The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 was enacted to give effect to the decisions of the:

Question

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 was enacted to give effect to the decisions of the:

1. A. Montreal Protocol
2. B. Kyoto Protocol
3. C. Stockholm Conference (1972) (Correct answer)
4. D. Rio Earth Summit

Correct Answer

Option C — Stockholm Conference (1972)

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Stockholm Conference (1972).

Key Points

• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 was enacted, as its preamble states, to implement the decisions of the Stockholm Conference of 1972 so far as they relate to preservation of air quality and control of air pollution.
• It rests on Article 253, the treaty-implementation power, in the same way as the Water Act, 1974 and the EPA, 1986.
• The remaining options all postdate the Act — Montreal 1987, Rio 1992 and Kyoto 1997 — and so cannot have prompted it.

Additional Information

• Stockholm 1972 is the common parent of all three principal Indian environmental statutes, which is why it recurs throughout this paper. Fixing that single fact answers several questions at once.
• The Air Act deliberately did not create new institutions: it entrusted its functions to the boards already established under the Water Act, which is why the CPCB and SPCBs administer both.
• The Act empowers a State Government, after consulting the SPCB, to declare an area an air pollution control area, within which the use of specified fuels or appliances can be prohibited.
• The Air (Amendment) Act, 1987 brought noise within the definition of "air pollutant", which is the statutory hook for the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.