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The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was originally constituted under the:
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Answer: Option D — Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
Detailed Solution
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was constituted in September 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Original name:
It was first called the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution.
Additional functions:
- It was later entrusted with powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
- It also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Status:
- The CPCB is a statutory organisation.
- It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
Functions of the CPCB:
- To promote the cleanliness of streams and wells by preventing, controlling and reducing water pollution.
- To improve the quality of air and prevent, control or reduce air pollution.
- To advise the Central Government on matters relating to the prevention and control of pollution.
- To coordinate the activities of State Pollution Control Boards and resolve disputes among them.
- To lay down standards for the quality of water and air.
- To carry out research and conduct awareness programmes.
- To collect, compile and publish technical and statistical data on pollution.
National Air Quality Index:
The CPCB publishes the National Air Quality Index (AQI), launched in 2014, which rates air quality on a scale from good to severe.
National programmes:
- It plays a key role in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019 to reduce particulate pollution in cities.
- It also monitors the water quality of rivers under programmes such as the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme.
State Pollution Control Boards:
- Each state has a State Pollution Control Board, and Union territories have Pollution Control Committees.
- They grant consent to industries to operate and monitor their emissions and effluents.
National Green Tribunal:
The National Green Tribunal, set up in 2010, hears cases relating to environmental protection and pollution.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Environment Protection Act, the Air Act and the Wildlife Act came later or deal with other matters.
Quick tip
Remember: CPCB = constituted in 1974 under the Water Act; later also given functions under the Air Act, 1981.
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This question tests your understanding of Environmental Conventions, Laws & Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international environmental agreements, such as the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, Indian environmental laws, and environmental organisations and movements such as the Chipko movement. Questions usually ask what an agreement deals with (the Montreal Protocol protects the ozone layer, and the Ramsar Convention protects wetlands), when India passed an environmental law (such as the Environment Protection Act 1986), and who led a movement (Sunderlal Bahuguna is associated with the Chipko movement). Climate summit outcomes change every year, so check current affairs. Practise the environmental conventions and laws questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.