The Hindu : Role of law in environment protection underscored

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 30, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Role of law in environment protection underscored

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR MAY 29. "Nature has its own laws, which must be simply obeyed by man," the Principal Sessions Judge of Tumkur District, Javed Rahim, has said.

Inaugurating a series of seminars on environmental laws and policies organised by the C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar Foundation's Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC) of Chennai, and the Tumkur Bar Association here today, Mr. Rahim said the Indian Government had formulated laws to protect the environment against commercial exploitation, and the judiciary had invoked these laws, whenever necessary.

Mr. Rahim said that in the background of a recent verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) on advertisement hoardings defacing nature, he had submitted a report on Tumkur in this regard to the SC, following which all such hoardings had been removed.

L. Pushpa Kumar, an expert on environmental laws from CPREEC, said Indian laws on environment were still in the evolutionary stage. Considerable deliberation should precede their approval, he suggested.

Mr. Kumar said that until 1972, when the Stockholm Conference was held, India had no laws to protect the environment. But community norms had ensured the protection of the environs. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 brought environment protection under the Directive Principles of State Policy, and under the fundamental duties. The Water Act, 1974, the Air Act, 1981, and the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), 1986, helped prevent the destruction of nature. The EPA provided for promulgation of various notifications, which further aided environment protection, Mr. Kumar said.

Earlier, cases against environmental destruction were considered "public nuisance," and in most cases, a simple three-month imprisonment was given and a fine of Rs. 200 imposed. However, it was Justice Krishna Iyer, who, while dealing with one of the cases, interpreted the existing laws differently, following which many public interest litigations were filed against industries causing air, water, and land pollution.

Mr. Kumar alleged that environmental engineers attached to the Central and State Pollution Control Boards had not been functioning effectively, though the boards had been vested with legal powers to regulate pollution.

He said laws regulating hazardous-waste disposal, biomedical waste handling, and municipal solid waste management had been issued later. District collectors (deputy commissioners in Karnataka) had been authorised to hold public hearing before approving the setting up of industries. Annual environment audit of industries had been made compulsory.

The National Appellate Authority had been set up to hear the grievances of industries.

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