PUNJAB ENVIS CENTRE

STATE ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

• In India, states do not pursue independent environmental policy of their own but adopt the policies formulated at the national level subject to such variations as may be necessary to suit to the local conditions. The central government has also been issuing guidelines to the states on various environmental matters. The sectoral policies and programmes pursued by the states are usually formulated within the framework of the national policies and guidelines. The policies and programmes under environment policy are usually implemented by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) through State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) in the states. The functions of the Board can be categorized under three main heads namely:

• Enforcement

• Advisory

• Research and public awareness generation

• India is the first country of the world who has made provisions for protection and improvement of environment in the Constitution vide 42^nd amendment in 1976 within five years of the Stockholm Conference.

• The main source of environmental law in our country is the Constitution of India. The Indian Constitution is amongst the few in the world that contains specific provisions on environmental protection.

• India amended its Constitution (the 42^nd Constitutional amendment 1976) to include” Environment Protection” as a constitutional obligation. The State's responsibility with regard to environmental protection has been laid down under Article 48-A of our Constitution, which reads as follows: "The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country".

• Environmental protection is a fundamental duty of every citizen of this country under Article 51-A(g) of our Constitution which reads as follows: "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures."

• Further, the Directive Principles of State Policy as well as the Fundamental Rights also refer to the environment as an important component.

References

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