In which of the following years was passed the Environment Protection Act ?

The correct answer is B) 1986. The Environment (Protection) Act was passed by Parliament in 1986 and came into force on 19 November 1986. It was enacted in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, which exposed the gaps in the existing pollution laws. It is an umbrella legislation, drawing its authority from Article 253 (power to implement international agreements) and linked to Articles 48A and 51A(g) on environmental protection.

Why the others are wrong:

• A) 1982: No central environment law of this scope was passed in this year.
• C) 1990: Not the year of this Act. Environmental governance was being built up in the late 1980s and 1990s, but this Act predates it.
• D) 1994: This is the trap year. The EIA notification of 1994 was issued under the 1986 Act. It is a subordinate notification, not the Act itself.

Core concept: the Act gives the Centre wide powers to set standards, regulate industries and penalise polluters, and it is the base for later rules such as the EIA regime. For Mains GS-3 (environment and disaster management), it is a useful link to the polluter-pays principle and the Bhopal case.

Trap: Confusing the 1986 Act with the 1994 EIA notification, or with the Water Act (1974) and Air Act (1981), which are older and separate statutes.