Rules to regulate environmental pollution
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules in respect of all or any of the matters referred to in section 3.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the standards of quality of air, water or soil for various areas and purposes;
(b) the maximum allowable limits of concentration of various environmental pollutants (including noise) for different areas;
(c) the procedures and safeguards for the handling of hazardous substances;
(d) the prohibition and restrictions on the handling of hazardous substances in different areas;
(e) the prohibition and restriction on the location of industries and the carrying on process and operations in different areas;
(f) the procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents which may cause environmental pollution and for providing for remedial measures for such accidents.
In plain English
What this section actually means
Section 6 is the specific rule-making twin of Section 3. Sub-section (1) lets the Centre make rules in respect of any matter listed in Section 3. Sub-section (2) then lists six headings under which rules may be made — air/water/soil quality standards (a), pollutant concentration limits including noise (b), hazardous-substance handling procedures (c), area-based restrictions on hazardous-substance handling (d), location-based industry restrictions (e), and accident prevention and remediation procedures (f).
This is the legal authority for almost every operative number in Indian environmental law. The Schedules to the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 fill in Section 6(2)(a) and (b). The Hazardous Wastes Rules fill in (c) and (d). The MSIHC (Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals) Rules fill in (f). The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 sit under (b).
Section 6 differs from Section 25 in two ways. Section 6 deals specifically with anti-pollution rules — quality standards, limits, safeguards — and is procedurally lighter. Section 25 is the broader rule-making clause that catches all other procedural and administrative rules. Both routes converge in the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 but the legal vires of each rule depends on which section it is issued under.
Visual
See how it flows
Old vs new
Section 6 vs. Section 25 — both make rules, but for different things
Read the relevant Schedule before relying on a rule — its vires depends on which section it stands on.
- Substantive anti-pollution rulesAll rules generally, incl. procedural
- Quality standards, concentration limits, handling safeguardsSample procedures, lab functions, complaint procedures
- Tracks the subjects in Section 3Tracks the operative sections (7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20)
- Notification in Official GazetteNotification + lay before Parliament (Section 26)
Real life
What this looks like in real life
Question on a rule's parent provision
Setup. A petitioner before the NGT challenges a notification capping diesel-generator noise at 75 dB(A) on the ground that it is not authorised by EPA.
What the law does. The Tribunal will examine whether the notification falls under Section 6(2)(b) ('maximum allowable limits of concentration of various environmental pollutants (including noise)'). Since noise is expressly included, the notification is intra vires. The petition will fail on this ground.
Cross-references
Read this alongside
- Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986§Rule 3 + Schedules I–VII·The chief subordinate legislation made under Section 6 — contains the actual emission and ambient standards.
- Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000§—·Made under Section 6(2)(b) to regulate noise as an environmental pollutant.
- Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016§—·Made under Section 6(2)(c) and (d) for hazardous-waste handling and area restrictions.
Frequently asked
Questions about Section 6
Open this section in the source PDF
Environment Protection Act, 1986.pdf
Page 6–7 · opens in new tab