ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: IN BROAD SCENARIO

Abstract

India constitution is perhaps one of the rare constitutions of the world which contains specific provisions relating to environment protection. It puts duty on the ‘State’ as well as ‘citizens ‘to protect and emptive the environment. Now it is considered as an integral part of right to life under article 21 of the Constitution. Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts, respectively, to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari. The wilts of mandamus, certiorari and prohibition are generally resorted to environment matter .Indian constitution is perhaps one of the rare constitutions of the world which contains specific provisions relating to environment protection. It puts duty on the ‘State’ as well as ‘citizens’ to protect and emptive the environment.

The extent of the environmental legislation network is evident but the enforcement of the laws has been a matter of concern. Fines are levied on a flat basis and in addition, there are no incentives to lower the discharges below prescribed levels. Various economic incentives have been used to supplement the command-and-control policies. Depreciation allowances, exemptions from excise or customs duty payment, and arrangement of soft loans for the adoption of clean technologies are instances of such incentives. Another aspect that is evident is the shift in the focus from end-of-pipe treatment of pollution to treatment at source. The role of remote sensing and geographical information systems in natural resource management and environmental protection has also gained importance over time.

Environment play an important role in any society, for providing better environment legislation made a many laws. It is a basic right of all to live in a healthy environment. The acute poverty in the country requires developmental process to be accelerated. But we cannot do so at the cost of environment thereby endangering not only the present generation but also the future generation. The crying need of the hour is the "sustainable development". "Sustainable development" is that development which meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet there own needs.

The current debate on intellectual property rights raises a number of important questions on the strategy and policies for the building a more dynamic agricultural research system. It is very important to decide that what would be the role of private and public sectors; and the role of MNCs. At the moment the bulk of the research agricultural activity is in the public sector-specifically the network of research institutes forming a part of ICAR1 & the agricultural universities. The private sector only accounts 15 percent of the total research work expenditure.But private sectors play a major role in the developed countries like, USA, Japan, UK and Germany.

Hence, in this research paper we would like to focus mainly on environmental policies and the initiatives which are being taken for the implementation of these polices to protect our environment and to create awareness. We will also try to provide certain suggestive measures which will ultimately benefit the human race and which will further be helpful in maintaining the ecological balance and sustainable development.