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This chapter discusses environmental policy in India. To attain policy goals in India, it is imperative for a policy to be backed by statute. Implementation of a policy also depends on funding of the implementing agency, the zeal and imagination of officials, and the political resolve of the minister to attain the policy goal. When judges decide environmental cases they are primarily concerned with applying the relevant provisions of the law to the facts before them. The chapter then anchors the readings to a constitutional policy: the trust principle that is fundamental to democratic governance. After surveying environmental policy developments, including the National Environment Policy of 2006, it focuses on the evolution of forest policy. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006 (FRA) is a transformative law that upended forest governance structures. The chapter also examines the contests over forest resources both before and after the law was passed.

This book studies environmental law and policy in India, which affects all sections of society. Those most deeply affected by it are the poor. They are the first victims of poor sanitation, polluted air, and contaminated water. Since the 1970s, efforts to protect environmental quality have met with limited success, posing enduring challenges for policy designers and decision-makers entrusted with protecting and preserving natural resources. This third edition retains the familiar analytical structure of the second edition and includes all major developments since then. It focuses on Indian environmental law, policy, problems, and needs. The book covers air and water pollution, forests, wildlife, noise pollution, common property resources and tribal communities, environmental impact assessment, coastal regulations, large projects, urban problems, the National Green Tribunal, hazardous substances, transnational environmental policies, and international environment law. In addition, It identifies and analyses emerging conflicts in Indian environmental jurisprudence with a focus on environmental justice.