Which one of the following has been constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986?

Answer: (c) Central Ground Water Authority

The Central Ground Water Authority was constituted in 1997 under Section 3(3) of the EPA to regulate groundwater.

The idea

Water is a State subject, so the Centre could not easily pass a groundwater law. In 1996 the Supreme Court asked the Centre to use the Environment (Protection) Act instead: Section 3(3) lets the Centre create an authority for any environmental purpose. That is how the Central Ground Water Authority was born in 1997.

Groundwater levels falling → Supreme Court steps in (M.C. Mehta case, 1996) → Centre uses Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act → Central Ground Water Authority, 1997 → It regulates extraction and issues no-objection certificates

Why the others are wrong

(a) The Central Water Commission is an attached office of the Jal Shakti ministry.

(b) The Central Ground Water Board is a scientific body (1970s), not constituted under the EPA.

(d) NWDA is a society for river-linking studies.

The trap

Board vs Authority — the Authority is the regulator created under the EPA.

Also know

Remember the pair: the Board studies groundwater (surveys, monitoring wells, assessment reports); the Authority regulates it. Both are under the Jal Shakti ministry. The National Water Development Agency (1982) studies river-linking.