“The Earth is what we all have in common.” - Wendell Berry

Would you believe that from 2011 to 2020 – the green law in India was altered close to 300 times? Again in 2020, there was a brand-new iteration of the law. In 2021, though there was no concrete decision made about the law, it underwent more than 30 alternations!!

This move is nothing but an onslaught of the Indian environmental law towards the green law. The government has had no problem bending the rules for projects over the last decade to promote the "ease of doing business" in India.

In other words, our environment is taking a beating for India's friendly business policies. Sadly, we are paying a very heavy price that most of us are unaware of today. But in due time, our next generation may not be too kind to us for having allowed that to happen.

That is a dangerous trend. It is a trend that may not be beneficial to the environment in India, which has already witnessed massive changes in the climate. This was seen in most parts of Southern India, especially in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. These states saw rainfalls of colossal proportions from months of mid-October till November–end.

This only calls for educating and imparting knowledge to our young minds about the surge of dilution of the environmental safeguards. It is vital that they know and understand the importance of protecting Mother Earth. Keeping this in mind, we, at Tribhuvan College, have introduced a number of postgraduate and undergraduate courses on environmental law and policy. Through our environmental law and policy course in Neemrana, we aim to make our youth aware of both the theoretical and practical know-how of various issues that are hampering our environment. More importantly, we strive to provide practical solutions on how they can be solved for the betterment of humanity and what role do environmental laws can play in that.

India's Lockdown Woes and Environmental Impact in 2020

Just a day before India entered into one of its strictest lockdowns, the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change or the MoEFCC gave the draft environmental impact assessment notification (EIA) 2020.

The draft environmental impact assessment notification (EIA) states the requirements that any industrial project must have for itself. This law eases obtaining the environmental clearance (EC) that is required for starting a new project in a particular area. While it may sound good for entrepreneurs and industrialists, its impact on the environment must be foreseen.

Now, since during the lockdown, there was hardly any vehicular movement taking place, the pollution levels in major cities came drastically down. Unfortunately, the small-scale industries were badly affected because of the lockdown in the whole country. Besides, millions of medium-sized industries were impacted negatively because of the lockdown. As a result, the economic growth of the country was negatively affected.

As such, the government had to create paths for generating income through industries. With that in mind, the Biological Diversity Act (Amendment) Bill was passed in parliament on December 9, 2021. It was tabled by Bhupender Yadav, the environment minister of India. The bill offers an exemption to projects that promote Indian medicine. They are otherwise known as Ayush.

Though overall, the legislations seem to be tabled for improving the economy, they also had another facet to it, and that is regarding their impact on the laws that are present for the conservation of the wildlife in the country.

This aspect brings us to a crucial question – What is the main cause for this kind of ineffectiveness & insensitivity towards environmental law? Some reasons are listed below:

• Industrialization & Deforestation:

The main reason is rapid industrialization, which has led to a higher level of deforestation in several regions across the country.

• Natural Calamities & Rising Population:

If you look at the hilly regions, a sudden rise has been observed in the occurrences of landslides and earthquakes within the last few years. Besides, the population of the country is expanding at a rapid pace. Sadly, information about protecting the environment is scarce among our citizens.

Again, on December 17, 2021, the government tabled the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill. The bill wanted to modify the modes in which the wildlife is protected. The parliamentary standing committee is currently going through it.

Though the government claims that these bills are beneficial for the environment, legal experts disagree with them. Environmental activists pointed out that these laws are passed in the parliament without any feedback from the public.

Release of a Consultation Paper to States in India

Upon receiving flake from the public as well as the political parties on the proposed amendment, the government softened its stand on the bills and sent a consultation paper to the states. Basically, the whole idea of the consultation paper is to educate the states about the effective usage of the forest.

The government states that the key purpose behind amending the forest conservation law is to facilitate the extraction of oil, private plantations, and natural gas extraction. These activities can be done in the outer areas of the forest. Besides, the ministry also wants the forest to be used for projects related to national security.

In the words of the minister:

• The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has to be amended to implement the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• He also added that "India is a party to CITES, and we have international obligations related to it. As far as the biological diversity amendment bill is concerned, these amendments were referred by four government constituted committees."

The committees have given their observations and seem to have given nods for the law's approval. However, researchers do not agree with the minister because they feel that the rules can cause a dent to the environment if at all implemented.

Here’s what environmentalists have got to say:

• According to noted environmentalist Ritwick Dutta, "The standing committee of the state board for wildlife is a derogatory step as it will replicate the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife.

• Dutta added, "It can lead to a situation where the national board rarely meets, and all decisions are taken by a select group of members of the standing committee, who the environment minister chooses."

• He is also worried about the constant modifications of the laws. Dutta is critical of the law that was drafted for Ayush producers as now, they easily have access to the natural resources they want in any part of the country.

Besides, they are only bound to benefit through it for commercial purposes. They may not want to share any data with the state biodiversity board. That is a harmful method. Moreover, the new guidelines released by the ministry only ease the laws for mining and industrialization.

The Government Easing Laws for the Defense Sector

Another notable amendment in the environment law by the ministry was done in March. The government decided to ease the rules for the defense sector. They wrote a letter to the state governments mentioning that they can't give environmental or conservation directions.

These directions are usually done for projects that are implemented in the forest areas besides what has been given to them. Besides, the central government grants certain areas for the defense sector to utilize for a project.

When the forest clearance is given to the company, it is assumed that the state government is aware of it and, more importantly, has given its approval. The state government has the right to approve or disapprove under the Forest (Conservation) Act.

Experts have raised objections to the letter's content stating that these kinds of lax guidelines can reduce the powers of the state government in such vital matters. The experts said that the state government has a provision for not approving some projects if they feel that the environment is under threat. However, the amendment would affect this power as well. The letter states that the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) need not take these matters into their hands. Instead, the regional offices will give approval to the defense projects.

Additionally, the ministry has also given powers to industries that cause a lot of pollution to expand their business.  However, they will have to obtain a certification that they will not cause further pollution in the area. The ministry released a user manual in May. It is an online submission form undertaking that the company will not cause more pollution due to their expansion.

Mining is Immensely Facilitated

Yet again, in an unfortunate move, the government has made several amends to facilitate new mining projects through the environment ministry. The mining permits can be effortlessly transferred as new leases to the new leaseholders using these amends.

The laws were amended so that the new owner does not have to apply for a forest clearance every year repeatedly. This bill was approved, and in July, the ministry sent a letter to all the states in the country, apprising them of the new law.

Under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the transfer of approval can be done by the current companies. Of course, they have to meet certain regulations and meet compliances that are mentioned in the earlier forest clearance form.

Companies that deal with roads, conveyor belts, and railway infrastructure partner with mines across the country can be approved. The regional offices will approve them of the union ministry and not the forest advisory committee.

Besides, the letter also mentioned about the coal ministry wanting to construct linear projects that link the mines and loading areas. This approval comes close to the heels of the mines' auction that was held last year by the coal ministry.

Close to 38 mines were listed in the first tranche. In the second tranche, more than 65 mines were selected in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh.

These states were listed for the coal mine auctions. Not to mention, the environmental norms for expanding the iron, manganese, bauxite, and limestone mines were relaxed by the ministry. This has paved the way for mining companies to exploit these loopholes created and expand their mining areas.

According to the Office Memorandum (OM) released in October, mining companies can now expand up to 20$ for minerals with a 5-star rating. However, it has to be done with public consultation.

The ministry approved mining in non-forest areas. This means that the companies can begin mining before the forest clearance is granted. It helps the companies to mine in blocks where the non-forest and forest lands are involved in mining.

Centre Forms the Air Quality Commission

With the dwindling air quality in the national capital, the government has formed a new air quality commission. The commission is responsible for ensuring that the air quality around the national capital and the surrounding areas are clean and maintained.

The commission seeks to address the air pollution that has been ravaging the national capital over the last few years. The commission has all powers to be able to control the air pollution in these areas.

Those who are found guilty of violating the rules issued by the commission or the orders will face imprisonment for 5 years. They will be fined up to INR 1 crore. The offenders can either be imprisoned or fined.

However, farmers will be exempted from the order for causing air pollution due to the burning of waste or residue from the farmlands. Unfortunately, the commission's orders were largely criticized by most legal experts because it was a move to centralize powers.

Development of the Islands

The environment ministry has also considered several projects in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The ministry's expert appraisal committee wants to design projects including luxury tents and resorts on these islands.

Besides, they want to have two water aerodrome projects in Shaheed and Swaraj Islands. However, the projects will see a denotification of a tribal reserve. Likewise, the Lakshadweep administration has introduced a draft.

The Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) wants to design more projects for the development of the tourism industry. Praful Khoda Patel, the Lakshadweep Administrator, wants the island to be at par with the Maldives.

However, former bureaucrats have raised their voices against the draft because they believe it completely misleads facts and considerably ignores climate change. Besides, the rights of the indigenous people are grossly violated.

Is Changing the Green Laws Diluting Environmental Safeguards?

Yes, indeed! Amending green laws seems to be a hazard in itself. The safeguards of Indian environment laws would be easily stripped in the guise of economic growth. We are already witnessing the havoc caused by climate change all over the world. Floods, forest fires, landslides, and a lot more have become constant occurrences in various parts of the world. And India is no exception to it.

This is why we, at Tribhuvan College, always stress the fact that it is very much important that our upcoming generations know where we are heading to, what’s essential for stopping the environment from degrading any further, and what are the various laws around it. It is crucial for our youth to be aware of their rights and know what role they can play in saving the environment. To that end, we have emerged as one of the best colleges for environmental science, offering thoughtfully designed undergraduate and postgraduate programs that focus on environmental law and policy. These courses aim to equip students with both theoretical understanding and practical insights into the legal frameworks that govern environmental protection in India and across the globe.

At Tribhuvan College, we firmly believe that education is truly the way to empowerment. Only when our youth is educated on the various environmental laws, the significance of these laws in protecting the environment, and what can the wrong amendments do, can we actually look forward to any sort of improvements in the otherwise degrading situation. So come forth and join our environmental Science course  to attain the highly needed awareness on the environmental laws followed in India as well as abroad.