Chemical pollution poses a grave threat to human health and the environment in India. Discuss the key sources contributing to pervasive chemical contamination and evaluate the effectiveness of existing environmental laws in curbing this problem.

Chemical pollution is contamination of Air, water, soil with toxic chemicals & produced through industrial discharges, chemical leaks and sewage & untreated sewages. Key sources Contributing to pervasive Chemical contamination: 1. Industrial discharges => e.g. Yamuna river chemical filth from nearby industries 2. Automobile exhaust => chemical Volatile Organic Compounds => led to formation of Photochemical smogs 3. Untreated sewage => from households, hospitals (care infrastructure)

4. Eutrophication from Agricultural runoff (e.g. Adriatic Sea dead zones) 5. Chemical Accidents => e.g. Chernobyl disaster, Bhopal gas tragedy, etc. Effectiveness of existing environmental laws: Successes: 1. CPCB, SPCB on water and air pollution (e.g. e-Waste managed rule) 2. NGT 2010 => green guardian (e.g. coal hole mining pollution) 3. Supreme court => NAQM => GARP for Delhi pollution Limitations => flaws in EIA Implementation (e.g. LAG Reports in Western Ghats); Industrial Irresponsibility (Jadgil committee) There is need of strong environmental justice framework as Ramit Sink judgments put Biocentrism in Article 21.