Environmental Law

India, the country of biodiversity and rich in natural beauty has unfortunately suffered many scars on environment to slowly begin to realise its worth. Indian constitution has stated that it is the duty of all citizens to ‘protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’.

Environmental law has been categorised into following environmental legislations

General – Consisting of Environmental Protection Act and many other acts and rules for protecting and improving environment. Rules related to hazardous substances have been applied for industries operating in India for manufacturing and handling of materials. Also, considering the vast effect of pollution on environment, rules related to waste management, recycling, noise pollution have been laid out.

Forest and Wildlife – The colonial era statute, India forest Act and relatively new, Forest Conversation Act have presented rules for conservation of forests in India. Along with conservation the acts also provide guidelines for transit of forest produce and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce. Wildlife Protection act provides for protection of existing and endangered species and elements connected to them such as their habitat or water reserves or forests.

Water – Various acts have been laid to set guidelines related to water reserves, surface water, ocean and rivers. These acts help in identifying if water reserve is private or property of state, establish interstate co-operation in sharing of water as resource. Also, acts pertaining to pollution specify rules and regulation for controlling and minimising pollution in water body and water bound species.

Air – Air pollution related acts focus on pollution arising from factories, vehicles and radioactive waste. These various acts talk about safety for people working in industry and environment around the factories, empowerment for governing agencies for abatement of air pollution control.

We have worked closely with Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and National Green Tribunal, Pune on various litigations related to environment protection. We have been appointed as special counsel for advising on legal course of action to be taken in case of vessel collision or any accident hampering the marine environment.