Environment Policy & Law in India is a comprehensive legal and institutional framework designed to protect and improve the natural environment. Its constitutional foundation is a concept established by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, which inserted Article 48A (a Directive Principle for the State) and Article 51A(g) (a Fundamental Duty for citizens). This framework originated from India's participation in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, and was solidified following the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The primary act is the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EPA), an "umbrella" legislation that empowers the Central Government to take all necessary measures for environmental protection.
The EPA, 1986, works by granting the Central Government broad powers under Section 3 to set national standards for emissions and discharges, regulate the handling of hazardous substances, and restrict the location of industries. This law connects to specific, older acts like the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, by providing a coordinating framework. The judiciary has profoundly shaped this law by interpreting the fundamental right to life under Article 21 to include the right to a healthy and pollution-free environment. This judicial activism led to the formal establishment of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), an institution created by the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, for the "effective and expeditious disposal of cases". The NGT is guided by principles like the Polluter Pays Principle and the Precautionary Principle.
A significant recent change occurred in 2023, where the government moved to decriminalise most environmental laws, including the EPA, 1986, by replacing provisions for imprisonment with increased financial penalties for non-compliance. However, the core regulatory mechanism of setting standards and enforcing compliance through the EPA and the NGT remains the same. Other recent amendments include the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023.