Answer in detail:

Describe in detail about environmental policies in India.

According to the Environment Act-1986, ‘Environment includes, water, air and land and the interrelationship which exists among and between water, air, land, and human beings and other creatures, plants, microorganisms, and property’.

The major threat to the environment of India is poverty, population, and increasing development in the industrial sector. Pollution of air, water pollution, land degradation etc is other major concerns of India. The development activities in India have led to such disastrous situation of the environment.

For the first time, the importance of promoting and preserving the environment along with development was introduced in the fourth five-year plan. However, it was only in the upcoming plans that the ideas expressed in this plan were made into concrete programs.

The fifth five-year plan laid great stress on the need of a national committee which would work in coordination with development. All the major industrial decisions where implemented only after carefully analyzing its impact on the environment. A huge emphasis was laid on the fact that the development should not cause any reduction in the quality of life. The link between development and environment was heavily stressed.

In the sixth five-year plan chapter called environment and development was included which focused on agriculture, forestry, mineral, fishery, water, marine management, renewable sources of energy and human settlement.

The Government of India set up a committee in January 1980 under the Chairmanship of Shri. N.D. Tiwari, then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission to review the existing environmental laws and to recommend measures for Environment protection. It emphasized the need of a system for the protection of the countries natural resources such as Land, water and air to conserve the countries ecological system.

The Government of India also introduced certain other policies such as The National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development 1992, The National Forest Policy, 1988 and the Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution, 1992. They all focused on matters relating to environmental management at a national level. In 2006 the national environment Policy was approved by the Union Cabinet. It was a comprehensive National environment policy that brought together the guiding principles of all the above documents.

The objectives of national environment policy 2006 are:

a) the conservation of critical environmental resources which are important for human life, livelihood, and economic growth.

b) intergenerational equity to meet the needs of the future generation as well

c) integration of the environmental policies with the overall development of the country

d) ensure efficient use of all the environment resources

e) to apply the principles of good governance such as transparency, rationality oma accountability and reduction in time to the regulation of