The law relating to prevention and control of water pollution — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 was enacted under which constitutional mechanism?

   • Article 249, on a Rajya Sabha resolution
   • Article 252, following resolutions of two or more State Legislatures (correct answer)
   • Article 356, President's Rule
   • Article 200, Governor's assent

   Explanation. Since water is a State List subject, Parliament used Article 252 after two or more States passed resolutions requesting central legislation.

2. Which bodies are established under Sections 3 and 4 of the Water Act, 1974?

   • National Green Tribunal and its benches
   • Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards (correct answer)
   • Ministry of Jal Shakti and River Basin Authorities
   • Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

   Explanation. Sections 3 and 4 establish the CPCB and SPCBs, which also administer the Air Act, 1981.

3. Before establishing an industry likely to discharge trade effluent into a stream, Sections 25/26 require:

   • No permission is needed if the industry is small-scale
   • Prior consent of the State Pollution Control Board (Consent to Establish, then Consent to Operate) (correct answer)
   • Only a notification to the local Gram Panchayat
   • Approval of the National Green Tribunal alone

   Explanation. Sections 25/26 require prior State Board consent — Consent to Establish before construction, and Consent to Operate before actual operation.

4. Under Section 33A of the Water Act, the State Pollution Control Board can:

   • Only recommend closure to a court and wait for its order
   • Issue written directions itself, including closure or regulation of an industry, without first going to court (correct answer)
   • Impose criminal imprisonment directly on a factory owner
   • Only issue advisory, non-binding recommendations

   Explanation. Section 33A, inserted in 1988, empowers the Board to issue binding written directions — including closure, prohibition, or regulation — directly, without prior court proceedings.

5. Under section 1(2) of the Water Act, a State to which the Act did not first apply could bring it into force by:

   • A presidential ordinance
   • A resolution of its Legislature under Article 252(1) (correct answer)
   • A notification of the Pollution Control Board
   • An order of the Supreme Court

   Explanation. Section 1(2) applied the Act at first to listed States and Union territories. Any other State could adopt it by a resolution under Article 252(1).

6. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 changed the Water Act's enforcement approach by:

   • Increasing imprisonment terms for all offences
   • Decriminalising several minor offences and replacing imprisonment with penalties adjudicated by an Adjudicating Officer (correct answer)
   • Abolishing the State Pollution Control Boards entirely
   • Removing the consent requirement for all industries

   Explanation. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024 came into force on 15 February 2024 and replaced prosecution with a money penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh for several offences, including section 41.

7. A factory operates without ever obtaining Consent to Establish or Consent to Operate. Which statement is correct?

   • This is not a violation unless actual pollution is proved
   • Operating without the mandatory consent is itself a contravention, independent of proof of actual harm (correct answer)
   • Only the local municipality can take action, not the State Board
   • Consent is only required for government-owned factories

   Explanation. Operating without the consent mandated by Sections 25/26 is itself a contravention of the Act, regardless of whether actual pollution harm has been separately proved.

8. Which Section allows the State Board itself to carry out emergency remedial measures against imminent pollution and recover the cost from the polluter?

   • Section 24
   • Section 25
   • Section 32 (correct answer)
   • Section 41

   Explanation. Section 32 empowers the Board to itself take emergency remedial measures where pollution is imminent, and recover the cost from the polluter.