Despite India being one of the first countries responding to the clarion call of the Stockholm Environment Conference in 1972, it was only in 1980 after the remarks of  Late Indira Gandhi that “…there are several proposals which were agreed to earlier but would need to be looked into again. Amongst them are Silent Valley, the dam in Tehri Garhwal and the dam in Lalpur, Gujarat.”

Not only were controversial projects like Silent Valley and Tehri reviewed and halted, but it also signalled the acceptance of peoples’ movements, spearheaded by the Silent Valley, Narmada Bachao and Chipko Movements. The “Green Era” virtually ended with her assassination in 1984.

Awareness about conservation, pollution and ecological issues in India led to the enactment of a surfeit of legislations from 1897 to 2008, including smoke nuisance; ancient monuments and archeological sites; wildlife protection; forest conservation; environmental protection, biological diversity; and tribal rights for forest protection.

First regulation

However, the first regulatory legislation for water pollution was enacted in 1981 with Pollution Control Boards having punitive powers constituted at the Centre and States. Its ambit was later extended to air pollution and is still reasonably effective in urban and industrial areas.

Official environmental matters were initially tackled by the National Committee for Environmental Planning and Coordination functioning within the Departmental of Science and Technology, from the 70’s.

The Department of Environment was created in 1980 “ ….to ensure environmental protection, to carry out environmental impact studies of proposed development projects, and to have administrative responsibility for pollution monitoring and control…..” This was later reorganised as the Ministry of Environment and Forests. 

There are national level policy-guidelines for land use, water, forests, and environment, besides a conservation strategy for environmental and development. Whereas the environment is truly trans-disciplinary – embracing virtually every facet of natural resources and society; separate diktats for component sectors have, however, severely handicapped environmental protection.

The Centre also has project appraisal and clearance committees related to river valley, hydro-electric, mining and industrial projects. Often, appraisal committee members with vested interests,  influence project clearance and vitiate the system. This is a highly contentious environmental issue. The committees must have greater representation from civil society – experts; reputed activists; voluntary organisations and social scientists.

Presently, they are loaded with government representatives with a stake in such projects!

Last nail

The last nail in the coffin is the September 2006 notification superseding earlier environmental appraisal procedures. It  has exempted impact assessment for several categories of major projects with inescapable environmental hazards. It also empowers the States to have their own environmental appraisal machinery for projects within certain financial ceilings.

Despite having adequate regulatory tools, it exposes the act of commission in the deliberate dilution of environmental management. It stems from fact that those in the echelons of power, are committed to promote “development by construction, and not conservation”.

Basically, the immensely powerful “development merchants” – truly handmaidens of globalisation – consider the entire environmental appraisal system as a necessary evil – to be avoided or tackled with inadequate or concocted information.

During recent years a spate of court decisions, without having correctly apprised information about the environmental fallout, have enabled the development lobby to go on the rampage with impunity against possible environmental degradation due to their actions. Fortunately, some High Courts do have dedicated “Green” Benches.

Also there is a growing awareness about environmental problems in most sectors of civil society Moreover, with the Supreme Court mandating environmental science in high school and college curricula, this dismal scenario may change through sensitisation of the generation-next about environmental issues.

(The writer is a specialist on environmental issues.)