Centre dilutes penal rules in air, water pollution and eco protection laws

The dilution of penal provisions from three key laws - Environment Protection Act, 1986, Air Act, 1986 and Water Act, 1974 is based on suggestions received for decriminalisation of existing provisions

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed dilution of penal provisions from three key laws — Environment Protection Act, 1986, Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1986 and Water (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1974.

The ministry, in a set of notifications, said the amendments have been introduced as “suggestions were received for decriminalisation of the provisions of the said Acts, in order to weed out the fear of imprisonment for simple violations.”

For the EPA, failure or contravention or non-compliance of the provisions of EPA would be dealt through imposing penalty through a duly authorised