SUBJECT – BUSINESS LAW

FOR – BBA-IV SEM

UNIT -3
Right to Information Act, 2005
• What is RTI Act?
• Provides a legal framework of citizens’ democratic right to access the information
under the control of public authorities.
• To promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of every public
authority.
Who is a Public Authority?
“Public Authority” means any authority or body or institution established or
constituted.
By any other law made by Parliament
• By any other law made by State Legislature
• By notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government and includes
any i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed,
What does ‘information’ mean ?
• Records
• Documents
• Memos
• Opinions & advices
• Press releases
• Circulars, orders & logbooks
• Contracts
• Reports, papers, samples & models
Need for RTI Act
• Because it helps to:
• Promote openness, transparency and accountability in the working of
every public authority.
• Reduce Corruption
• Prevent administrative arbitrariness
• Bride the gap between providers and recipient of public services
• Make citizens part of decision making
• Make administrative responsive
• Strengthen the foundations of democracy
Procedure for requesting information
• Apply in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in the official language
of the area, to the Public Information Officer [PIO], specifying the particulars of the
information sought for.
• Reason for seeking information are not required to be given.
• Pay fees as may be prescribed.
FEES AND CHARGES
• Application fee Rs. 10/- .
• If information is required in electronic media – floppy / CD, etc additional charges will be
applicable.
• Photocopy charges of Rs. 2/- per page.
• Inspection charges of relevant files, documents and records –
• No fee for first hour of inspection.
• Rs. 5/- for every subsequent hour or fraction thereof
FEES AND CHARGES
• Processing expenses incurred by the Public Information officer to be
intimated in writing.
• Applicant can seek review of the decision on fees charged by the PIO
by applying to the appropriate Appellate Authority.
• No fees from people living below the poverty line.
• Free of cost if the PIO fails to comply within the time limit as
prescribed under the RTI Act.
Time limits to get the information
• 30 days if application is filed with the PIO.
• 35 days in case it is filed with the Assistant PIO.
• 48 hours in case the matter to which the information
pertains(appropriate/related) affects the life and liberty of an
individual.
Coverage
• RTI Act came into effect on 12th October 2005.
• Covers central, state and local governments and all bodies owned,
controlled or substantially financed by the respective Governments;
Section 2(h)
• Non-government organization substantially financed directly or
indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government. Section 2
(e)
• Executive, judiciary and legislature
• Includes information relating to private body which can be accessed
by under any other law for the time being in force. Section 2 (f)
EXEMPTIONS FROM DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
a) National security
(b) Contempt of court
(c) Parliamentary privilege
(d) Trade secrecy
(e) Fiduciary(Trustee and a beneficiary) relationship
(f) Foreign government
(g) Safety of informer in law enforcement
(h) Investigation
(i)Cabinet papers
(j) Privacy
(K) Copyright - disclosure which would involve an infringement of copyright
subsisting in a person other than the State may be rejected. [Section 9]
The Environment (Protection) Act 1986
• Introduction
• An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment
and formatters connected therewith. Whereas the decisions were taken
at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at
Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India participated, to take
appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human
environment.
• The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 was introduced after the
Bhopal gas tragedy during Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of our
country.
Objectives
• To protect the forests and wildlife in the country.
To improve the quality of life by protection of environment.
To co-ordinate the activities of the various regulatory agencies
already in existence.
To appoint environment officers to check environmental pollution.
Establishing environmental laboratories.
Definition
• Environment- Environment it includes water, air and land and the inter
relationship which exists between water, air and land and human being,
other living creatures, plants, micro organisms and property.
• Environment pollutant- It means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance
present in such concentration as may be injurious to environment pollutant.
• Hazardous substance - It means any substance or preparation which, by
reason of its chemical or physico-chemical properties or handling, is liable
to cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plant, micro-
organism, property or the environment.
• Environment pollution - It means the presence of any environmental
pollutant in the environment. It includes all extraneous materials that are
harmful to human being ,animals and plants life.
Sources and causes for the pollution
• Combustion (process of burning)
• Construction
• Mining
• Agriculture
• Chemical plants
• Coal-fired power plants
• Oil refineries
• Petrochemical plants, Nuclear waste
• Large livestock farms (dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc.)
• PVC factories
• Plastics factories and other heavy industry are increasingly significant in the pollution
equation.
State Board
• Chairman
• Representative of the State Govt. (not exceeding five)
• Representative of local bodies (not exceeding five)
• Representative of companies or corporations owned, controlled or
• managed by the State Govt. (two)
• Representative have interests of agriculture, fishery or industry or
• trade etc. (not exceeding three)
• Member Secretary:
• (Full time possessing qualifications, knowledge and experience of
• scientific, engineering or management aspects of pollution control.)
Central board
• Chairman
Representative of the Central Govt. (not exceeding five)
Representative of State Govt. (not exceeding five)
Representative of companies or corporations owned, controlled or
managed by the Central Govt. (two)
Representative have interests of agriculture, fishery or industry or
trade etc. (not exceeding three)
Member Secretary (Full time possessing qualifications, knowledge
and experience of scientific, engineering or management aspects of
pollution
What is Atmosphere
• Atmosphere is the life blanket of Earth.
• It is therefore essential that we know more about the atmosphere and
the ways in which it is Polluted.
Definition of Pollution
• When Harmful Substances Contaminate the Environment it is Called
Pollution.
• Pollution refers to the very bad condition of environment in terms of
quantity and quality
Types of Pollution
There are Five types of Pollution
 Air Pollution
 Water Pollution
 Noise Pollution
 Land Pollution
 Radio Active Pollution
Air pollution
• Pollutants of air present in atmosphere are called as air pollution.
Respiration is a vital life process which needs air. If we breathe the air
which has pollutants then it will have bad effects on our health. Air is
comprised of below gases.
Causes of Air Pollution
• Major sources of Air Pollution
- Industries
-Automobiles and Domestic fuels
-High Proportion of undesirable gases, such as sulphur dioxide and carbon
monoxide.
Effects of Air Pollution
Air Pollution affects???
• Human health
• Animals
• Plants
• The atmosphere as a whole
How to Avoid Air Pollution
• Yes, we can avoid pollution As Follows
• Use natural Gases, like LPG autos
• Do not Burst Crackers
• Use less Amount of Fuel for Vehicles
• Avoid using and use electric stoves (bio gas)
Water Pollution
• From the name itself, we can understand that water pollution is a type
of pollution which involves contamination of many water bodies.
Many creatures which live in these water bodies are totally dependent
on these water bodies.
Causes of Water Pollution
• About 40% of Deaths worldwide are caused by Water Pollution.
• Water Pollution is Caused by organic and inorganic industrial wastes
and affluent discharged into rivers.
• Noise also causes anxiety stress reaction and fright.
•Effects of Water Pollution
• Diseases like Cholera
• Malaria
• Typhoid (spread during the rainy season )
• Aquatic life gets destroyed
How to Avoid Water Pollution
• Rivers should not be used for washing clothes or bathing animals in.
• Harvesting of Rainwater to meet water requirements.
• Dams & embankments must be created.
• The rivers must not be contaminated.
• In sacred river like Ganga the dead bodies shouldn’t thrown
NOISELESS ATMOSPHERE
 Noise can be simply defined as unwanted sound.
 The sound is pleasant or not depends upon its loudness, duration,
rhythm and the mood of the person.
 Noise pollution not only results in irritation and anger.
•Causes of Noise Pollution
• Traffic Noise
• Air craft Noise
• Noise from construction and civil engineering works.
• Noise from the Industries.
• Noise from other sources.
Effects of Noise Pollution
• Hearing Loss
• High Blood Pressure
• Stress
• Sleep Disturbance
• Color Blindness (ability to distinguish about colours)
•How to Avoid Noise Pollution
• The Government should ensure the new machines that Should be noise
proof.
• Air ports must be away from residential area.
• The Sound horn symbol is to be in School Roads.
Prevention of Noise Pollution
• Pleasant Home
• Bhagavan Baba says “Silent is God”.
• We need to talk sweetly to others.
• Talk Less Work More.
• Sound affects our ears so loud noise should be avoided.
Definition of Land Pollution
• One fourth of area is covered by land is Called Land.
• Land is a earth which is occupied by people for shelter, occupation etc..,
•Causes of Land Pollution
•We can classify major sources that lead to land following
Categories
 Mining and quarrying
 Sewage waste
 Household Garbage
 Industrial Waste
Effects of Land Pollution
 The Land Cannot be construct house
 Man cannot be farming
 Ground water will gets Affected
 House hold Garbage like putting Plastics
•Prevention of Land Pollution
• More and more land should be brought under farming
• Trees should be planted everywhere.
• Waste water should be disposed immediately
• Avoid drilling the Land for more underground water.
• Avoid using more fertilizers and Pesticides.
Definition of Radio Active Pollution
• Despite the Advantage of nuclear as a clean energy, the big concern is
the resulted from nuclear reaction, which is a form of pollution called
Radio activity.
• Radiation (Laser-Rays) will from Radio Active Pollution.
Causes of Radio Active Pollution

• Nuclear power plants(Ex:Neyveli,Kalpakkam)

• Nuclear Weapon(Ex:Missiles)
• Disposal of Nuclear Waste
• Uranium Mining
Effects of Radio Active Pollution
 The Diseases include blood in cough
 Ulcer
 Swelling of bone joints
 Cancer
 Lung Cancer
 Skin Cancer
 Bone Cancer
 Eye Problems
Global warming
• Global warming is the increase in average temperature of the earths
near surface air and oceans.
Most of the observed temperature increase is caused by increased
concentration of greenhouse gases
Major gases
• water vapour – 36-70%
• carbon dioxide- 9 – 26 %
• methane - 4- 9 %
• ozone - 3 – 7 %
Causes of global warming
Emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide etc into the atmosphere.
The major source is carbon dioxide (80%)
20% by methane and nitrous oxide
Carbon dioxide
The major source of carbon dioxide is the power plants.
 Burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.
 About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere
comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles.
Methane
Methane is more than 20 times as effectual as CO2 at entrapping heat
in the atmosphere
Methane is obtained from resources such as rice paddies, bovine
flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel manufacture.
Nitrous oxide
 The main sources of nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid
production, cars with catalytic converters, the use of fertilizers in
agriculture and the burning of organic matter.
Deforestation
Cutting and burning of forests for the purpose of residence and
industrialization
Consequences
• The effect of global warming is
Increasing the average temperature of the earth.
Alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the
quantity and pattern of rainfall.
Boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods,
famines(Scarcity), heat waves, tornados(violently rotating winds), and twisters.
• Glacier melting(melting of ice), lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and
rise in the ranges of disease vectors.
• Various new diseases have emerged.
• The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in
humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere.
• Effects the marine life.
Responses to global warming
1.MITIGATION (unpleasant)
2. ADAPTATION (Changing condition)
3. GEOENGINEERING (ways to change the earth's atmosphere)
4. UNFCC (United nations framework convention on climate change)
Reduce global warming
• By 10 simple steps….
 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
Change a Light Bulb by CFL
Drive Less and Drive Smart
Buy Energy-Efficient Products
Use Less Hot Water
 Use the "Off" Switch
 Plant a Tree
Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company
Encourage Others to Conserve
Ozone layer
• Ozone layer is a thin, fragile shield that contains relatively high
concentrations of ozone.
• It shields the entire Earth from much of the harmful UV radiation that
comes from the sun.
• Damage in the ozone layer will naturally mean the entry of harmful
rays in to the atmosphere.
• In the 1970s, the scientists discovered that the ozone layer is being
depleted.
Causes for Ozone depletion
• Natural factors
• seasons
• weather conditions, and
• solar cycles
Effects of Ozone Depletion
• The effect of ozone depletion is the increased UV-B radiation reaching Earth’s
surface.
• Effects on Humans • Sunburn •Sun-damaged skin •Cataracts •Snow blindness
•Skin cancer
• Reduced effectiveness of immune system
• Respiratory illness and heart problems
Effects on the Environment
• Global warming
• Climate change
• Crop and forest damage
• Infections and skin diseases on animals
• Less ocean plankton (large bodies of water and are unable to swim
against a current.)
• Less fish harvest
Carbon trade
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
• Sec 2(a) -“Environment”.
•  Sec2(b) -“Environment pollutant”.
•  Sec 2(c)-”Environment pollution”.
•  Sec 2(d)-” Handling”
•  Sec2(e) -“Hazardous substance”
•  Sec2(f)-”Occupier”
General power of central government
• To make rules to regulate environment pollution to notify standard and
maximum limits of pollutants of air ,water and soil for various areas
and purpose.
• Prohibition and restriction on handling of hazardous substance and
location of industries
Prevention, Control and abatement of environment
pollution
• The central government has power to take all such measures that are
necessary for the purpose of protecting, improving and prevention of
environment such as:
• Laying down standards for quality of environment in various
aspects.
• Restriction of areas in which industry operation shall carried out.
Examination of manufacturing process ,materials and substance
which are likely to cause environment
Penalties

•  One of the objective of EPA is to provide for deterrent punishment

to those who endanger human environment safety and health.
• Sect 15 of EPA provides that any person who fails to comply or
contrivance any provision or rule or act he shall be punishable.
•  With a fine of 1 lakh.
•  With imprisonment for term for 5 year Or both.
Offences
•  Sect 16 of EPA incorporates the principle “vicarious liability”(Vicarious
liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the
common law doctrine of agency, respondeat superior, the responsibility of
the superior for the acts of their subordinate or, in a broader sense, the
responsibility of any third party that had the "right, ability or duty to
control" the ...) of person in charge, direction, manager secretary or other
officer for offence if committed by company.
• However if the person in charge of responsible for conduct of business of
company is not held liable if he proves
• That the offence was committed without his knowledge.
• That he exercised all due diligence (Degree of care) care to prevent the
commission of such offence
Why ODD and Even formula ???
• To curb air pollution and road congestion on Delhi roads.