Environmental Protection Act was enacted in the year 1986 in India under provision of article of the Constitution of India.

Correct option is C

Introduction

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was enacted by the Indian Parliament in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Its constitutional basis lies in a provision that empowers Parliament to legislate for implementing international agreements.

Information Booster

The correct answer is Article 253.

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was enacted under Article 253 of the Constitution of India, which empowers Parliament to make laws for the whole or any part of the territory of India for implementing any treaty, agreement or convention with other countries or any decision made at an international conference or association.

The Act was passed to give effect to the decisions taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972, in which India participated.

Because Article 253 allows Parliament to legislate on subjects even in the State List when fulfilling international commitments, it provided the constitutional authority for this comprehensive central environmental legislation.

This is why the preamble of the EPA 1986 explicitly refers to implementing the decisions of the Stockholm Conference. The Act serves as an umbrella legislation, filling gaps and coordinating the activities of various regulatory agencies under a single framework.

Additional knowledge

Article 48 — Incorrect. Article 48 is a Directive Principle of State Policy concerning the organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry; its related Article 48A (added by the 42nd Amendment) directs the State to protect and improve the environment, but it is a directive principle, not the enacting provision for the EPA.
· Article 51A g) — Incorrect. This is a Fundamental Duty, requiring every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife. It imposes a moral duty on citizens but does not confer legislative power to enact the Act.
· Article 153 — Incorrect. Article 153 deals with the office of the Governor of a State and has no connection whatsoever to environmental legislation; it is a constitutional-structure provision planted as a numerical distractor near 253.