considered as ”Incomparable” in that

individuals or societies would not accept these risks for compensation in money or

conventional goods and services. A conventional economic cost-benefit calculus would not,

accordingly, apply in their case, and such entities would have priority in allocation of societal

resources for their conservation without consideration of direct or immediate economic

benefit.

7) Equity:

The cardinal principle of equity or justice requires that human beings cannot be treated

differently based on irrelevant differences between them.

8) Environmental Standard Setting:

Environmental standards must reflect the economic and social development situation in

which they apply.

9) Preventive Action:

It is preferable to prevent environmental damage from occurring in the first place, rather than

attempting to restore degraded environmental resources after the fact.

10) Environmental Offsetting:

There is a general obligation to protect threatened or endangered species and natural systems

that are of special importance to sustaining life, providing livelihoods, or general well-being.

If for exceptional reasons of overriding public interest such protection cannot be provided in

particular cases, cost-effective offsetting measures must be undertaken by the proponents of

the activity, to restore as nearly as may be feasible, the lost environmental services to the

same publics.

Strategies and Actions

The foregoing statement of policy Objectives and Principles are to be realized by concrete

actions in different areas relating to key environmental challenges. A large number of such

actions are currently under way, and have been for several years, in some cases, for many

decades. In some aspects new themes would need to be pursued to realize the Principles and

Objectives. Action plans would need to be prepared on identified themes by the concerned

agencies at all levels of Government Central, State/UT, and Local.

Process Related Reforms:

The present approach to dealing with environmentally unacceptable behaviour in India has

been largely based on criminal processes and sanctions. Although criminal sanctions, if

successful, may create a deterrent impact, in reality they are rarely fruitful for a number of

reasons. On the other hand, giving unfettered powers to enforcement authorities may lead to

rent-seeking. Civil law, on the other hand, offers flexibility, and its sanctions can be more

effectively tailored to particular situations. The evidentiary burdens of civil proceedings are

less daunting than those of criminal law. It also allows for preventive policing through orders

and injunctions. Accordingly, a judicious mix of civil and criminal processes and sanctions

will be employed in the legal regime for enforcement, through a review of the existing

legislation.

Substantive Reforms:

1) Environment and Forests Clearances:

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will continue to be the principal methodology for

appraising and reviewing new projects.

2) Coastal Areas:

Development activities in the coastal areas are regulated by means of the Coastal Regulation

Zone notifications and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans made under them.

However, there is need to ensure that the regulations are firmly founded on scientific

principles, including the physical, natural, and social sciences.

3) Environmentally Sensitive Zones:

Environmentally Sensitive Zones may be defined as areas with identified environmental

resources having “Incomparable Values” which require special attention for their

conservation.

Enhancing and Conserving Environmental Resources:

1) Forests:

Forests provide a multiplicity of environmental services. Foremost among these is the

recharging of mountain aquifers, which sustain our rivers. They also conserve the soil, and

prevent floods and drought. They provide habitat for wildlife and the ecological conditions

for maintenance and natural evolution of genetic diversity of flora and fauna. They are the

homes of traditional forest dependent communities. They yield timber, fuel wood, and other

forest produce, and possess immense potential for economic benefits, in particular for local

communities, from sustainable eco-tourism.

2) Wildlife:

The status of wildlife in a region is an accurate index of the state of ecological resources, and

thus of the natural resource base of human well-being. This is because of the interdependent

nature of ecological entities.

3) Groundwater:

Groundwater is present in underground aquifers in many parts of the country. Aquifers near

the surface are subject to annual recharge from precipitation, but the rate of recharge is

impacted by human interference. Deep aquifers, on the other hand, occur below a substratum

of hard rock. The deep aquifers generally contain very pure water, but since they are

recharged only over many millennia, must be conserved for use only in periods of calamitous

drought, such as may happen only once in several hundred years. The boundaries of

groundwater aquifers do not generally correspond to the spatial jurisdiction of any local

public authorities or private holdings, nor are they easily discernible, nor can withdrawals be

easily monitored, leading to the unavoidable situation of groundwater being an open access

resource.

4) River Systems:

India's river systems typically originate in its mountain eco-systems, and deliver the major

part of their water resources to the populations in the plains. Available records suggest that the

glacier is retreating by about 30 meters per year. Elevated global mean temperature may increase net

melting rates resulting in glacial retreat and consequent adverse impact on flows in major rivers.

References

Constitution of India.

National Environmental Policy, Government of India 2006.

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in