New Developments on Environmental Law in India
Introduction
Are environmental laws in India?leading the way?to protect our planet –?or lacking?what matters? It all depends on how you look at it. And?Indian?authorities are?doing just that.?Despite recent steps to?step up?sustainability, India’s rapidly growing economy and lack of enforcement?still add up to insufficiency.?As such,?Indian?regulators are?(quietly) revising its existing?environmental?acts and rules, which will?likely result?in more stringent?requirements?for companies.?Even with?no official details?available?yet?on these revised regulations,?you can still get?a glimpse of where they’re headed by looking?at where?they’ve already been.
The Current Scenario
Environmental laws in India are adopted, implemented, and enforced?by?3?main?entities: the?Ministry of Environment, Forest,?and Climate Change?along with?the Central Pollution Control Board at the National level?as well as the?State Pollution Control Boards at the State level. The main environmental laws in India are,?the:?
Like in other countries, these?environmental?laws set?parameters?for businesses to?follow, such?industry specific air emissions,?discharge standards. But the problem is that they’re not in line with current needs.?
Water and air pollution is a major concern as dumping hazardous materials in water bodies, and hazardous emissions have been?for the most part unmitigated?in India.?Laws?regulating these activities?haven’t?been updated since?they were first?formulated?in the?mid-1970s?and 1980s. These laws regulate water/groundwater use consents/permits, compliance with effluent and emission discharge standards, and prohibit pollution of water resources.???
Water and ground water laws are complex in structure as?they’re?regulated at?different levels: National, State,?and?municipal.?On top of that,?the lack of a policy framework?addressing?current economic growth?as well as?and lackluster enforcement?render?these laws?virtually?ineffective.
India’s sustainability story – so far
Although India’s constitution clearly provides for environmental protection and improvement, the country only started to truly focus on these issues in the 1970s. And that was as a follow-up to the 1972 UN conference in Stockholm.?Yet, since then, India has come a long way. The country has moved?from reacting to environmental conventions as an obligation to?setting an example in?sustainability?efforts.
·????????EU-aligned waste?management?laws
In 2016 India revised several waste?management?rules. Among those,?hazardous?waste, e-waste, and?Plastic?Waste?Management Rules?were revised to align India’s waste management with?that of?other regions, most notably?the EU.?Authorities incorporated?Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?into these laws,?imposing significant responsibilities on manufacturers and companies that place products on the Indian market.?To minimize the negative impact on the environment throughout?products’?lifecycles,?these companies are now subject to?the?“polluters?pay”?principal. This approach requires?facilities?manufacturing?or?placing?products on the market?in India?to?set up mechanisms?for?collecting,?“channelizing” (or passing through various passageways such as dealers),?and?taking?them?back?at the end of life.??
·????????Stricter?penalties for damaging the environment??
Companies that contravene any provisions of these?environmental acts or rules are?subject to severe consequences.?More severe than?we see in other countries?for similar?transgressions.?Violations?in India?are?punishable with imprisonment for up to 5 years (which is extended up to 7 years if the contravention?continues?for 1 year after the date of conviction) or fines of up to 1334 USD?–?or both.?In the US,?certain environmental contraventions result in 6-months to 1 year in jail.?Additionally,?the Indian?Public Liability Insurance Act?(1991) is in place to provide?for?damages?to?public?victims?or properties?of accidents that?occurred?while?handling?hazardous substances.?
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·????????Environmental?laws that support sustainable development
India is one of the few countries?in the world?that mandates?CSR?reporting and expenditure.?The?Companies?Corporate Social Responsibilities?Policy?Rules?(2014)?and Companies Act?(2013)?hold?certain?businesses?(i.e.,?with a?certain?net?worth,?turnover, or?net profit)?to?sustainability reporting standards. These companies must?constitute?a CSR Committee, spend at least 2% of?its?average net profits?on CSR?initiatives,?and?include an annual report on CSR in?its?annual board?report.??Yet?on top of these?significant?developments and milestones,?there’s?still much progress to be?done. As the second-most populated country on the planet, India is still one of the most polluting countries.?Like its expansion of?labor protection?and revision of?chemical management,?the country?plans to address this issue through?a broader scope of environmental protection.
How will the existing environmental laws in India change?
India still sorely lacks in environmental compensation and other laws dealing with specific aspects of the environment.?Effective regulatory institutions,?appropriate compliance?mechanisms, transparency in formulating laws, and stringent enforcement of such laws are the key needs of the hour.?It’s a high bar to reach, and we don’t yet know exactly how the government plans to do so.?
In 2014,?the Subramanian Committee?–?set up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)?–?reviewed?the country’s?environmental laws.?But?its?report?was rejected?by?Parliamentary?Standing Committee on Science and Technology?(PSCST). At that time,?the?PSCST?found?that?the committee’s?essential recommendations?would?actually?weaken?existing environmental policies and laws.?For instance, its recommendation to create?a new?“umbrella” law by subsuming the existing environmental laws.?As a result,?the government formed?a?new committee to oversee the review process, and we?hope to?soon?see?the fruit of its efforts???
Since?then, this?new?committee has been drafting?a?new law?to replace?the 3 main existing Acts: Air, Water, and Environment Protection. And it’s doing so?under strict confidentiality?–?away from the public eye. The goal is?to consolidate and streamline?the?environmental laws to prevent overlaps and conflicts.?Yet whatever new elements?will?be added are tightly under?wraps.??
Why so secret?
While?Minister Narendra Modi sang India’s praises for its climate change efforts at?the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), the government remains rather quiet about the details of forthcoming?environmental?regulation.?
The process of formulating and adopting environment laws?in India?has never been transparent?–?nor?participatory for?the?community.?In fact, the government enacted?some of?recent?laws?as?a way to?cater?to?expanding?industrial growth?rather than the environment or public.??
Case in point: Exemptions in the construction sector.?In 2009, the Ministry of Environment proposed to exempt construction projects of?up to 50,000 square meters from obtaining Environmental?Impact?Assessment?(EIA). For?citizens,?this was?clearly prioritizing the interest of emitters rather than the victims of pollutants.??The majority?of?the country’s known environmental scientists raised their voices – stating why this proposal will have a great impact on the environment. As a result, the proposal was dropped.?
However, the?review process?for the most recent environmental law changes?has?been more hush-hush than those before it.?Because?there’s still?little information about?this current round of?revision, we can only?speculate?that the government?is aware of the?deficiencies in their approach.?In other words,?the government is?motivated by?the increasing uproar from the?public?that?led them to revise existing laws?in the first place.?And hopefully, the committee wants to get it right before?it’s?in the public eye.
Conclusion
Even without?concrete information, we can confidently say?that?the new?environmental laws in India?won’t?likely?dilute any existing provisions.?(Especially after?huge public backlash in the past.)?Instead,?companies?should expect?more?stringent enforcement, streamlined laws, and new provisions to better protect and improve environmental health.??
Regardless of how?strict,?these future requirements?will?bring with them?opportunity.?This?approach?will put?businesses?on the right path to?adopting?more sustainable and profitable models for long-time growth.?Your company can?get?ahead?with a?detailed global outlook?of trends.?Assess your processes?against evolving standards, such as?for?net-zero?objectives?and?ESG?to see what next steps you should take for sustainability.?