Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 is an Umbrella legislation. Define ‘ Environment’ and
‘Environmental Pollution’ under the Act.
Environment-
The word Environment may be defined as “the physicobiological word that we live
in”. The HumanThe term environment can be defined as the "physics
term we live in". The human environment includes buildings, plants,
climate, and land. The term 'environment' is defined under section 2 (a) of the
Environment Protection Act, 1986: The word environment means water, air and
land and interrelationship that exists between water, air and land, and between
humans, other living beings, plants, microbes and property.
The purpose of this Act is to take appropriate steps for the
protection and improvement of the human environment and to protect humans,
other living beings from plants and property from danger. It is considered as a
deterioration of environmental quality, which is associated with increased
pollution, loss of vegetation cover and biological diversity, excessive
concentrations and in food chains, increasing hazards of environmental accident
and threat to life support systems. Existing law is directly or indirectly
related to many environmental matters. These current laws generally deal with
specific types of pollution or specific categories of hazardous substances.
Thus it is a general law for environmental protection. Hence the Parliament
enacted the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Scope
of the Definition: Under Section 2 (a) of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,
the Act has given a broader meaning to the word 'Environment'. Industrial
pollution is disturbing the ecological balance. Industrial wastes, flames and
smoke have polluted the air. Thus the industrial society moving from leaps and
bounds to material wealth has hurt the environment. This is almost no return.
Under the above circumstances, if life on our planet has its own antiquity.
Parliament has further passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act 1974 to prevent and control water pollution for human existence. The Act
imposes a duty on each person to take steps to prevent or reduce environmental
pollution.
Environmental Pollution: A Central Act was enacted in the
year 1986 for the protection and improvement of the environment and for matters
connected therewith. Section 2 (c) of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986
defines the term 'environmental pollution' as follows:
'Environmental pollution' means the presence of any environmental
pollution in the environment. Thus, to understand the concept, we should
simultaneously read the definition of environment and environmental pollution
as defined under the above act.
According to Section 2 (a) of the Act, the term environment
includes water, air, land and humans, other living beings, plants,
micro-organisms and property. According to Section 2 (b) पर्यावरणEnvironmental pollution
'means the prevention of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance in such
concentrations, or may be harmful to the environment. Thus, the following ten
types of pollution are considered as major pollutants in relation to worldwide
pollution;
Carbon dioxide;
D.D.T.
Lead;
Carbon monoxide;
sulphur dioxide;
oil;
Oxide of nitrogen;
Radiation;
Wed and
Phosphate.
Effects of pollution: There are various types of pollution
such as air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, noise pollution and
radio-active pollution. Pollution of any kind ultimately damages the natural
structure of matter in the natural environment and also creates problems for
the survival and properties of living beings. Pollution usually interferes with
the food chain, carbon cycle, oxygen cycle, hydrogen cycle and nitrogen cycle
and damages animals, plants and other living creatures and their environment.
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