The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, provides for the protection and improvement of the environment, and for ‘matters connected therewith’.The environment includes water, air and land, and the relationship between water, air and land, human beings, other living creatures, plants and microorganisms. The Act defines an environmental pollutant as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in a concentration which may be, or tend to be, injurious to the environment. Environmental pollution means the presence of such a pollutant in the environment.The government of India enacted this law according to decisions taken to protect the human environment at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June, 1972. The Act was passed on May 23, 1986, and it extends to the whole of India.