Sunday, September 7, 2003		Books

Laws to keep the world green
Sunil Kumar

Environmental Laws: Implementation Problems and Perspectives
by Benimadhab Chatterjee. Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.
Pages 283. Rs 580.

ENVIRONMENTAL pollution is posing a serious threat to our biosphere and jeopardising the existence of all living creatures, flora and fauna on this beautiful planet. The situation has already become alarming and we have been tardy in estimating the gravity of the challenge posed by it. Blind milking of natural resources for development has disturbed the ecological balance. The enormity of the threat was first perceived in 1972 when world leaders expressed concern over the deterioration of the environment at the Conference on Human Environment, Stockholm. Though the first Conference on Human Environment was held at Stockholm in June 1968, it was only in 1972 that the present institutional mechanism for controlling pollution at the international level was adopted. Since then, various countries, including India, have been making consistent efforts to check this menace.

Besides making efforts to create public awareness on the issue, a need to frame legal provisions for combating pollution was also felt. As India worked to bring about the much-needed social, economic and industrial development under successive Five-Year Plans, overuse, misuse and mismanagement of natural resources precipitated this crisis.

The book gives a detailed account of the coming into existence of various environmental legislations, their implementation in West Bengal, the working of bodies created under these legislations, successes achieved in the efforts, the present situation and some concrete suggestions about what should be done to realise the objectives of theses legislations. The introductory part of the book emphasises the fact that a sound legal mechanism is a sine quo non for protecting the environment. The author then goes on to explain the various environmental laws and their present framework, implementation of these laws and the role of courts, people and NGOs in implementing these laws. He also gives a critical analysis of these legislations. Increasing concern over the problem at the international level also finds a mention in the book. Case law has also been incorporated for the benefit of the readers.

The formulation of environmental laws in India seems to have gained momentum after the UN conference at Stockholm in 1972. Before Independence, environmental provisions were scattered in various legislations, which, the author says, may be called environment-related legal provisions rather than the environmental laws. Three major environmental legislations passed in India after the Stockholm conference of 1972 were the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. There are many other environmental laws and environment-related provisions in our country. Almost all of these find at least a brief mention in the book.

All environmental laws have not been discussed in details, rather only the gist of various laws and important provisions under these laws has been given. The author, as the name of the book suggests, has concentrated more on the implementation of these laws. And to explain various points, he has discussed the working, structure and achievements of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).

According to the author, a mere passing of various laws was not enough to check the problem of environmental pollution. Though there exist procedural rules and regulations for the implementation of environmental legislations, if the case of the WBPCB is any indication, the implementation of these laws has been poor. In procedural aspects, the courts are trying to be more legalistic than realistic, or in other words, the courts, particularly the lower judiciary, have accepted the ‘rule of law’ principle rather than ‘rule of life’ principle, the author opines. Environmental laws require some modifications, particularly in procedural aspects, he concludes.

According to the author, the emphasis should be on preventive measures and environmental litigations should be decided through administrative adjudication and public hearing system, as far as possible, as ordinary courts adopt lengthy procedures. However, the power of judicial review and the provision of filing public interest litigations (PIL) under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution should be continued and given due importance. There is also a need to increase public participation, ensure time-bound disposal of environmental litigations, and last but not the least, make the punishment severe enough to act as a deterrent.

The book will prove useful for law students, researchers, implementing agencies etc. Another good feature of the book is that the author gives the gist of the discussion in a particular section under the heading ‘A Sum Up’ at the end of the section. This helps readers reach a reasonably good understanding of various legal provisions relating to environmental laws without actually going through all the details.

As the book does not discuss all provisions of even the most popular environmental legislations, it would have been better if the author had appended the bare text of important environmental legislations at the end of the book.