India and Brazil - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 171

about 5000, now called the Administrative Service, gives direction. The total
number of central government employees, called Central Public Services,
is 17 million. In addition, the states have their own civil service systems.
The chief agency is the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is
responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, and implementating
programs, such as pollution control, wildlife surveys, and reforestation.
In accordance with the federal structure of the government, the national
Central Pollution Control Board sets discharge and ambient standards for
pollutants and coordinates the state agencies. The State Pollution Control
Boards then implement the laws. The major laws are the Water (Prevention
and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control
of Pollution) Act of 1981, and the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
Although the standards are supposed to be the same everywhere, certain
states have a reputation for lax enforcement. These laws were copied from
Britain and the United States.
Interest groups are active in the Indian democracy. Of course, business
and industry are well represented, but so are labor unions. One of the
biggest is the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce. Religious
groups are strong. One of the oldest environmental groups is the Bombay
Natural History Society, more than 125 years old. The Sálim Ali Centre
for Ornithology was established in the Western Ghats because it is a
hotspot of biodiversity. A number of groups labeled nongovernmental
organizations are, in fact, sponsored by government agencies, thus being
a paradox of a governmental nongovernmental organization. The Centre
for Environment Education, founded in 1966, is an example. There are
many examples of grassroots efforts. The State of Kerala in the southwest
has a reputation for supporting the ordinary citizen. (It has often had a
Communist government.) In 1953 a development project in cooperation
with Norway introduced mechanized trawlers to increase the catch of
fish. This proved so successful that the boats depleted the fish close to
shore that supplied the local fishermen. They also destroyed the spawning
grounds. The local catch declined by a third. In-shore fishermen orga-
nized cooperatives and a union to fight the trawlers. They held mass ral-
lies, blocked roads and railways, and sabotaged the trawlers. This led to a
national trade union, the National Fishworkers Federation in 1978. Even-
tually, they were able to persuade the state and national governments to
outlaw mechanized trawlers. 3
When in 1973 the government sold a forest sector of ash trees in the
state of Uttar Pradesh in the Himalayas to a sporting goods company to