This article is written by SHRUTI JAIN, LL.B 1stYear student of State Level PG Law College, Bhopal during her internship with LeDroit India.
Introduction
Overview: The Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) turned into enacted in 1986 with the goal of offering the safety and development of the surroundings. It empowers the Central Government to set up government charged with the mandate of stopping environmental pollutants in all its bureaucracy and to address precise environmental issues which are bizarre to unique components of the country. The Act is one of the maximum complete legislations with a pretext to safety and development of the surroundings.
Background: The roots of the enactment of the EPA lies in the United Nations Conference at the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972 (Stockholm Conference), wherein India participated, to take suitable steps for the development of the human surroundings.
The Act implements the selections made on the Stockholm Conference.
Constitutional Provisions
The EPA Act turned into enacted beneathneath Article 253 of the Indian Constitution which presents for the enactment of law for giving impact to worldwide agreements.
Article 48A of the Constitution specifies that the State shall endeavor to guard and enhance the surroundings and to shield the forests and flora and fauna of the country.
Article 51A similarly affords that each citizen shall shield the surroundings.
Coverage: The Act is relevant to the entire of India along with the country of Jammu & Kashmir.
Salient Features of the EPA Act
Powers of the Central Government: The Central Government shall have the energy to take all such measures because it deems essential or expedient for the cause of shielding and enhancing the great of the surroundings in coordination with the State Governments.
The Central authorities is likewise empowered to:
- Plan and Execute a nation-extensive programme for the prevention, manage and abatement of environmental pollutants.
- Lay down requirements for the nice of surroundings in its diverse aspects.
- Lay down requirements for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from numerous sources.
- The limit of areas wherein any industries, operations or methods or magnificence of industries, operations or strategies shall/ shall now no longer be accomplished difficulty to positive safeguards.
- The Central Government may also employ officials below this Act for diverse functions and entrust them with the corresponding powers and features.
The vital authorities as consistent with the Act has the energy to direct:
- The closure, prohibition or law of any industry, operation or process.
- The stoppage or law of the deliver of power or water or every other service.
Restriction on Pollutant Discharge: No character or company shall discharge/emit or allow to discharge/emit any environmental pollutant in extra of the prescribed requirements.
Compliance with Procedural Safeguards: No character shall deal with or will be prompted to address any dangerous substance besides according with the method and with out complying with the safeguards, as prescribed.
Powers of Entry and Inspection: Any individual empowered through the Central Government shall have a proper to enter (with the help deemed important) at any place:
- For the inspection of compliance of any orders, notifications and instructions given below the Act.
- For the motive of examining (and if required seizing) any equipment, commercial plant, record, register, record or another cloth item may also provide proof of the fee of an offence punishable beneathneath this Act.
Establishment of Environmental Laboratories: The Central Government, as consistent with the Act, is entitled to:
- Establish environmental laboratories.
- Recognise any laboratory or institute as environmental laboratories to perform the features entrusted to any such laboratory.
- The Central Government is likewise entitled to make guidelines specifying the features of environmental laboratories.
Appointment of Government Analyst: A Government Analyst is appointed with the aid of using the Central Government for the analyzing the samples of air, water, soil or different substance dispatched to a regarded environmental laboratory.
Penalties for Offences: Non-compliance or Contravention to any of the provisions of the Act is taken into consideration as an offence.
Any offences below the EPA are punishable with the imprisonment of upto 5 years or a high-quality upto one lakh rupees or both.
Offences via way of means of Companies: If an offence below this Act is dedicated through a company, everyone at once in price of the company, on the time of the dedication of offence, is deemed to be responsible until verified otherwise.
Offences through Government Departments: If an offence beneathneath this Act has been dedicated via way of means of any Department of Government, the Head of the Department (HOD) will be deemed to be responsible of the offence until demonstrated otherwise.
Any officer, aside from HOD, if validated responsible, shall additionally be at risk of be proceeded in opposition to and punished accordingly.
Cognizance of offences: No Court shall take awareness of any offence beneathneath this Act besides on a grievance made through:
The Central Government or any authority on behalf of the previous.
A man or woman who has approached the Courts after a 60-day note has been supplied to the Central Government or the authority on its behalf.
Drawbacks of the Act
Complete Centralization of the Act: A capability disadvantage of the Act can be its centralization. While such huge powers are furnished to the Centre and no powers to the country governments, the previous is prone to its arbitrariness and misuse.
No Public Participation: The Act additionally says not anything approximately public participation as regards environmental safety.
There is a want to contain the residents in environmental safety to test arbitrariness and lift recognition and empathy closer to the surroundings.
Incomplete Coverage of Pollutants: The Act does now no longer cope with cutting-edge idea of pollutants including noise, overburdened shipping device and radiation waves which might be additionally an essential reason for the deteriorating surroundings.
To get your articles published send us your articles at info.ledroitindia@gmail.com.
