Module 5

Social Issues and the Environment

 • Environment From Unsustainable to Sustainable
development
• Urban problems related to energy Water conservation,
• rain water harvesting,
• watershed management

Module • Resettlement and rahabilitation of people; its problems and

concerns. Case Studies
• Environmental ethics : Issues and possible solutions.

overview • Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer

depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust. Case Studies.
• Wasteland reclamation. Consumerism and waste products.
• Environment Protection Act. Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act. Water (Prevention and control of Pollution)
Act Wildlife Protection Act Forest Conservation Act Issues
involved in enforcement of environmental legislation. Public
awareness.
 EIA(Environmental Assessment Act)
• Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect
of a proposed activity/project on the environment.
• EIA systematically examines both beneficial and adverse consequences of the project and
ensures that these effects are taken into account during project design.
• It helps to identify possible environmental effects of the proposed project, proposes
measures to mitigate adverse effects and predicts whether there will be significant
adverse environmental effects, even after the mitigation is implemented.
• By considering the environmental effects of the project and their mitigation early in the
project planning cycle, environmental assessment has many benefits, such as protection
of environment, optimum utilisation of resources and saving of time and cost of the
project. 
EIA in india
The Indian experience started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the Department of Science
and Technology to examine the river-valley projects from an environmental angle. This was subsequently
extended to cover those projects, which required the approval of the Public Investment Board and it
remained an administrative decision and lacked legislative support.
On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, under
the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance
(EC) mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in
Schedule 1 of the notification.
The MoEF recently notified new EIA  legislation in September 2006. The notification makes it mandatory for
various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports,
harbours and airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units to get
environment clearance.
Certain activities permissible under the Coastal Regulation Zone Act, 1991 also require similar clearance.
Additionally, donor agencies operating in India like the World Bank and the ADB have a different set of
requirements for giving environmental clearance to projects that are funded by them.
The EIA process

Screening Impact
Scoping 
  analysis

Review of EIA. Decision-

Mitigation Reporting
  making

Post
monitoring
Generalised process flow sheet of the EIA process
• First of all, the developer has to prepare an EIA report with the help of an environment consultant.
• On the basis of such report, the EIA may be either comprehensive EIA or Rapid EIA.
• If the EIA report has to incorporate the data of all four seasons of a year, it is called Comprehensive EIA.
• If the EIA report has only one season data, then it’s called Rapid EIA.
• In screening
Category A projects are looked into by the Central Government
Category B Projects go to the State Government.
Category B projects are further sub divided into Category B1 and Category B2.
B1 require a public hearing for EIA
B2 don’t require.
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in brief
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are among ISO's most well known
standards ever.
They are implemented by more than a million organizations in
some 175 countries.
ISO 9001 helps organizations to implement quality management.

ISO 14001 helps organizations to implement environmental

management.
Environmental management
ISO 14001 is for environmental management. This means what the organization
does to:

minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities,

to conform to applicable regulatory requirements, and to

achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.

Generic standards
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are generic standards.

Generic means that the same standards can be applied:

to any organization, large or small, whatever its product or service,

in any sector of activity, and

whether it is a business enterprise, a public administration, or a government

department.
Processes, not products
• Both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 concern the way an
organization goes about its work.
• They are not product standards.
• They are not service standards.
• They are process standards.
• They can be used by product manufacturers and service
providers.
The ISO 14000 family
ISO 14001 is the standard that gives the requirements for an environmental
management system.

ISO 14001:2004 is the latest, improved version.

It is the only standard in the ISO 14000 family that can be used for certification.

The ISO 14000 family includes 21 other standards that can help an organization
specific aspects such as auditing, environmental labelling, life cycle analysis…
Benefits of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
International, expert consensus on state-of-the-art practices for quality and
environmental management.

Common language for dealing with customers and suppliers worldwide in B2B.

Increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Model for continual improvement.

 • International concern for environmental
protection
Law for – International concern for Sustainable
Development
Environmenta – UN conference on Human Environment and
l Protection Development-Stockholm-1972
– Result-Stockholm Declaration on the Human
Environment
 Indian • Trigger Events
Environmental • Stockholm Conference, 1972
Law • Bhopal gas tragedy
• Rio Conference, 1992
 • Polluter pays principle
• Cost of pollution should be born by the person causing
pollution
Polluter Pays • Doubtful as to whether reached the status of a
customary principle of international law
Principle • Principle 16 Rio
 • PPP means that the absolute liability for harm to the
environment extends not only to compensate the victims
of pollution but also the cost of restoring the
environmental degradation. Remediation of damaged
environment is part of the process of sustainable
development and as such polluter is liable to pay the cost
to the individual sufferers as well as the cost of reversing
Polluter Pays the damaged ecology
• Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India,
Principle AIR 1996 SC 2715.
• Indian Council for Enviro – Legal Action v. Union
of India, AIR 1996 SC 1446.
Law for Environmental Protection
The Earth Summit- The Result of Summit-Agenda 21

• The United Nations conference • Agenda 21-a comprehensive

on Environment and Blue print for Global actions
Development (UNCED) for Sustainable Development
popularly known as Earth • Agenda 21-a voluntary action
Summit-1992 at Rio de plan
Janeiro- • Agenda 21-Divided into 4
• 150 Governments participated sections
• Earth summit was inspired by
Brundtland report 1987
 Section Section I-Social and Economic

Section Section II-Conservation and Management of Resources for Development

Section Section III-Straightening the Role of Major Groups

Section Section IV-Means of implementation

• Role of India
– Constitution-Indian constitution is perhaps one of the rare
constitutions of the world which contains specific provisions
relating to Environmental protection
– India is a signatory to many Environmental treaties
 – Indian constitution Article 51 (c ) provides that India shall respect International treaties
– Devolves duty on the citizen also to preserve the nature
– Article 48-A puts duty on the state regarding the protection of Environment
• All signatories to translate the Summit decisions into action-implementation
• India under obligation to implement Environmental protection
• Article 253 of the constitution provides for power of parliament to make law for implementing
any treaty
• Under this provisions, parliament enacted many laws for protection of Environment,
prevention of pollution
• International law, unless otherwise contrary can be construed as binding.
• Important legislations:
– The Water (prevention and control of
pollution) Act, 1974
– The Air (prevention and control of pollution)
Act, 1981
– The Environment (Protection) Act,1986
– The National Environment Appellate
Authority Act,1997
– The National Environment Tribunal Act,
1995
• Salient features of the Act (Water Act)- objectives
• To prevent and control water pollution
• To maintain wholesomeness of water
• To establish control on State Boards for prevention and
control of pollution
• To empower the Boards for prevention/control of
pollution
• To provide penalties for contravention of the provisions
of the Act
• To establish control on state water testing laboratories.

• Central/State pollution control Boards

• Both the Boards have the objective of pollution control
• Main functions of the Central pollution control Board
– a) Advise the Central Govt. for control of pollution of water
– b) Co-ordinate the activities of the State Boards
– c) Provide technical assistance and guidance to State Boards
– d) Plan and organise training
– e) Media program organizing
– f) To perform functions of the State Board in case of default
– g) Collect and public technical date
– h) Lay down standards for stream/well
– i) Plan and organize pollution control programs
– j) Establish laboratories for testing
Functions of State Boards
• Plan and control/abate pollution of water
• Advise State Govt. on matters of water pollution
• To collect and spread information
• To investigate and conduct research in matters of pollution
• To work in tune with CPCB
• To inspect sewerage or trade effluents
• To lay down standards of sewerage/trade effluents etc.

To create methods of effluent disposal/sewerage disposal

• in land
• in water
• in stream etc.
• To prevent discharge of waste into water
• To advise Govt. with respect to location of polluting industries
 • Under this act, State Government has power to restrict
the application of the Act to certain areas
• It has also power to obtain information

Prevention • PCBs have power to take samples of effluents.

• Report of analysis
and Control of • PCBs have power to enter any factory and inspect
Water • It can prohibit use of stream or well for disposal of
polluting matter
Pollution • It can regulate new outlets and new discharges
• PCBs to undertake emergency measures in case of
pollution of stream or well
• PCBs can also approach for restraining apprehended
pollution of water in streams or wells
• It can give directions
• Water Act – Chapter VII
• Under this chapter penalties can be levied for
certain acts
- Destruction of notices of PCBs
- Obstructing PCB persons from doing their duty
- damaging property of PCBs
- non furnishing of information
Failure to intimate accident
- for willful omission of information
- or making false statement etc.
- punishment including imprisonment with penalty
– Rs.10,000 - 3 months
• Under this act Central water laboratory, State water
Laboratories are set up
• Analysts appointed for analyzing the samples
• Reports are published by analysts
• PCBs to take the help from local bodies also
• Section 63 of Water Act gives power to make rules to
Central Government
• Section 64 to State Government
• States shall make rules on matters which are not dealt
with by the Central Rules
 The
Air(Preventio
n and Control • Under this act the CPB plays a major role in
control/abatement of pollution
of Pollution) • It has to advise Central Government for improvement of

Act, 1981 Air quality

• It has to prevent air pollution
• Co-ordinate the activity of state pollution control boards
 The
Air(Preventio
• Chapter VI of the air act relates to
n and Control prevention and control of air pollution
of Pollution) • The state governments in consultation
Act, with the Board declare air pollution
1981(Cont..) control areas
• Alter air pollution control areas
• Declare new air pollution control areas
 The
Air(Preventio • The act provides for control of emission
n and Control from auto mobiles
• It also restricts certain industries on the
of Pollution) basis of air pollution
Act, • It declares the level of air pollutants as
1981(Cont..) per standards
• It applies to the courts to restrain
persons from polluting
• Just like water act it gives power to PCBs
to enter and inspect the factory.
The wildlife(Protection) Act, 1972

The National environment tribunal Act, 1995

The Environmental Protection Act, 1986

The Bio-Diversity Act, 2002

Are the other related environmental legislations.