Air Act

AIR ACT 1981 With the increasing industrialization and the tendency of the majority of industries to congregate in area which are already heavily industrialized, the problem of air pollution has begun to be felt in the country. The problem is more acute in those heavily industrialised areas which are also densely populated. Short-term studies conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, have confirmed that the cities of Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, etc. re facing the impact of air pollution on a steadily increasing level. 2. The presence in air, beyond certain limits, of various pollutants discharged through industrial emission and from certain human activities connected with traffic, heating, use of domestic fuel, refuse, incinerations, etc, has a detrimental effect on the health of the people as also on animal life, vegetation and property. 3.
In the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June, 1972 in which India participated, decisions were taken to take appropriate steps for the preservation of the natural resources of the earth which, among other things, include the preservation of the quality of air and control of air pollution. The government has decided to implement these decisions of the said Conference in so far as they relate to the preservation of the quality of air and control of air pollution. 4. It is felt that there should be an integrated approach for tackling the environmental problems relating to pollution.
It is, therefore, proposed that the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, will also perform the functions of the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and of a State Board for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in the Union Territories. It is also proposed that the State Boards constituted under that Act, separate State Boards for the Preservation and Control of Air Pollution are proposed to be constituted. The Air Act is implemented by the Central and State Governments and the Central and State Boards.