.

Ancient Environmental laws The concern for himian environment is as old as the Indian Vedic and epic
age. Even in the earlier times, in civilizations of ancient Greece and India, the concern for environmental
protection and ecological balance was manifested in human behaviour and reflected in the nature itself
We should feel proud of India for its heritage in pioneering work done regarding legislative measures on
environment protection. Dating back to the period of King Ashoka we can refer to the 5"* pillar edict
which gives in detail what species of fish, birds and animals are forbidden from being hxmt, the
prescribed season for hunting other species and punishments for violation provided. Kautilya (321 to
300 BC) talks in detail about selling of trees. 26 Chapter -II State's duty to maintain forests, forest
produce, and forest reserves for wild animals and to protect wildlife.' 2.2212. Arrival of the British and
the formation of Environmental laws in India The British arrived in India in 1600 A.D. with the mission of
trading goods from India and formed East India Company. But, after seeing the immense amoimt of
natural resources and plunders of opportunity to exploit the resources present here, they changed their
game plan and started applying coercion so as to complete their aim of exploiting natural resources in
India.'" At the time when British arrived in India, India was divided into several princely states ruled by
different rulers. It was quite an easy task for the British to establish itself gradually and astutely. They
cleverly implemented the policy of Divide and Rule in India and took benefit of the diversity of rule and
rulers and multiplicity of religion in the country. This process was greatly intensified in the early years of
the building of the railways network after about 1853. While great chimks of forests were destroyed to
meet the demand for railway sleepers, no supervision was exercised over the felling operation in which
a large number of trees was felled and lay rotting on the road. As early as 1805, the British government
requested the British East India Company, which already controlled large parts of the coastal regions, to
investigate the feasibility of harvesting Malabar teak in Madras to meet the needs of British shipbuilding
during the Napoleonic war. 27 Chapter-II Although the East India Company was a private trading
company commissioned in 1600, in India it functioned as a state entity, enjoying a monopoly of trade in
the areas it ruled. The company appointed a former police officer. Captain Watson, as India's first
conservator of forests in 1806. On 3 August 1855, Lord Dalhousie, the governor general of India,
reversed the previous laissez-faire policy to establish the India Forest Department and annex large areas
of sparsely populated lands in India. These lands were declared protected areas and staffed by foresters,
fireguards, rangers and administrators. Lord Dalhousie's new forest policies greatly expanded British
authority over the land and people of India, a colonial empire that the British had procured piecemeal
over the coiirse of several centuries of mercantile and military exploitation. Thus, environmentalism and
imperialism have a shared past, and the newly protected forests marked a symbiotic alliance of
environmental concern with expansion of state power in India. The second half of the 19th century was
marked with the beginning of an organized forest management in India with some administrative steps
taken to conserve forest; the formulation of forest policy and the legislations to implement the policy
decision. The systematic management of forest resources began with the appointment of the First
Inspector General of Forest in 1864. The objective of management of forest thus changed fi-om
obtaining of timber for various purposes to protecting and improving forests and treating them as a
biological growing entity. Forest conservators had already been appointed in Bombay (1847), Madras
(1856), and the United Burma Provinces (1857), Oudh in 1861, Punjab in 1864, Coorg and Bengal in
1864, Assam in 1868, and Berar in 1868. By the end of 1868, the Forest 28 Chapter-11 Department had
administrators in every province of the subcontinent. In 1871, the Forest Department was placed imder
the newly established Department of Revenue and Agriculture, which was under the umbrella of the
Home Department. The British Government declared its first Forest Policy by a resolution on the 19th
October 1884. The policy statement had the following objectives: i. Promoting the general well- being of
the people in the country; ii. Preserving climatic and physical condition in the country; and iii. Fulfilling
the need of the people To implement the Forest policy of 1884, the Forest Act of 1927 was enacted. Till
1935, the government of India enacted the Forest Act. In 1935, the British Parliament created provincial
legislature through the Government of India, and the subject of the forest was included in the provincial
legislature list. Thereafter, several provinces made their own laws to regulate forest. Most of these laws
were within the framework laid down in the 1927 Act. The British all along their reign in India formed
many other Acts from time to time. 2.2213. Early Environmeiital Legislation. India employs a range of
regulatory instruments to preserve and protect its natural resources. It was the first country to insert an
amendment into its Constitution allowing the State to protect and improve the environment for
safeguarding public health, forests and wild life. A Survey of the early environmental legislations
indicates the nature and levels of governmental awareness towards environmental issues. The Shore
Nuisance (Bombay and Kolaba) Act of 1853, which was one of the earliest laws concerning water
pollution, authorized the collector of land revenue in 29 Chapter-II Bombay to order removal of any
nuisance below the high - water mark in Bombay harbors. In 1857, an attempt was made to regulate the
pollution produced by the oriental Gas Company by imposing fines on the Company and giving a right of
compensation to anyone whose water was 'fouled' by the company's discharges. The country has had a
long history of environmentalism with the passage and codification of acts such as the Indian Penal Code
of 1860, The Indian Easements Act of 1882, The Fisheries Act of 1897, The Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act of
1905, The Indian Motor Vehicle Act, The Factories Act, The Indian Forest Act, The Mines and Minerals
(Regulation and Development) Act, The Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, The Forest
(Conservation) Act, The Merchant Shipping Act.