The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 derives its statutory basis from a direction issued after the:

Question

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 derives its statutory basis from a direction issued after the:

1. A. Kyoto Protocol (1997)
2. B. Stockholm Conference (1972) (Correct answer)
3. C. Rio Earth Summit (1992)
4. D. Montreal Protocol (1987)

Correct Answer

Option B — Stockholm Conference (1972)

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Stockholm Conference (1972).

Key Points

• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was enacted to implement the decisions taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972, as its own preamble records.
• This is the same constitutional route used earlier for the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981 — all three rest on Article 253, which lets Parliament legislate on any subject to give effect to an international agreement, even where the subject sits in the State List.
• The other options postdate the Act and cannot have prompted it: Rio 1992, Kyoto 1997 and Montreal 1987 all come later.

Additional Information

• The chronology alone answers this question: an Act of 1986 cannot derive from conferences held in 1987, 1992 or 1997. Checking dates before reading the options is the fastest route through it.
• Stockholm's other Indian legacy is constitutional. The 42nd Amendment (1976) inserted Article 48A, directing the State to protect and improve the environment, and Article 51A(g), making it a fundamental duty of every citizen.
• Article 253 matters because water and public health are State subjects; without an international obligation to implement, Parliament could not have legislated on them directly.
• Stockholm also created UNEP and gave rise to World Environment Day on 5 June, the date the conference opened.