Environment
Environment
Environment
Definition:
“Environment pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance which causes
harmful effect to the environment and also includes heat, sound and radiation
1) The Government shall, for carrying out the purposes of this Act, establish a
Department to be called the Department of Environment and headed by a Director
General.
2) The Director General shall be appointed by the Government and the terms and
conditions of his service shall also be determined by the Government.
3) For proper performance of the functions of the Department, necessary officers and
employees shall be appointed in the manner and on the terms and conditions
prescribed by rules.
Power and functions of the Director General:
1. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Director General may take such measures as
he considers necessary and expedient for the conservation of the environment, and
improvement of environmental standards, and for the control and mitigation of
environmental pollution, and he may issue necessary directions in writing to any person
for the discharge of his duties under this Act.
2. In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such
measures may include all or any of the following: -
i. co-ordination with the activities of any authority or agency having relevance to the
objectives of this Act;
ii. prevention of probable accidents which may cause environmental degradation and
pollution, undertaking safety measures and determination of remedial measures
for such accidents and issuance of directions relating thereto;
iii. giving advice or, as the case may be, issuing directions to the concerned person
regarding the environmentally sound use, storage, transportation, import and
export of a hazardous substance or its components.
iv. conducting inquiries and undertaking research on conservation, improvement and
pollution of the environment and rendering assistance to any other authority or
organization regarding those matters;
v. searching any place, examining any equipment, manufacturing or other processes,
ingredients, or substance for the purpose of improvement of the environment, and
control and mitigation of pollution; and issuance of direction or order to the
appropriate authority or person for the prevention, control and mitigation of
environmental pollution;
vi. collection and publication of information about environmental pollution;
vii. advising the Government to avoid such manufacturing processes, commodities
and substances as are likely to cause environmental pollution;
viii. carrying out programs or observation of the quality of drinking water and
preparation of reports thereon, and rendering advice or, as the case may be,
issuing direction to the concerned persons to follow standards for drinking water.
3. A direction issued under this section may include matters relating to closure,
prohibition or regulation of any industry, undertakings or processes, and the concerned
person shall be bound to comply with such direction:
Provided that-
Provided further that, if the Director General considers that, due to a particular
environmental pollution, the public life is likely to be in danger and that urgent action is
necessary, he may immediately issue necessary directions.
4. A time limit may be specified by the Director General for carrying out a direction
issued under this section.
Appeal:
1. Any person aggrieved by a notice, order or direction issued under this Act or rules may,
within 30 days from the date of issuance of the notice, order or direction, appeal to the 3
Appellate Authority constituted by the Government and the decision of such Authority
on the appeal shall be final and shall not be called in question in any court :
Provided that the Appellate Authority may, if it is satisfied that for some unavoidable
reason the aggrieved person could not file the appeal within that time, extend the period
for filing the appeal by a period not exceeding thirty days.
2. The Appellate Authority constituted under sub-section (1) may consist of one or more
members:
Provided that where the Appellate Authority consists of more than one member, the
Government shall appoint one of the members to be the Chairman of the Authority.
3. An appeal filed under this section shall be disposed of within 3 months from the date
of its filing.
According to section 17 of this Act- Where a person or a group of persons of the public
suffers loss due to violation of a provision of this Act or the rules made there under that
person, group of persons the public of that Director General on behalf of that person,
group of persons or the public may file a suit for compensation before the Environment
Court
Penalty
1. The Government shall take the following factors into consideration while declaring
any area as Ecologically Critical Area under sub-section (1) of section 5: -
i. human habitat;
ii. ancient monument;
iii. archeological site;
iv. forest sanctuary;
v. national park;
vi. game reserve;
vii. wild animal’s habitat;
viii. wetland;
ix. mangrove;
x. forest area;
xi. bio-diversity of the relevant area; and
xii. other relevant factors.
2. The Government shall, in accordance with the standards referred to in rules 12 and 13,
specify the activities or processes which cannot be continued or initiated in an
Ecologically Critical Area.
Procedure for issuing Environmental Clearance Certificate ( with ECA, 1995 section
12):
i. report on the feasibility of the industrial unit or project (applicable only for
proposed industrial unit or project);
ii. report on the Initial Environmental Examination of the industrial unit or project,
and also the process flow diagram, Layout Plan (showing location of Effluent
Treatment Plant), design of the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of the unit or
project (these are applicable only for a proposed industrial unit or project);
iii. report on the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the industrial unit or
project, and also the Process Flow Diagram, Layout Plan (showing location of
Effluent Treatment Plant), design of the Effluent Treatment Plant and information
about the effectiveness of the ETP of the unit or project, (these are applicable only
for an existing industrial unit or project);
iv. no objection certificate from the local authority;
v. emergency plan relating adverse environmental impact and plan for mitigation of
the effect of pollution;
vi. outline of the relocation, rehabilitation plan (where applicable);
vii. other necessary information (where applicable).
i. report on the feasibility of the industrial unit or project (applicable only for
proposed industrial unit or project);
ii. report on the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) relating to the industrial
unit or project, and also the terms of reference for the Environmental Impact
Assessment of the unit or the project and its Process Flow Diagram; or
iii. report on the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the industrial unit or
project, and also the Process Flow Diagram, Layout Plan (showing location of
Effluent Treatment Plant), design and information about the effectiveness of the
Effluent Treatment Plan of the unit or project (these are applicable only for an
existing industrial unit or project);
iv. no objection certificate of the local authority:
v. emergency plan relating adverse environmental impact and plan for mitigation of
the effect of pollution;
vi. outline of relocation, rehabilitation plan (where applicable);
vii. other necessary information (where applicable);
(8) If an application is made under sub-rule (5) along with the relevant documents
specified in sub-rule (6), then in the case of an Orange- A Category industrial unit or
project, within thirty days of the receipt of the application, and in the case of an Orange-B
or Red Category industrial unit or project, within sixty days of the receipt of the
application, a Location Clearance Certificate shall be issued or the application shall be
rejected mentioning appropriate reasons for such rejection.
(9) Upon receiving Location Clearance Certificate under Sub-rule (8), the entrepreneur–
may install machinery including ETP (applicable for industrial units or projects of
Orange-A and Orange-B Category only);
shall apply for Environmental Clearance Certificate upon completion of the activities
specified in clauses (a) and (b), and, without the Environmental Clearance Certificate,
shall not have gas line connection, and shall not start trial production in the industrial
unit, and in other cases shall not operate the project (applicable for Orange-A and
Orange-B Category industrial units or projects only);
shall submit for approval of the Department the EIA report prepared on the basis of
program outlined in IEE Report along with time schedule and ETP design (applicable only
The procedure of installing/establishing Hospital or Ship manufacture industry:
Report on the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) relating to the industrial unit or
project, and also the terms of reference for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
of the unit or the project and its Process Flow Diagram; or Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) report prepared on the basis of terms of reference previously approved
by the Department of Environment, along with the Layout Plan (showing location of
Effluent Treatment Plant), Process Flow Diagram, design and time schedule of the
Effluent Treatment Plant of the unit or project, (these are applicable only for a proposed
industrial unit or project);
Report on the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the industrial unit or project,
and also the Process Flow Diagram, Layout Plan (showing location of Effluent Treatment
Plant), design and information about the effectiveness of the Effluent Treatment Plan of
the unit or project (these are applicable only for an existing industrial unit or project);