Consider the following statements: The Environment Protection Act, 1986 empowers the Government of India to Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: (b) 2 only

The Act empowers standards for emissions; public hearings come from the EIA notification.

Statement by statement

1. ✗ WRONG The EPA 1986 does not lay down public participation. Public hearings come from the EIA notification, not the Act.

2. ✓ CORRECT Section 3 lets the Centre set standards for emissions and discharges.

The idea

The Environment (Protection) Act is an umbrella law. It is short and gives the Central Government wide powers: set standards, restrict where industries may come up, issue directions including closure, and make rules. The details are not in the Act; they come as rules and notifications issued under it.

Act gives the Centre the power to take “all such measures” → Centre sets emission and discharge standards → Centre issues notifications under it → EIA notification, coastal zone notification, waste rules → Public hearing appears only in the EIA notification

The trap

Public hearings are part of environmental clearance, so they feel like part of the Act.

Also know

It was passed under Article 253 to give effect to the Stockholm Conference decisions, two years after Bhopal. The EIA process has four steps: screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal. Many bodies are created through this Act, such as the Central Ground Water Authority and the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee.