Environmental governance bodies: EPA, NGT, CPCB and the EIA process
India's environmental governance architecture: the EPA 1986, NGT, CPCB/SPCBs and the EIA process under the 2006 Notification—mandates, powers and reform debates.
The umbrella statute: Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
India's environmental governance rests on the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EPA), enacted under Article 253 of the Constitution to implement the decisions of the Stockholm Conference (1972) and as a direct legislative response to the Bhopal gas disaster (2–3 December 1984). The EPA is an umbrella legislation: Section 3 empowers the Central Government to take "all such measures as it deems necessary" to protect and improve environmental quality, Section 5 confers power to issue directions (including closure of industries and stoppage of electricity/water), and Section 6 allows rules on standards and procedures. The landmark Environment Impact Assessment Notification is issued under Section 3(2)(v) read with Rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
The pollution control boards: CPCB and SPCBs
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is a statutory body constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and entrusted with additional functions by the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It advises the Central Government, lays down ambient air and water quality standards (the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, last revised 2009), coordinates the activities of State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), and runs national monitoring programmes. The consent mechanism—Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO)—is administered by SPCBs under Section 25 of the Water Act and Section 21 of the Air Act, making the boards the day-to-day regulators of industrial pollution. Note the constitutional distinction: the CPCB and SPCBs are statutory, whereas the older National Committee on Environmental Planning was merely advisory.
The green court: National Green Tribunal
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was created by the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, giving effect to Article 21 (right to a healthy environment, read in Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, 1991) and India's commitments under the Rio Declaration, 1992 (Principles 10 and 13). The NGT is a specialised body of judicial and expert members exercising jurisdiction over "substantial questions relating to environment" arising from the seven scheduled enactments (Water Act, Air Act, EPA, Forest Conservation Act 1980, etc.). Under Section 20 it applies the principles of sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle. It can award relief, compensation and restitution of the environment, and appeals lie directly to the Supreme Court under Section 22. Crucially, the NGT does not have jurisdiction over the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 or the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Forest Rights) Act, 2006—a frequently tested exclusion. Landmark interventions include the Art of Living Yamuna floodplain case (2017) and the levy on diesel vehicles in the NCR pollution matter (2015).