7.3.4 Environment laws and institutions notes

1. 7.3.4.1Constitution and the courts: Articles 48A, 51A(g), 21 and landmark judgments

   The Constitution makes environment protection a duty of the State (Article 48A) and of every citizen (Article 51A(g)), and the Supreme Court has read a right to a clean environment into the right to life (Article 21).

   Standard · 9 min · Full course
2. 7.3.4.2Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 and its 2022 amendment

   The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is India's main law for protecting wild animals and plants: it bans hunting of listed species, controls trade, and creates protected areas and the bodies that run them.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
3. 7.3.4.3Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, its 2023 amendment and CAMPA

   The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 says forest land cannot be used for non-forest purposes without the Centre's prior approval; the 2023 amendment renamed it, narrowed which land it covers and exempted some projects, while CAMPA manages the money paid to replace lost forests.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
4. 7.3.4.4Forest Rights Act 2006

   The Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers over land and forest resources they have long depended on, with the Gram Sabha at the centre of the process.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
5. 7.3.4.5Environment (Protection) Act 1986

   The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is India's umbrella environmental law: it gives the Central Government wide powers to set standards, regulate industries, issue binding directions and make rules on any environmental matter.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
6. 7.3.4.6Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981

   The Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981 set up the Central and State Pollution Control Boards and require industries to get the Board's consent before they discharge effluents or emissions.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
7. 7.3.4.7Biological Diversity Act 2002 and its 2023 amendment

   The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 gives effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity in India: it regulates access to biological resources and traditional knowledge and makes users share benefits with the communities that conserve them.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
8. 7.3.4.8Environmental Impact Assessment: EIA Notification 2006 and the clearance process

   Environmental Impact Assessment is the study of a project's likely effects on the environment before it is approved; the EIA Notification, 2006 makes prior environmental clearance compulsory for listed projects and sets a four-stage process.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
9. 7.3.4.9Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019

   The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019 regulates construction and activities along India's coast and tidal water bodies, dividing the coast into zones with different levels of restriction.

   Standard · 8 min · Full course
10. 7.3.4.10National Green Tribunal

    The National Green Tribunal is a specialised court set up in 2010 to decide environmental cases quickly, with judges and expert members, under seven listed environmental laws.

    Standard · 7 min · Full course
11. 7.3.4.11Environmental institutions: MoEFCC, CPCB, SPCBs, NBWL, WCCB and AWBI

    India's environmental governance is run by the Environment Ministry and a set of statutory bodies, each created under a specific law: the pollution control boards, wildlife bodies, the biodiversity authority and others.

    Standard · 8 min · Full course

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