Water Pollution — Tech Evolutions

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
Act 5 of 2024	2024	The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 changed the consent and enforcement framework of the 1974 Act. Section 8 substituted section 44 to impose a penalty of ₹10,000 to ₹15 lakh for knowingly or wilfully interfering with a required consent-related meter, gauge or monitoring device so that it cannot measure correctly. Sections 4–5 also provided for notified exemptions for specified categories of industrial plants and Central Government guidelines on consent, after consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board.	Reliable measurement connects the legal requirement to the science: a manipulated instrument can conceal the true discharge even when a reported value appears compliant. The amendment is not a general permission to pollute, and an enabling exemption power is not an exemption for every plant. Its territorial rule also matters: section 1 initially applies it to Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Union territories, with other States covered on adoption under Article 252. Check adoption and applicable notifications for a particular site. The changes do not eliminate all criminal consequences; the substituted section 45E retains specified offences.