General Studies – 3

Conservation, Environmental pollution and degradation

Section – 12 (bb) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 which empowered the chief wildlife warden to
translocate excess animals for the scientific management of the population.

Arsenic contamination in groundwater was first reported from Chandigarh, and a second case was reported in the
lower Gangetic plain of West Bengal. But now we find that 20 States are affected. The list mentions south
Indian States Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Drinking arsenic contaminated groundwater can lead to serious health issues including cancers, coronary
heart disease, liver damage, arsenicosis and hyperkeratosis. The most affected countries are China,
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. In India, it is reported that a population over 50 million is currently at risk
from arsenic contamination. Groundwater can get contaminated by both natural processes and anthropogenic causes like
mining.