Environmental Laws and Institutions — UPSC Environment Notes

1. Constitutional Provisions

Article 21 (Right to Life): Courts have held that it includes the right to a pollution-free environment, clean air and water (Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, 1991).

Article 48A (DPSP): The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.

Article 51A(g) (Fundamental Duty): Every citizen shall protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and have compassion for living creatures.

42nd Amendment (1976): Inserted Articles 48A and 51A(g) and moved 'Forests' and 'Protection of wild animals and birds' from the State List to the Concurrent List.

Article 253: Lets Parliament make laws for the whole country to implement international agreements; the Air Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 followed the 1972 Stockholm Conference.

Local Bodies: The 11th and 12th Schedules list social forestry, farm forestry, urban forestry and protection of the environment among the functions of panchayats and municipalities.

2. Judicial Doctrines

Absolute Liability: An enterprise engaged in a hazardous activity is absolutely liable for harm caused, with no exceptions such as 'act of God'; stricter than the English rule of strict liability (M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, 1987, the oleum gas leak case).

Polluter Pays: The polluter must bear the cost of preventing pollution and of restoring the damaged environment (Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India, 1996; Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India, 1996).

Precautionary Principle: Where there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty is no excuse for delay; the burden of proof lies on the developer or industry (Vellore, 1996).

Public Trust Doctrine: The State holds natural resources such as rivers, forests, seashores and air as a trustee for the public and cannot hand them over for private use (M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, 1997, on a motel built on the Beas river bank).

Sustainable Development: Development and environment are not opposites; courts balance them, accepting the precautionary and polluter-pays principles as part of the law of the land (Vellore, 1996).

Intergenerational Equity: The present generation must use natural resources so that future generations are not deprived of them.

3. Landmark Cases

Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (1985): Closure of limestone quarries in the Doon valley, one of the first environmental cases under Article 21.

M.C. Mehta Cases: Ganga pollution by tanneries (1987-88), CNG for Delhi's public transport (1998-2002) and the Taj Trapezium Zone to protect the Taj Mahal (1996).

T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad (1996 onwards): A continuing case ('continuing mandamus') in which the Supreme Court gave 'forest' a wide meaning and has supervised forest governance for decades.

M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024): Recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.

Practice

UPSC-style: The 'absolute liability' principle, which allows no exceptions, was laid down in which case? (Answer: M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, 1987, the oleum gas leak case.)

1. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Background: Enacted under Article 253 after the 1972 Stockholm Conference and in direct response to the Bhopal gas tragedy (December 1984).

Wide Definition: 'Environment' includes water, air and land and the relationships among them and with humans, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property.

Section 3: Gives the Central Government wide powers to protect the environment, including setting standards, restricting industries in certain areas and creating authorities (for example, the former EPCA for Delhi).

Section 5: Power to issue directions, including closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry and stopping its electricity or water supply.

Section 6 (Rules): The basis of the EIA Notification (2006), CRZ Notification (2019), Eco-Sensitive Zones, the waste management rules, noise rules and ozone rules.

Section 19 (Citizen Suit): Any person can complain to a court after giving 60 days' notice to the government.

Penalties: Originally imprisonment up to five years and fines; the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 replaced imprisonment with monetary penalties for most contraventions, decided by adjudicating officers.

2. National Green Tribunal (NGT)

Establishment: Set up on 18 October 2010 under the NGT Act, 2010, drawing on Article 21 and Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration (access to justice in environmental matters). India was among the first countries to set up a specialised environmental tribunal.

Benches: Principal bench in New Delhi; zonal benches at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai; circuit sittings elsewhere.

Composition: A Chairperson (a retired Supreme Court judge or High Court Chief Justice), judicial members and expert members with scientific or technical qualifications (at least 10 and up to 20 of each type).

Jurisdiction: Civil cases involving a substantial question relating to the environment under seven laws in Schedule I: the Water Act, 1974; Water Cess Act, 1977; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Air Act, 1981; Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991; and Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Outside its Jurisdiction: The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 are not in Schedule I.

Procedure: Not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure but by natural justice; must apply sustainable development, the precautionary principle and polluter pays (Section 20); aims to decide cases within six months.

Appeals and Powers: Appeals go to the Supreme Court within 90 days; in 2021 the Supreme Court held that the NGT can take up matters suo motu.

3. Other Institutions

CPCB and SPCBs: Created under the Water Act, 1974; they set and enforce standards, monitor air and water quality and grant consent to establish and operate industries.

Practice

UPSC-style: Which of these Acts is NOT in the NGT's Schedule I: Biological Diversity Act, 2002 or Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972? (Answer: the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.)

1. Indian Forest Act, 1927

Purpose: Consolidates law on forests, the transit of forest produce and duties on timber; it reflects the colonial aim of revenue and state control.

Reserved Forests: Highest protection; activities are banned unless specifically allowed, and rights of local people are settled before notification.

Protected Forests: Rights are recorded and many activities are allowed unless specifically banned.

Village Forests: Reserved forest land assigned to a village community for its use and management.

2017 Amendment: Removed bamboo grown in non-forest areas from the definition of 'tree', so it can be felled and transported freely, helping farmers' incomes.

2. Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

Core Rule: States need prior Central Government approval to de-reserve a forest, use forest land for non-forest purposes, lease it to private parties or clear naturally grown trees for reforestation.

Process: A Forest Advisory Committee advises the Centre; approved diversion requires compensatory afforestation and payment of the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest lost.

Godavarman Order (12 December 1996): The Supreme Court held that 'forest' must be understood in its dictionary sense, covering all statutorily recognised forests and any area recorded as forest in government records, whatever its ownership.

3. The 2023 Amendment

New Name: The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 renamed the 1980 law the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, and its preamble refers to India's carbon-sink and net-zero goals.

Land Covered: Forest land notified under the Indian Forest Act or any other law, and land recorded as forest in government records on or after 25 October 1980; land changed from forest to non-forest use by a state on or before 12 December 1996 is excluded.

Exemptions: Forest land within 100 km of international borders, the LoC or the LAC for strategic linear projects; up to 10 hectares for security infrastructure; up to 5 hectares in Left Wing Extremism areas for defence or public utility projects; small roadside amenities.

Permitted Forest Activities: Zoos and safaris run by government bodies (outside protected areas), eco-tourism, silvicultural operations and certain surveys are treated as forestry activities that need no diversion approval.

Supreme Court Interim Order (February 2024): While hearing challenges to the amendment, the Court directed governments to continue following the wide dictionary definition of 'forest' from the Godavarman case and to identify such forests, so 'deemed forests' not in records remain protected for now.

4. National Forest Policy, 1988

Goal: One-third of India's geographical area under forest or tree cover (two-thirds in hills), with priority to ecological security and to the needs of forest-dependent people over commercial use.

Practice

UPSC-style: Under the 2023 amendment, which projects near international borders are exempt from forest clearance? (Answer: strategic linear projects of national importance within 100 km of borders, LoC or LAC.)

1. Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006

Full Name: The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006; the nodal ministry is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Who is Eligible: Forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes, and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers who have lived in and depended on forests for at least three generations (75 years); occupation must be before 13 December 2005.

Individual Rights: Right to land under occupation and cultivation, up to a maximum of 4 hectares.

Community Rights: Ownership of minor forest produce (such as tendu leaves, bamboo and honey), grazing, fishing and access to water bodies, and rights of nomadic and pastoral communities.

Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights: The right to protect, regenerate, conserve and manage the community forest resource, which turns villages into forest managers.

Process: The Gram Sabha receives and verifies claims, followed by the Sub-Divisional Level Committee, the District Level Committee (final authority) and a State Level Monitoring Committee.

Critical Wildlife Habitats: Areas inside parks and sanctuaries may be kept inviolate only after a scientific process and with the free informed consent of the Gram Sabha for any resettlement.

Niyamgiri Case (2013): The Supreme Court asked the Gram Sabhas of the Dongria Kondh to decide on bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills (Odisha); they rejected it, a landmark for community consent.

2. Joint Forest Management (JFM)

Origin: Grew out of the Arabari experiment in West Bengal (early 1970s) and was launched nationally by a Government of India circular in June 1990, following the National Forest Policy, 1988.

How it Works: Village-level JFM Committees protect degraded forests with the forest department and in return get a share of usufructs such as fuelwood, fodder, non-timber produce and part of timber revenue.

Limits: JFM rests on executive orders, so the forest department keeps control; FRA gives communities statutory rights instead.

3. CAMPA

Background: Money collected for diverted forest land lay unused, so the Supreme Court set up an ad hoc CAMPA in the 2000s; Parliament then passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 (rules in 2018).

Funds: A National Fund in the Public Account of India and State Funds in the Public Accounts of the states; 90% goes to the states and 10% stays with the Centre.

Sources and Uses: Compensatory afforestation charges and the Net Present Value of lost forests; spent on afforestation, assisted natural regeneration, wildlife habitat improvement, forest protection and related infrastructure.

Practice

UPSC-style: Under the Forest Rights Act, which body initiates the process of determining forest rights? (Answer: the Gram Sabha.)

1. Background

Evolution: The first CRZ notification came in 1991, followed by 2011 and the current CRZ Notification, 2019, based on the recommendations of the Shailesh Nayak Committee (2014).

Key Lines: Zones are measured from the High Tide Line (HTL) and Low Tide Line (LTL); the HTL is demarcated with the help of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai.

Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs): Prepared by states and approved by the Centre; State and National Coastal Zone Management Authorities monitor compliance.

2. Zones under CRZ 2019

CRZ-I A: Ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, salt marshes, turtle nesting grounds and national parks; essentially no new construction, with a 50-metre buffer around mangrove patches larger than 1,000 square metres.

CRZ-I B: The intertidal zone between the LTL and HTL.

CRZ-II: Developed areas up to or close to the shoreline within municipal limits; construction is allowed on the landward side of existing structures, and floor area ratio follows current town-planning norms (no longer frozen at 1991 levels).

CRZ-III A: Rural areas with population density above 2,161 per sq km (Census 2011); the no-development zone (NDZ) is 50 metres from the HTL (it was 200 metres earlier).

CRZ-III B: Rural areas with lower population density; the NDZ remains 200 metres from the HTL.

CRZ-IV A: The water and sea-bed area from the LTL up to 12 nautical miles into the sea.

CRZ-IV B: The water area of tidal-influenced water bodies (creeks, rivers, backwaters) from the LTL on one bank to the LTL on the other.

3. Other Key Provisions

Islands: An NDZ of 20 metres for all islands close to the mainland and for backwater islands; the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands follow separate Island Coastal Regulation Zone rules.

Tourism: Temporary facilities such as shacks, toilets, changing rooms and drinking-water points are allowed on beaches, keeping a minimum distance of 10 metres from the HTL.

Clearances: Only projects in CRZ-I and CRZ-IV need clearance from the MoEFCC; those in CRZ-II and III are decided by the states and UTs.

Pollution and Erosion: Facilities to treat sewage and waste are allowed in CRZ-I B and IV, and erosion-control measures are permitted based on shoreline studies.

Practice

UPSC-style: Under CRZ 2019, what is the no-development zone in densely populated rural coastal areas (CRZ-III A)? (Answer: 50 metres from the High Tide Line.)

1. Schedules after the 2022 Amendment

Schedule I: Animal species with the highest protection (for example tiger, Asiatic lion, Great Indian Bustard, Gangetic dolphin); offences attract the heaviest punishment.

Schedule II: Animal species with a lesser degree of protection.

Schedule III: Protected plant species, whose picking, uprooting and trade are regulated.

Schedule IV: Specimens listed in the CITES Appendices ('scheduled specimens'), which must be registered and traded only with permits.

Vermin: The separate vermin schedule was removed, but the Central Government can still declare any wild animal (other than Schedule I species) as vermin for a specific area and period under Section 62.

2. Protected Areas under the Act

Wildlife Sanctuary: Declared by the state government; some rights of local people (such as grazing) may be allowed.

National Park: Higher protection; no grazing or private rights are allowed. Boundaries of sanctuaries and national parks can be altered only on the recommendation of the National Board for Wildlife.

Conservation and Community Reserves (2002 amendment): Conservation reserves are government land adjoining protected areas; community reserves are community or private land whose owners volunteer to conserve it.

Tiger Reserves (2006 amendment): Notified by the state on the recommendation of the NTCA, with an inviolate core and a buffer zone.

3. Institutions

National Board for Wildlife (NBWL): Chaired by the Prime Minister; its Standing Committee, chaired by the Environment Minister, clears projects in and around protected areas.

Central Zoo Authority (1992): Recognises and monitors zoos and coordinates conservation breeding.

National Tiger Conservation Authority (2006): Statutory body chaired by the Environment Minister; runs Project Tiger and approves tiger conservation plans.

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB): A statutory multi-agency body set up in 2007 under the 2006 amendment, headquartered in New Delhi; it gathers intelligence on organised wildlife crime, coordinates with police, customs and CITES authorities, and trains enforcement agencies.

4. Offences and Penalties

Hunting: Prohibited, except when the Chief Wildlife Warden permits killing of an animal that has become dangerous to human life or is disabled or diseased beyond recovery.

Penalties: Offences involving Schedule I species attract imprisonment of three to seven years; the 2022 amendment raised fines (general violations up to ₹1 lakh, and a minimum of ₹25,000 for specially protected animals).

Practice

UPSC-style: Who chairs the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife? (Answer: the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the full Board is chaired by the Prime Minister.)