Environmental acts in India and the rules made under them
The main environmental acts in India, from the EP Act 1986 to the Water and Air Acts, plus key chemical and waste rules and where the Gazette text is.
The main environmental acts in India include the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 (the EP Act), the Water Act 1974 and the Air Act 1981. The Water Act and the Air Act are the pollution acts a factory deals with most. Other central Acts cover forests, wildlife, biodiversity, accident relief for hazardous substances and the National Green Tribunal.
List of environmental acts in India
This list of environmental laws in India is drawn from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Annual Report 2025-26, plus the Biological Diversity Act. Act numbers come from the Legislative Department's chronological list of central Acts.
| Act | Act number | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 | 29 of 1986 | Protection and improvement of the environment |
| Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 | 6 of 1974 | Prevention and control of water pollution |
| Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 | 14 of 1981 | Prevention and control of air pollution |
| Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 | 53 of 1972 | Wildlife and CITES trade |
| Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 | 69 of 1980 | Approval for non-forest use of covered forest land |
| Indian Forest Act, 1927 | 16 of 1927 | Forests |
| Biological Diversity Act, 2002 | 18 of 2003 | Biological diversity |
| Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 | 6 of 1991 | Compulsory insurance and no-fault relief for hazardous-substance accidents |
| National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 | 19 of 2010 | Environmental cases |
The Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 was renamed by the 2023 amendment. Its Act number stayed unchanged. The Biological Diversity Act has 2002 in its title but is Act 18 of 2003. Its 2023 amendment took effect on 1 April 2024, and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 were notified on 22 October 2024.
The Water Cess Act 1977 still turns up on many lists, including MoEFCC's own report. It was repealed with effect from 1 July 2017 by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2017 (commencement notification).
Pollution acts in India after decriminalisation
The pollution act in India that a plant works under is usually the Water Act or the Air Act, read with the EP Act. The Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 replaced imprisonment for many EP Act contraventions with penalties set by an adjudicating officer. Penalties run from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh (s.15) and go to an Environmental Protection Fund. Many Air Act contraventions also moved to an adjudicating officer. Both changes apply from 1 April 2024 (PIB, G.S.R. 757(E)), and appeals go to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Jail remains only for not paying an EP Act penalty (s.15F), and for an Air Act section 21 consent breach or an unpaid penalty (s.39D).
The Water Act was not in that schedule. Its 2024 amendment adds monetary penalties, an adjudicating officer, and a Centre power to exempt some industries from consent. It applies first in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Union territories, and elsewhere only after the state adopts it. In states that have not adopted it, the original offences still apply, so check your state's position. Penalty procedure rules for the EP Act, Water Act and Air Act came in November 2024.
January 2026 amendments to the Air and Water consent guidelines keep consent to operate valid until cancelled and bring in registered environmental auditors.
Environmental rules under the EP Act
Section 6 of the EP Act lets the Centre make rules by notification in the Official Gazette. The environmental regulations a compliance team usually needs:
- Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, which carry the emission and effluent standards.
- Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical (MSIHC) Rules, 1989, last amended on 19 January 2000 and still on MoEFCC's rules list. Duties include a site notification, safety report, safety audit, on-site emergency plan and a major-accident report within 48 hours.
- Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996: crisis groups at central, state, district and local level.
- Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, with ten amendments to November 2024 and a 2025 amendment in force from 1 April 2026, adding extended producer responsibility for non-ferrous metal scrap.
- Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, amended again in 2025 and March 2026.
- E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 and Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.
- Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, last amended on 17 April 2026.
- Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 and the Environment (Construction and Demolition) Waste Management Rules, 2025, both in force from 1 April 2026, replacing the 2016 rules.
- Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, amended up to 31 December 2019.
- The EIA Notification 2006 for prior environmental clearance. That file is a consolidation up to July 2026. The Gazette text prevails. Coastal work also follows the CRZ Notification 2019, cited in this 2022 amendment.
- Environment Audit Rules, 2025. MoEFCC's draft auditor guidelines are open for comment until 29 October 2026.
Where to find environmental laws in India as PDF
Find central rules and notifications in the Gazette of India at egazette.gov.in. Rules take effect on publication in the Gazette unless the notification names a later start date, as with the waste rules that started on 1 April 2026. "S.O." and "G.S.R." are Gazette serial numbers. "(E)" means an Extraordinary issue.
Under rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, objections to a proposed ban on where an industry can locate must be filed within sixty days of Gazette publication.
For bare Act PDFs, use India Code. CPCB's rules pages list each waste rule with its dated amendments. MoEFCC's rules listing is incomplete (the 2025 hazardous waste amendment is missing), so confirm the final text in the Gazette. Also check the state Gazette and your State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
RegAffairs AI's answer on these environmental acts in India links the stored notifications.