In 1976, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister, Smt.

Indira Gandhi, the Constitution (Forty Second Amendment) Act was passed and the provisions relating to the protection of environment for the first time were incorporated as Fundamental Duties and Fundamental Rights

Article 48-A - the State shall Endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.

Article 51-A in the form of Fundamental Duties was also incorporated by the 42nd Amendment.

Art. 51-A (g)- it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

Fundamental Rights:- Part III of the Constitution, containing Arts. 12 to 35, deals with fundamental rights. Articles 15(2)(b); Art. 21 and Art. 24 provide for specific provision for environmental protection.

Article 15(2)(b):- No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to: the use of wells, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort, maintained wholly or partly out for state funds or dedicated to the use of general public.

In simple words, Art. 15(2) prohibits discrimination on the ground of sex, race, religion, caste, place of birth etc. to make use of the public places the general public. The public places, which are part and parcel of the human environment should be made available to the public

Article 21:- no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Article 21 is the heart of the fundamental rights and has received expanded meaning from time to time after the decision of the Supreme Court in Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India, (AIR 1978 SC 597). Art. 21 guarantees a fundamental right to life a life of dignity to be lived in a proper environment, free of danger of disease and infection. The right to live in a healthy environment as part of Art. 21 of the Constitution was first recognized in the case of.

Article 24: No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to wok in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment

Directive Principles of State Policy:- Part IV of the Constitution, Containing Articles 36 to 51. The directive principles form the fundamental feature and are designed to achieve socio economic goals.

Art. 39 (a), (Constitution 942nd Amendment) Act, 1976 provides for Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid. It promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunities. It imposes an imperative duty upon the State to provide free legal aid to the poor litigant so as to secure him equal protection of laws against his well to do opponent.

1. Equal right of men and women to adequate means of livelihood. 2. Distribution of ownership and control of the material resources community to the common good.

3. To ensure that the economic system should not result in concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. 4. Equal pay for equal work for both men and women. 5. To protect health and strength of workers and tender age of children and to ensure that they are not forced by economic necessity to entire avocations unsuited to their age or strength; and 6. That children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Article 39(b):- The expression material source means all things, which are capable producing wealth for the community. In includes those, which are already vested in the State but also in the hands of private individuals. Further, the expression distribution in Art. 39 (b) does not mean that ones property is taken over and is distributed to others. It also includes nationalization which is an effective means to prevent concentration of wealth in a few hands so as to benefit the society at large.

Article 47:- State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties. The improvement of public health also includes the protection and improvement of environment without which public health cannot be assured.

Article 48:- the State to take steps to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines. In particular, it should take steps for preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Article 49:-the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest (declared by or under law made by parliament to be of national importance) from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export.

Noise Pollution Control Rule 2000 under Environment Protection Act 1996 :Further for better regulation for noise pollution There are The Noise Pollution ( Regulation and Control ) Rules, 2000 in order to curb the growing problem of noise pollution the government of India has enacted the noise pollution rules 2000 that includes the following main provisions:# The state government may categories the areas in the industrial or commercial or residential # The ambient air quality standards in respect of noise for different areas have been specified. # State government shall take measure for abatement of noise including noise emanating from vehicular movement and ensure that the existing noise levels do not exceed the ambient air quality standards specified under these rules. # An area not less than 100 m around hospitals educations institutions and court may be declare as silence are for the purpose of these rules. # A loud speaker or a public address system shall not be used except after obtaining written permission from the authority and the same shall not be used at night. Between 10 pm to 6 am # A person found violating the provisions as to the maximum noise permissible in any particular area shall be liable to be punished for it as per the provision of these rules and any other law in force.

Under Crpc. Section 133 empower an executive magistrate to interfere and remove a public nuisance in the first instance with a conditional order and then with a permanent one. The provision can be utilized in case of nuisance of environment nature. He can adopt immediate measure to prevent danger or injury of a serious land to the public. For prevention of danger to human life, health or safety the magistrate can direct a person to abstain from certain acts.

268. Public nuisance A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right. A common nuisance is not excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage.

269. Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. 270. Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

271. Disobedience to quarantine rule Whoever knowingly disobeys any rule made and promulgated 134[by the 135[***]Government 136[***] for putting any vessel into a state of quarantine, or for regulating the intercourse of vessels in a state of quarantine with the shore or with other vessels, or for regulating the intercourse between places where an infectious disease prevails and other places, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. 272. Adulteration of food or drink intended for sale Whoever adulterates any article of food or drink, so as to make such article noxious as food or drink, intending to sell such article as food or drink, or knowing it to be likely that the same will be sold as food or drink, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.