RAS question
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted in:
Correct answer: (B) 1974.
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted in 1974.
Explanation
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act belongs to 1974, not to the later pollution-control dates that often confuse aspirants. CPCB states that the Act was enacted in 1974 to provide for the prevention and control of water pollution and to maintain or restore the wholesomeness of water in the country. The principal Act is Act No. 06 of 1974, dated 23 March 1974. The Act matters because it created the statutory framework under which the Central and State Pollution Control Boards function for water pollution control. For India’s Water Act, 1974 is the anchor year.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 1977 refers to the later Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, not the original Water Act.
- (C) 1981 is associated with the Air Act, while the Water Act had already been enacted in 1974.
- (D) 1972 is associated with the Wildlife Protection Act, not the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
Concept
India’s environmental legislation has an important chronology, and pollution control boards have a central institutional role in it. RAS repeats such dates because environment questions often mix the Water Act, Air Act and Wildlife Protection Act.