To address the rapid expansion of industrialization, the Air Act was enacted in 1981 to control and abate atmospheric pollution.
1. Constitutional Basis & Enactment
Unlike the Water Act, the Air Act was passed under Article 253 of the Constitution to implement the decisions of the 1972 Stockholm Conference, making it applicable uniformly across all States without needing prior state legislative resolutions.
2. Statutory Definitions: Section 2
- Air Pollutant (Section 2(a)): Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance [including noise] present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment.
- Note: The inclusion of noise as an air pollutant was brought in by an amendment in 1987, paving the way for the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules.
- Air Pollution (Section 2(b)): The presence in the atmosphere of any air pollutant.
3. Key Regulatory Powers under the Act
- Air Pollution Control Areas (Section 19): The State Government, in consultation with the SPCB, has the power to declare any area as an Air Pollution Control Area, restricting the burning of specific fuels and industrial operations inside it.
- Mandatory Consent (Section 21): No person shall, without the previous consent of the SPCB, establish or operate any industrial plant in an air pollution control area.
- Closure & Disconnection (Section 31A): Gives SPCBs the direct administrative power to order the closure of any polluting unit, or order the suspension of electricity, water, or other public services to the unit.