Ignorance Of Government In The Implementation Of Environmental Laws: A Matter Of Huge Concern
By Anjitha Santhosh
“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action”
~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
INTRODUCTION
Environmental laws include regulations, statutes, legislation and treaties that are designed to protect the environment. India has an impressive number of laws to deal with environment-related issues. Despite such numerous legislations, the real state of nature continues to be choked day by day. The rivers and lakes are contaminated by sewage and industrial wastes. Forests are getting degraded at an alarming rate. India is also the third-largest producer of Green House Gases. In 2018, the air quality in Delhi became extremely toxic which was 20 times more than the safe limit prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO)¹. The life expectancy of people in India has been cut short by 5.3% due to air pollution². Among the top 20 most polluting cities in the world, 15 are in India³. These problems indicate that decade-old regulations have proven to be ineffective. This is due to the inefficiency of government in the implementation of environmental laws in the country.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS IN INDIA
The need for environmental legislation came after the UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm 1972). In 1972, to look after environment-related issues, the National Council for Environmental Policy and Planning was set up within the Department of Science and Technology which later evolved into the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It is the apex body that lay down the legal and regulatory framework for ensuring environmental protection in India.
India was the first country to impose a constitutional obligation on the state to improve the environment as one of its primary duties. According to Article 48(A), the state shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife of the country⁴. Article 51A provides that “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve that natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures”⁵. The Court in the case of Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar⁶ ruled that Article 21 include the right to life and enjoyment of pollution-free water and air for full enjoyment of life. The important legislation for the protection of the environment are:-
· The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
This act provides for the establishment of Boards to control and prevent water pollution in the country. It also works towards maintaining and preserving water.
· The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
This act provides for the establishment of Boards at Centre and State level to prevent and control air pollution in the country.
· The Environment Protection Act, 1986
This act lays down a system of speedy and adequate response to situations threatening the environment by studying, planning and implementing long time requirements.
· The National Green Tribunal Act (2010)
This act provides the establishment of the National Green Tribunal for effective disposal of environment-related cases.
· Hazardous Waste Management Regulations
The legislations that come under Hazardous Waste Management Regulations directly or indirectly are:
a) Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary) Rules, 2008;
b) Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998;
c) Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000;
d) Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001;
e) E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.
Other laws
Other laws related to Environment Protection include The Indian Forest Act (1927), The Wildlife Protection Act (1972), The Forest Conservation Act (1980), The Scheduled Tribe and other traditional forest dwellers (Recognition of forest rights) act (2006), Public Liability Insurance Act (1991), The Biological Diversity Act (2002) and Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011.
CHALENGES FACED FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
According to the Environmental Performance Index released by Yale University in 2020, India’s rank is 168 out of 180 countries⁷. From this, we can conclude that there is a lack of effective implementation of environmental laws. The biggest obstacle is the absence of coordination between the government at the National and State levels. Lack of independence of bodies is also a major problem. The environmental laws are decades old and are not compatible with the present situation. There is also the problem of insufficient funds and manpower.
In 2014, a high-level committee was formed under T.S.R Subramanian to review and amend the six main environmental laws in the country namely, Indian Forest Act, 1927; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The committee submitted its report in November 2014, suggesting lots of changes in the green laws like simplifying the rules and reducing delays in the environmental cases. It also recommended an umbrella environmental law⁸. The changes recommended were met with intense opposition. The report was also rejected by Parliament’s standing committee⁹.
According to the environmental Activist, Rama Kumar the environmental laws in India are uneven and patchy. There are inconsistencies in effective control over industries especially small ones. Take the instance of Rajasthan Industrial waste discharge into the Bandi river which results in the contamination of groundwater. The government is more focused on developmental projects that help create laws and improve the economy. Many industries do not follow the standards for waste discharge. They discharge industrial waste into the river without even following the basic protocols. It leads to contamination of the groundwater which in turn degrades other natural resources such as land, soil, and vegetation. According to Greenpeace India, coal-based power plants continue to be a major source of air pollution in India¹⁰. The industrial development has contributed a lot towards increasing environmental hazards in India¹¹. These Industries produce an enormous amount of untreated waste that often ends up in rivers, lakes, forests and landfills¹². The government is worried to take stringent measures against Industries that violate regulation as it will lead to mass unemployment.
Recently, there was a nationwide discontent over the proposed draft of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020¹³. The problem with the notification is that for the smooth running of industries, it is weakening the environment regime in India by removing judicial control and exempting several projects from a public consultation which hint towards serious threats to the environment. Even after the COVID-19 outbreak, the economic recovery package does not contain a pro-environmental initiative.
Even the litigation process is very long and tiring. It takes a lot of years to solve cases related to the environment since the government authorities like the State Pollution Control Boards fail to submit scientific reports and evidence. Sometimes, the government brings out policies hastily that chokes our industries especially small and medium scale industries. This proves to be a major dent in our development.
SUGGESTIONS
The real objective in environmental laws can only be made by creating public awareness among the people regarding their rights and duties for the protection of the environment and making them aware of the importance of environmental laws¹⁴. In a country like India, the media can play a great role in bringing people’s attention to things that are being ignored. Through media, public awareness can be brought towards the degradation of the environment.
Environmental institutions must be strong and effective as they play a vital role in solving problems related to environmental issues. There is a need for proper enforcement of environmental legislations by fixing the existing loopholes in public policies. These institutions should notice environmental problems and submit periodic reports.
The government while taking economical decision should give due attention to ecological balance. Collective measures are needed to be taken by the government, Industries and civil society to combat environmental pollution¹⁵.
CONCLUSION
Though India’s environmental laws have come a long way after the Bhopal gas Tragedy, it still lacks when it comes to implementation. The future of our planet and its inhabitants is very bleak. To combat this problem of rising deforestation, loss of biodiversity and raising global temperature the emphasis of the government needs to shift from the development of policies to that of their implementation and enforcement. Our Planet is going through its worst phase and now it’s time to wake up and take action.
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[1] Debanish Achom, Thick Smog in Delhi Before Diwali, Pollution over 20 Times Safe Limit, NDTV, ( Nov 05, 2018, 12.32 PM), https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/smog-envelopes-delhi-air-quality-falls-2-days-before-diwali-1942874#:~:text=New%20Delhi%3A&text=The%20levels%20of%20the%20pollutant,lungs%20and%20cause%20respiratory%20diseases.
[2] Hemant Sethi, How is India dealing with environmental risks and Climate Change, ET, ( OCT 11, 2019, 03.19 PM), https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/energy-speak/how-is-india-dealing-with-environmental-risks-and-climate-change/3824#:~:text=The%20country%20is%20grappling%20with,lives%20and%20crippled%20economic%20activity.
[3] India has 15 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world, says study, THE PRINT, (March 5, 2019, 4.28 PM), https://theprint.in/science/india-has-15-out-of-20-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world-says-study/201507/#:~:text=India%20still%20has%2015%20out,the%2011th%20spot%2C%20it%20said.
[4] INDIA CONST, art. 48 (A).
[5] INDIA CONST, art 51(A).
[6] 1991 AIR 420.
[7] India ranks 168th on Environmental Performance Index, NATIONAL HERALD, (Jun 9, 2020, 4.00 PM), https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/punjab-rejects-union-governments-formula-for-gst-compensation
[8] Mayank Aggarwal, India’s pre-election changes to green laws draws criticism, MONGABAY (Jul 19, 2018) news.mongabay.com/2018/07/indias-pre-election-changes-to-green-laws-draw-criticism/
[9] Ibid.
[10] 76,000 premature deaths could’ve been prevented if India’s coal power plants behaved themselves: Greenpeace, IND. TODAY (Dec 14, 2018, 3.49 PM) https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/76000-premature-deaths-avoided-india-coal-power-plants-1409404-2018-12-14#:~:text=%2D%2D%20on%20Friday.-,If%20India's%20coal%20power%20plants%20behaved%20themselves,emission%20standards%2C%20says%20Greenpeace%20India.
[11] Karan Singh , Dr. Vivek Agrawal , Effectiveness of Environment laws in India : An analytical study , 3 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 635–640(2018).
[12] Govindaswamy A., India’s Pollution Nightmare: Can It Be Tackled?, 46, ENVIRON. SCI. TECHNOL. 1305–1306 ( 2012).
[13] Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk, Dear Environment Ministry, Here’s Why We Care So Deeply About About the Draft EIA, THE BETTER HOME(Aug 31, 2020, 10.04 pm) https://www.thebetterindia.com/231602/draft-eia-comments-impact-environment-impact-assessment-norms-explained-ministry-deadline-india-nor41/.
[14] Binod B. Sandwar, Implementation of Environment Legislationss and Environment Protection, 36 JOURNAL FOR INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION CONTROL http://www.icontrolpollution.com/articles/implementation-of-environmental-legislations-forenvironmental-protection-.php?aid=45644.
[15] Vinay Trivedi, Lessons from COVID-19 on reducing Indi’s environmental pollution, DOWN TO EARTH (May 04, 2020) https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/pollution/lessons-from-covid-19-on-reducing-india-s-environmental-pollution-70891.
The author is a year III B.A. LL.B (Hons.) student of Jamia Millia Islamia University. Her submission secured a special mention in the Journal and Seminar Committee National Article Writing Competition 2020 organised in the month of August, 2020.
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