RAS question
Which constitutional amendment added environmental protection to the Directive Principles of State Policy?
Correct answer: (A) 42nd Amendment.
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 added environmental protection to the Directive Principles of State Policy by inserting Article 48A.
Explanation
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 is the amendment that brought environmental protection into Part IV of the Constitution. It inserted Article 48A after Article 48, making it a Directive Principle that the State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. The same amendment also inserted Part IVA on Fundamental Duties, including Article 51A(g), which places a duty on every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment. This is why the answer is the 42nd Amendment: it connected environmental protection both to the State's policy duties and to citizens' constitutional duties.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) The 73rd Amendment dealt with Panchayati Raj, not the insertion of Article 48A on environmental protection in the Directive Principles.
- (C) The 44th Amendment dealt with the right to property and emergency provisions, not the addition of environmental protection to Part IV.
- (D) The 86th Amendment dealt with the right to education, not the constitutional insertion of Article 48A or Article 51A(g).
Concept
This tests the Directive Principles of State Policy and the major changes made by constitutional amendments. It recurs in RAS because environment, governance and fundamental duties often overlap in polity questions.