Open Access Research Article
INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: WHY WEREN’T THEY IMPLEMENTED?
Published Paper
Article Details
INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL
LAWS: WHY WEREN’T THEY IMPLEMENTED?
AUTHORED BY - PRIYANKA MADERNA[1]
& DR. RITUJA SHARMA[2]
Abstract:
The paper studies and tries to address the numerous causes of the poor
execution of the laws and how it might be changed. The study is done for both air
pollution and water contamination and the reasons for the inefficiency 0f the
environmental regulation to combat the Air and water pollution. The authors
have tried to suggest the way forward.
Keywords: Environmental Pollution, Air Pollution, Inefficiency
of Air Act, Water Contamination, Inefficiency of Water Act, Reasons of Ineffectiveness
1. Introduction
The importance of environmental regulations in
promoting sustainable development cannot be overstated. It offers a legal foundation for defending
both people and the environment. The effectiveness of governmental institutions
is also reflected in the drafting of environmental legislation and the state of
their implementation. But it is becoming more and clearer that we have not
carried out environmental legislation.
According to the UN research,
"Environmental Rule of Law," the insufficient enforcement of
environmental laws has been a global trend over the past forty years, according
to the first-ever global evaluation of environmental rule of law. It also
claims that a lack of political will is one of the biggest obstacles to putting
environmental laws and regulations into effect.
In India, the preservation of the environment
has been elevated to the rank of a basic legislation. Every person has the
fundamental right to live in a pollution-free environment under the Indian
Constitution. We have legislative and
constitutional protections for the environment that adhere to the sustainable
development paradigm.
Although the term "environment" is not
specifically mentioned in the Indian Constitution, Article 21 of the
Constitution guarantees the right to life and personal freedom, and Article 47
of the Constitution places the primary responsibility for improving public
health and nutrition—which raises living standards—on the State.
The Supreme Court of India has established the
"Precautionary principle" and the "Polluter Pays Principle"
as fundamental components of "sustainable development," taking
inspiration from the Stockholm Declaration.
The Constitutional provisions, general laws (IPC, CrPC), special acts
(more than 300 acts, including IFA, WPA, EPA, Air Act, Water Act, FCA, National
Green Tribunal 2009, etc.), and other legislation all contribute to India's
legislative framework for environmental protection
& Policies (National Forest Policy, National Agriculture Policy, National
Environment Policy, 2006).
This demonstrates that there is no shortage of
environmental protection legislation in India, but despite all of these laws,
it is becoming more and more obvious that we have significantly altered the
ecosystem, started to exhaust the naturally occurring resources, and polluted
the environment, making it difficult for all living organisms to live a quality
life in their ecosystem. Despite having a lot of rules, India reportedly
has a significant issue with environmental protection. India was placed 177th
out of 180 countries in the 2018 Global Environment Performance Index rankings
for failing to improve the environment's air quality and failing to lower
greenhouse gas emissions. This is mostly due to "poor implementation"
of the legislation in actual practise. Indian regulations are insufficient to
address water contamination.
As a healthy environment to live in is the main
concern for the people today, this paper will address the numerous causes of
the poor execution of the laws and how it might be changed.
2. Insufficient regulations to combat
Air Pollution
India's air pollution problem is becoming worse
and has spread across the country, killing 1.2 million Indians annually and
costing the economy an estimated 3% of GDP. In recent years, air pollution has become one
of India's most serious environmental issues. Particulate matter concentrations
frequently far exceed the approved national and international norms, with
serious consequences for public health. India alone saw an estimated 1.2
million premature deaths brought on by air pollution in 2019.[i] Recently, the PM2.5 levels in New Delhi's air
exceeded the acceptable limit by more than 20 times, making the air exceedingly
hazardous.
3. Insufficient regulations to combat
water contamination
Let’s not forget the surface water. As per the
reports about 70% of India's surface water resources and an increasing
percentage of its groundwater reserves have hazardous contaminants in them,
making water pollution a severe issue. Another significant problem is the
dumping of industrial hazardous waste and municipal solid waste (MSW) in land
pits. India
has a serious problem with water pollution; biological, toxic, chemical, and
inorganic contaminants have contaminated nearly 70% of the country's surface
water resources and an increasing portion of its groundwater reserves. In many
instances, these sources have become unsafe for use in industrial applications
as well as other purposes like irrigation. This illustrates how poor water
quality increases the need for water by decreasing its availability for both
human and environmental usage.[ii]
The infamous example of uranium poisoning in
Punjab is seen in the poisonous pollution of the soil that caused significant
deformities in the local children. With
increased anthropogenic deforestation, our forests are deteriorating at a
frightening rate. Overall, India's
environment is deteriorating, making it challenging to live a good life in a
healthier and safer setting. According
to the Groundwater yearbook 2021–22, Punjab is the worst impacted state in
India, with 29% of the wells being found to have uranium concentrations over
the legal limit of 30 parts per billion. 2022 is the projected year by the
National Compilation of Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India., “States
like Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab are at a fairly advanced level of
groundwater exploitation.” It added, "In Punjab, out of the total of 150
evaluated blocks and the three urban areas (total 153) taken for research, 114
blocks and the three urban areas (total 117) have been classified as
over-exploited, four blocks as critical, 15 blocks as semi-critical, and 17
blocks as safe.” The Board of Research in
Nuclear Sciences at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, carried
out an all-India mapping effort, according to Dr. Sunil Mittal, head of the
School of Environment and Earth Sciences at Central University of Punjab,
Bathinda, “The whole amount of dissolved uranium present in groundwater is not
radioactive. There is no proof that it can directly cause cancer in people.
However, renal and intestinal function may be impacted by uranium pollution of
groundwater. It gathers in our hair and nails. In addition to other illnesses,
it can cause premature hair greying. It could potentially contaminate shallow
groundwater supplies and topsoil.”[iii]
The situation is far worse in India than in any
other modern nation; even the government-established acceptable requirements
for drinking water are not being met here. Although we are unable to meet them,
the government's regulations are relatively sufficient to address water
contamination. The fact that water contamination has been much reduced from
earlier periods because to increased public awareness is one thing to be
applauded.
In order to effectively monitor, India urgently
needs to have more monitoring stations than wealthy countries do. Additionally,
the current scope of monitoring is only confined to conventional pollutants
(such as BOD, total suspended solids, faecal coli form, and oil and grease),
and it must be broadened to include non-conventional pollutants like ammonia,
chlorine, and iron as well, all of which have dangerous effects on human
health. Monitoring duties must be delegated to the states and then to local
entities at the local level for effective regulation to take place.[iv] It is
believed that around 21 cities will not have any groundwater left after 2020 if
the situation remains the same[v].
4. Reasons of Ineffectiveness
The ineffectiveness of environmental regulations
to preserve the environment is the cause of this, and the grounds for the
inefficiency include:
i.
The environmental
governance is administered by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate
Change (MoEF) and it only looks after the implementation of the environmental
legislations. In the absence of an independent regulatory authority for
governing the environmental laws there is inference and excessive control in
the hand of government and this leads to poor implementation of laws.
ii.
The
inadequate penalties for non-compliance of the standards set by the pollution
control boards have led to the inefficiency of the pollution control
mechanisms. According to the India's Comptroller and Auditor General's report “Indian
Water Pollution Performance Audit” 2011–12 report[vi] The
cost of infractions and non-compliance under the Water Act of 1974 is so less
that it is more expensive to comply. The 1981 Air Act is similar in this
regard. There is a recognised principle[vii] which states
that the polluter is responsible for covering both the cost of the pollution
and the cost of restoration, although this concept is seldom ever used in the
existing system. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the fine that is imposed
by the legislation.
iii.
The
pollution control boards both at the central and state level are under the
control of the respective governments with regards to the appointment of their
offices and members. In fact, the decisions taken by the boards could be changed
by the government resulting into the ineffectiveness of the respective
pollution control boards.
iv.
The
pollution control board lacks the power to impose the penalties ordered by
them. The penalties could be imposed only by the court. This has resulted into
the ineffectiveness of the pollution control mechanism as the litigation
process is time consuming.
v.
The
pollution control rules only prioritise particular pollutant or dangerous
material kinds.
vi.
The
lack of public knowledge and political will is one of the causes of the
environment's depletion.
vii.
Pollution
Control Boards are underfunded, and its facilities and labs are subpar.
5.
Way ahead
Therefore, environmental legislation is
insufficient. To successfully and efficiently implement these regulations,
everyone must have a good attitude. This requires public awareness since the
success of any legislation depends on the participation of the general
population. It is past time for the Indian Constitution's three organisations to
begin improving the laws, and they should develop policies that facilitate
greater law enforcement.
6. Conclusion
Although India has strong environmental
protection laws, we have not been very effective in upholding them, mostly
because there isn't much political will and little public awareness. Another explanation might be that most of our
environmental regulations are human-centric, meaning they are primarily
intended to protect and benefit people rather than the environment in which
they live.
This may be due to the fact that practically all
environmental rules take into account how superior people are to nature and the
ecosystem. The ecosystem, on the other
hand, is an intricate system that is tightly connected and
self-regulating. While our laws are
primarily focused on promoting the economic wellbeing of people, it functions
best when left alone by human intrusions.
It won't help to be ignorant of environmental
concerns. Our first objective should be
to raise public awareness of the problem of environmental contamination and to
take it seriously. An RO water purifier or air purifier in our homes is not a
symbol of human progress; rather, it is evidence that we are in danger of
destroying our planet and, along the way, our cherished house.
7. Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deep
gratitude to Dr. Rituja Sharma, my research supervisor and co-
author for this research paper, for
her patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful
critiques of this research work.
[1]
Research Scholar, Faculty of Law, Banasthali Vidyapith, Newai, Tonk, Rajasthan,
India-304021
Corresponding Author E-mail- p.maderna@gmail.com,
Phone no-+91-9971562407
[2] Associate
professor, Faculty of Law, Banasthali Vidyapith, Newai, Tonk, Rajasthan,
India-304021
[i] Air quality and climate policy integration in India, https://www.iea.org/reports/air-quality-and-climate-policy-integration-in-india.
[ii] https://www.netsolwater.com/are-indian-standards-enough-to-combat-the-water-pollution.php?blog=714
[iii] https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/water-in-29-wells-in-punjab-has-uranium-concentration-101676181913587.html.
[iv] https://www.netsolwater.com/are-indian-standards-enough-to-combat-the-water-pollution.php?blog=714
[v] Jacob Koshy, India faces worst water crisis: Niti Aayog, The
Hindu (2018), available at <https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/india-faces-worst-water-crisis-niti-aayog/article24165708.ece
>.
[vi] Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Report no. 21 of 2011,
available at < https://cag.gov.in/content/report-no-21-2011-%E2%80%93-performance-audit-water-pollution-india-union-government-ministry.>
[vii] Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India and Others
(Bicchri case) (1996) 3 SCC 212; and Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd v. Union
of India and Others (2013) 4 SCC 575.
Article Information
INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: WHY WEREN’T THEY IMPLEMENTED?
Authors: PRIYANKA MADERNA, DR. RITUJA SHARMA
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/10/31
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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