The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Ecomark and environmental audit

1. Objects and reasons

The Act was passed after the Bhopal disaster of December 1984, under Article 253, to implement the decisions of the Stockholm Conference. The Statement of Objects and Reasons, in substance:

• concern over the decline in environmental quality and the growing risk of accidents involving hazardous substances;
• existing laws dealt with specific kinds of pollution (water, air) or specific hazards, and gaps remained, especially on hazardous substances;
• a need for a general law for the protection and improvement of the environment, with an authority to co-ordinate the activities of the various regulators, to plan long-term programmes, and to respond quickly to environmental emergencies; and
• a need for deterrent punishment for those who endanger human environment, safety and health.

Key definitions (s.2): “environment”, “environmental pollutant” and “environmental pollution” (see the Unit I note); “handling” of a substance (manufacture, processing, storage, transport, use, disposal and the like); and “hazardous substance”, any substance which by its chemical or physico-chemical properties or handling is liable to cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms, property or the environment.

2. General powers of the Central Government: section 3

January 2026 asked for these. Section 3(1): the Central Government may take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for protecting and improving the quality of the environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution. Section 3(2) lists, without limiting that power:

• (i) co-ordination of action by State Governments and authorities under this Act or other relatable laws;
• (ii) planning and execution of a nation-wide programme;
• (iii) standards for the quality of environment in its various aspects;
• (iv) standards for emission or discharge of pollutants from various sources;
• (v) restriction of areas in which industries, operations or processes may not be carried on or may be carried on only with safeguards (the basis of the CRZ notification and eco-sensitive zones);
• (vi) procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents and remedial measures;
• (vii) procedures and safeguards for handling hazardous substances;
• (viii) examination of manufacturing processes, materials and substances likely to pollute;
• (ix) research; (x) inspection of premises and plants and directions to authorities and persons; (xi) environmental laboratories; (xii) collection and dissemination of information; (xiii) manuals and codes; (xiv) any other matter necessary for effective implementation.

Section 3(3) allows the Centre to constitute an authority to exercise these powers. Authorities created this way include the Central Ground Water Authority, the Taj Trapezium Zone Authority, the Loss of Ecology Authority directed in Vellore, and the coastal zone management authorities. Section 4 allows the appointment of officers.

3. Directions and rules

• s.5: notwithstanding any other law, the Central Government may issue directions in writing to any person, officer or authority, who is bound to comply. The Explanation: this includes the power to direct the closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or process, and the stoppage or regulation of the supply of electricity or water or any other service. Appeal lies to the NGT (s.5A). In Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India, 1996 INSC 237, (1996) 3 SCC 212, the Court held that sections 3 and 5 empower the Centre to recover the cost of remedial measures from the polluter.
• s.6: rules on standards of quality of air, water and soil, maximum allowable limits of pollutants including noise, procedures for handling hazardous substances, prohibition of hazardous substances in different areas, and location of industries. The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, the Noise Rules, 2000, the waste rules and the EIA and CRZ notifications are made under ss.3, 6 and 25.
• s.7: no person carrying on an industry, operation or process shall discharge or emit pollutants in excess of the prescribed standards; s.8: handling of hazardous substances only in accordance with the prescribed procedure; s.9: duty to inform authorities of an excess discharge due to accident and to prevent or mitigate it.
• s.10: power of entry and inspection; s.11: power to take samples of air, water, soil or other substance, with a procedure of notice, collection in the presence of the occupier, sealing and signing, without which the result is inadmissible (similar to s.21 of the Water Act); ss.12 to 14: environmental laboratories and Government analysts, whose reports are evidence.
• s.19: cognizance only on a complaint by the Central Government or an authorised officer, the adjudicating officer, or any person who has given sixty days' notice to the Government. The citizen-suit clause was a notable feature of the 1986 Act.
• s.24 (as substituted in 2023): the Act and rules have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent in any other law.

4. Penalties after the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 replaced old sections 15 to 17 with effect from 1 April 2024.

• s.14A: contravention of s.7 or s.8, penalty of one lakh to fifteen lakh rupees, plus fifty thousand rupees a day for continuing contravention; s.14B: contravention of ss.9, 10 or 11, ten thousand to five lakh rupees; s.15: residuary, ten thousand to fifteen lakh rupees.
• s.15A, contravention by companies: one lakh to fifteen lakh rupees, plus one lakh a day for continuing contravention.
• s.15B, contravention by Government departments: the Head of the Department is liable to a penalty of one month's basic salary unless he proves the contravention was without his knowledge or instructions or that he exercised due diligence; an officer whose neglect caused it is liable to the same penalty.
• s.15C: an adjudicating officer (not below Joint Secretary to the Government of India or Secretary to a State Government) holds the inquiry and imposes the penalty, having regard to the population and area affected, frequency and duration, the vulnerability of those affected, the damage caused and the undue gain made; the penalty is in addition to compensation under the NGT Act. The Environment Protection (Manner of Holding Inquiry and Imposition of Penalty) Rules, 2024 prescribe the procedure.
• s.15D: appeal to the NGT within sixty days on deposit of 10% of the penalty; s.15E: penalties credited to the Environmental Protection Fund (s.16), 75% of which is allocated to the States.
• s.15F: the only offence left. Failure to pay a penalty within ninety days is punishable with imprisonment up to three years or fine up to twice the penalty, or both. Where a company commits it, every person in charge of and responsible for the business, and the company, are deemed guilty, subject to proof of lack of knowledge or due diligence; a director, manager or officer whose consent, connivance or neglect is proved is also liable.

5. Ecomark

The Government of India launched the Ecomark scheme by a resolution of 20 February 1991 for labelling environment-friendly consumer products. A product qualified if it met the relevant Bureau of Indian Standards quality standards and additional environmental criteria. The logo is an earthen pot (matka), a symbol of a renewable, non-polluting, durable product. Its aims were to give consumers a way to identify less harmful products, to encourage manufacturers to reduce adverse impacts, and to reward genuine initiatives. Take-up was poor.

The scheme is now replaced by the Ecomark Rules, 2024 (G.S.R. 596(E)), made under sections 3, 6, 23 and 25 of the 1986 Act. Ecomark may be granted to products that meet criteria on resource consumption, climate and biodiversity impact, energy, waste, emissions and hazardous substances, and the rules aim to prevent misleading environmental claims (“greenwashing”) and support Mission LiFE. Applications are made to the Central Pollution Control Board through an online portal, verified by registered Verifiers, and a Steering Committee constituted by the Central Government recommends product criteria.

6. Environmental audit

An environmental audit is a systematic, documented and periodic evaluation of how well an organisation's facilities, management and equipment are performing in protecting the environment: what it consumes, what it discharges, whether it complies with standards, and how it can reduce waste.

• By the Environment (Protection) Second Amendment Rules, 1992 (G.S.R. 329(E), 13 March 1992), rule 14 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 requires every person carrying on an industry, operation or process requiring consent under the Water Act or the Air Act, or authorisation under the hazardous waste rules, to submit an environmental statement for the financial year ending 31 March, in Form V, to the State Pollution Control Board by 30 September. It covers water and raw material consumption, pollutants discharged, hazardous and solid waste, and pollution control measures.
• The Environment Audit Rules, 2025, notified under the 1986 Act and in force from 29 August 2025, create a class of registered environment auditors, certified and registered by an Environment Audit Designated Agency, to verify compliance (including under EIA clearances and the Ecomark Rules), with auditors assigned to projects at random to avoid conflicts of interest.

How this is examined

January 2026: general powers of the Central Government (10 marks). February 2025: offences by companies and Government departments (6) and objects and reasons (6). August 2024: sample collection (10), offences by Government departments (6) and the Ecomark scheme (6). For section 3, quote sub-section (1), list the fourteen clauses with one example each, then add s.3(3) authorities and s.5 directions.