Consider the following statements: The Environment Protection Act, 198

Consider the following statements:
The Environment Protection Act, 1986 empowers the Government of India to

  • 1. state the requirement of public participation in the process of environmental protection, and the procedure and manner in which it is sought
  • 2. lay down the standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2019
Both statements 1 and 2 are correct.
Statement 1 is correct. The Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA) is an umbrella Act that gives broad powers to the Central Government to take all such measures as it deems necessary for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the environment. While the Act itself might not detail the exact procedure for public participation, it empowers the Central Government to make rules (Section 25) to carry out the purposes of the Act, which can and do include requirements for public consultation in processes like Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notifications issued under the Act. Thus, the Act empowers the government to state the requirement and lay down the procedure for public participation through rules and notifications framed under it.

Statement 2 is correct. Section 3(2)(iv) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, explicitly empowers the Central Government to “lay down standards for the quality of environment in its various aspects, lay down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources whatsoever”. This is a direct and core power granted by the Act.

The EPA, 1986 was enacted following the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and is a crucial piece of legislation for environmental governance in India. It delegates significant authority to the Central Government to coordinate activities of state governments, plan and execute nationwide programmes, and set standards for environmental quality and pollution control.