Legal Aspects of Water Pollution in India: A Review on Statutory Frameworks

Abstract

Water is cradle of life.To protect this precious resource, one needs a stringent enforcement system meant for its conservation, sanitation and supply.Environmental laws are meant to set standards for what people and institutions must do to control or prevent environmental pollution including water.After enactment it becomes the job of the central and state governments to make sure that those who are subject to these environmental protection laws know what they must do to comply.In this case,we have designated central and state institutions called the Central and State Pollution Control Boards respectively. Their primary role is the enforcement of the Environmental Protection Act(EPA) and its constituent statutory frameworks dating back to the Post Stockholm environmental laws such as the water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974.This paper provides an insight into the evolution and development of the legal aspects of water pollution and its environment-related laws in India.It gives an assessment of these environment-related laws in a context of Pre-Stockholm and Post-Stockholm statutory frameworks.The structural arrangements and functioning of the pollution control boards and the persistent challenges that they face in enforcing the laws of the land aimed at environmental protection are vital in understanding environmental management at policy and action levels.This is were citizen participation is vital.