Match the following Act with the year of their enactment: Act Year of enactment 1. Wildlife Protection Act

Question

Match the following Act with the year of their enactment: Act Year of enactment 1. Wildlife Protection Act

i. 1974 2. Environment Protection Act

ii. 1986 3. Biological Diversity Act

iii. 2002 4. Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act

iv. 1972

Choose the correct answer:

1. A. 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-i (Correct answer)
2. B. 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv
3. C. 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-i, 4-iii
4. D. 1-iii, 2-iv, 3-ii, 4-i

Correct Answer

Option A — 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-i

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-i.

Key Points

• Matching each Act with its year of enactment:

• This gives 1-iv, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-i.

Additional Information

• The chronology of Indian environmental law, which is worth holding as a single ordered list: Wildlife Protection Act 1972 → Water Act 1974 → Forest Conservation Act 1980 → Air Act 1981 → Environment Protection Act 1986 → Biological Diversity Act 2002 → Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 → National Green Tribunal Act 2010 → Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016.
• The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Conservation and Community Reserves, and lists species in schedules by degree of protection. The 2022 amendment restructured the schedules from six to four and gave effect to India's CITES obligations.
• The Water Act, 1974 created the Central and State Pollution Control Boards; the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 extended their mandate to air quality. Both were enacted under Article 252, with the consent of state legislatures, since water and public health are State subjects.
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was passed in the aftermath of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (December 1984) and in follow-up to the Stockholm Conference (1972). It is an umbrella legislation, giving the Centre broad powers to coordinate the work of the pollution boards and to set standards — the EIA Notification and the Coastal Regulation Zone rules are issued under it.
• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 implements the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and its three objectives — conservation, sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It created a three-tier structure: the National Biodiversity Authority (Chennai), State Biodiversity Boards, and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level.
• Articles 48-A and 51-A(g), both inserted by the 42nd Amendment (1976), gave these statutes their constitutional grounding.