ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA : GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION By ZAINAB RAZA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. ARIF HAMEED DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002, INDIA 2011 Certificate This is to certify that Ms. Zainab Raza has completed her thesis entitled “Environmental Policy and Administration in India: Governmental Response” under my supervision and is, in my opinion, suitable for submission for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration of Aligarh Muslim University. (Prof. Arif Hameed) Supervisor Abstract Since the concern for environment has become a major field in today‟s world, therefore, environmental policies, whether taken up by the government or public, have become a major subject of discussion; therefore, the topic of this thesis, “Environmental Policy and Administration in India: Governmental Response” is an endeavour to assess the role of different organs of the government of India in the field of environment, coupled with the sector-wise assessment of the environmental policy, the response of the public to the environment and administration of the environmental policies. People in general, and policy makers in particular, have realised lately that environment degradation cannot be swept under the carpet any longer because the need of the time, and in great urgency, is to realise the importance and necessity of protecting the environment with all seriousness that it deserves. The implication of this realisation can be easily judged by watching around us where we come across everyday with articles, advertisements, activities, conferences, demonstrations raising the issue of environment and the urgency of doing everything possible for its protection. The terms „global warming‟ and „climate change‟ have come into common parlance, even among children. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has estimated that since the 1980s humanity has already exceeded the planet‟s capacity to sustain its consumption of renewable resources and may not be able to protract indefinitely. It is aptly said by a writer that: „Perhaps the most significant development of the last half-century has been the new recognition that human societies cannot take nature for granted.‟ Environment of the earth in which we survive is not static. Changes are constantly taking place in the environment since its existence. The changes are also in the negative aspects in the form of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landing of meteorites on earth‟s surface etc. But, these activities are not seriously deteriorating the environment as it is a natural cycle. However, the intervention of the human activities in the nature and its processes had a great impact on the environment of the earth. The activities of humans i.e. unsustainable use of resources and introduction of pollution to the environment led to such deep impacts that it became difficult for the nature to endure and regenerate itself. The after effects became visible in the form of global warming, climate change, floods, drought, ice-melting, rising sea-level, and so on. The degradation of the environment was influencing the basic needs of humans: water, food, shelter, health and security. It was, therefore, felt that actions have to be taken for the protection of environment. All this led to the need for governments to formulate environmental policies due to the simple reason that the survival and well-being of humans cannot be ensured without a healthy environment. The growth of civilisations and then the onset of industrial revolution and consequently, the emergence of globalisation, liberalisation and modernisation of markets have caused serious damage to the environment of this planet. The rapid depletion of resources, increasing pollution levels and introduction of global environmental problems like global warming, biodiversity extinction, disposal of nuclear waste etc., are all consequences of the activities of man. Furthermore, ailments like, respiratory diseases, cancer, jaundice, typhoid, infant deaths, asthma, cough, eye irritation and a general deterioration in health standards all have been associated with environmental degradation, mainly due to pollution. It was when man became the victim of his own environment, he realised that for survival, there is a need for cooperative action at the global level to protect the environment. The concern for environment had its beginnings in India at a very early stage. Though the earliest environmental policies can be traced to the period of Kautilya, but in the modern times the decade of early 1970s can be considered as the period of emerging and definite environmental policies in India. This was the period when establishment of legal frameworks and creation of government bodies for environmental protection took place. In 1972, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, established a National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination (NCEPC) in the Department of Science and Technology. Originally, the Constitution of India contained no provisions for the protection of environment but with the passing of the forty- second amendment of the Constitution, provisions were provided for the protection of environment and its improvements in the form of Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles of State Policy. During this period, a number of environment related legislations were enacted such as; Wild Life Protection Act 1972, Water Act 1974, Water Cess Act 1977, Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, Air Act 1981, etc. The Water Act 1974 led to the establishment of Central and State pollution control boards. Though the purpose of most of these Acts is not directly related to environmental protection, but they do have provisions for controlling environmental degradation indirectly. In 1980, the President of India in his address to the first joint session of the 7th Parliament expressed the need for environmental concerns. Accordingly, a high-powered committee was constituted under the chairmanship of N. D. Tiwari in February 1980 to recommend legislative measures and the administrative machinery that would be required for environmental protection. The Committee in its report recommended the establishment of Department of Environment. Furthermore, in the Sixth Five Year Plan, a separate chapter under the heading of „environment‟ was committed to the discussion of problems of environment degradation. Finally, the Ministry of Environment and Forests came into its present state only in 1985. Although, environment degradation, and the major reasons of that; increasing pollution levels, the efforts of government and non-government agencies to arrest the deteriorating environment in which we have to survive; the standards of success in such attempts; and the limitations that confront the policy makers in the face of striking a balance between growth, progress and advancements, on the one hand, and the desirability and the necessity of protecting the environment for the very survival of mankind on earth, on the other, are topics that cannot be found answers to, easily. Keeping in view the broad nature of the topic, the main focus of the work has been limited to find out the frame work of the policies regarding environmental protection and the role of the governmental and non-governmental agencies in the implementation of those policies. Accordingly, the following have been identified as the main aims and objectives of this thesis: 1. Assessment of the factors and perspectives of environmental policies. 2. Assessment, internationally as well as nationally, the role of state and non-state actors in the environment protection. 3. Assessment of the status of environment in India. 4. Evaluation of the sector-wise framework of environmental policies including laws, regulations, acts and rules in India. 5. Assessment of the role of constitution of India in the protection of environment. 6. Assessment of the role and working of Indian judiciary in the protection of environment. 7. Assessment of the role and working of main environmental administrative organisations i.e. Ministry of Environment and Forests along with its related organisations in the protection of environment. 8. Making policy recommendations for environmental protection. The methodology of the research was primarily historical, descriptive and analytical. The collection of material was based on primary and secondary sources of data. Sincere efforts were made to utilise the accessible and available material on this topic. This thesis involved immense library research and consultation and has relied heavily on the government documents by assessing the annual reports, newsletters and official websites of the ministries and other related organisations. Besides, leading dailies, journals, magazines, books, statistical handbooks, reports and press releases of non-governmental organisations have also been consulted to make the study more informative and comprehensive. Furthermore, various Acts and their amendments and prominent concerned judgements of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, provisions in the five year plans and the constitution, are also analysed. To provide latest information regarding the topic, chiefly official websites were accessed. Massive growth of population, especially in the last century and in the first decade of the present century, has turned out to be one of the gravest fears for India as it has direct consequence