Environmental Pollution — Environmental Laws

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
42nd Amendment Act	1976	Inserted Article 48A (Directive Principle of State Policy) and Article 51A(g) (Fundamental Duty) into the Constitution, explicitly mandating the State and citizens to protect and improve the environment.	Provided the constitutional bedrock for environmental legislation and jurisprudence in India, elevating environmental protection to a matter of state policy and citizen responsibility. It paved the way for subsequent comprehensive environmental laws.
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act	1988	Strengthened the original 1974 Act by enhancing penalties for violations, empowering Pollution Control Boards with more punitive measures, and streamlining enforcement procedures.	Improved the enforceability of the Water Act, making it more effective in deterring pollution and ensuring compliance by industries and municipalities. It reflected a growing recognition of the need for stricter environmental regulations.
Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act	1987	Expanded the definition of 'air pollutant' to include noise, bringing noise pollution under the purview of the Air Act. It also enhanced penalties and powers of the Boards.	Significantly broadened the scope of the Air Act to include noise pollution, acknowledging its adverse health impacts. This provided a legal framework for regulating noise levels, particularly in urban areas.

Also build Paper II skills

Climate data, pollution metrics, and treaty timelines are natural practice for CSAT data interpretation and careful reading. CSAT hub.

• Data interpretation
• Correlation vs causation
• Estimation techniques