Pages: (1-18 )
Abstract
Over the last six decades, Centre- relations in India have
manifested in different forms for different issues, including
internal security, agriculture, revenue, land and natural
resources. This has been a reflection of the concerns and
developments of the nation as a whole as well as states from
time to time. Some of the environmental issues, such as those
relating to forests, wildlife and water have been a cause of
contention between the centre and state, sometimes
influenced or aggravated by factors such as coalition politics,
asymmetric federalism, a green judiciary, globalization and
the aspirations of states. India's National Environment Policy,
2006, sets forth the Principle of Decentralization in order to
empower public authorities having jurisdiction at the spatial
level at which particular environmental issues are salient, to
address these issues. Need for a decentralized approach has
been recognized and developed since the time the Indian
Constitution came into being. This was given a further thrust
with the 73rd and 74th amendments. In this paper, an attempt
is made to highlight the centralization and decentralization as
a dynamic feature of Indian federal set up. It is described as to
in which manner and way this has been dealt with by the
Indian constitution and federalism. A broad and holistic
approach towards environmental federalism, which includes
matters related to forests, biodiversity, rivers, other water
bodies, pollution control and abatement, climate change etc.
Keywords: Federalism, Indian Constitution, Decentralization, Centralization, Environmental Federalism, Centre- state relations,