6.4 -Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
The Water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974 and Amendment, 1988
·
The main objective of this act is
to provide prevention and control of water pollution.
Some important
provisions of this Act are given below:
·
The Act vests regulatory authority
in State
Pollution Control Boards to establish and enforce effluent
standards for factories.
·
A Central Pollution Control Board performs
the same functions for Union Territories and formulate policies and coordinates activities
of different State Boards.
·
The Act grants power to SPCB and
CPCB to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis.
·
Prior to its amendment in 1988,
enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated
by the Boards.
·
The 1988 amendment act empowered
SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
·
The Water Cess Act was passed to
generate financial resources to meet expenses of the Central and State
Pollution Boards.
·
The Act creates economic
incentives for pollution control and requires local
authorities and certain designated industries to pay a cess (tax) for water
effluent discharge.
·
The Central Government, after
deducting the expenses of collection, pays the central board and the states
such sums, as it seems necessary.
·
To encourage capital investment in
pollution control, the Act gives a polluter a 70% rebate of the applicable cess
upon installing effluent treatment equipment.
·
To implement the decisions taken
at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held
at Stockholm in June 1972, Parliament enacted the nationwide Air Act.
·
The main objectives of this Act
are to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control and abate air
pollution in the country.
Important
provisions of this Act are given below:
·
The Air Act’s framework is similar to
that of the Water Act of 1974.
·
The Air Act expanded the authority
of the central and state boards established under the Water Act, to include air
pollution control.
·
States not having water pollution
boards were required to set up air pollution boards.
·
Under the Air Act, all industries
operating within designated air pollution control areas must obtain a “consent”
(permit)
from the State Boards.
·
The states are required to
prescribe emission standards for industry and automobiles after consulting the
central board and noting its ambient air quality standards.
·
The Act grants power to SPCB and
to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis from any
chimney, fly ash or dust or any other.
·
Prior to its amendment in 1988,
enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated
by the Boards.
·
The 1988 amendment act empowered
SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.
·
Notably, the 1987 amendment
introduced a citizen’s suit provision into the Air Act and extended the Act to
include noise pollution.
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