Environmental Protection and Safeguarding of Forests and Wildlife
Official heading: “Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part IV, Article 48A, printed page 23
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1. In One Sentence
Article 48A directs the State to endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Inserted by the Forty-second Amendment in 1976 following the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, Article 48A places an explicit constitutional duty on the State to protect and enhance nature.
It covers both broad environmental protection (air, water, ecological balance) and specific conservation of forests and wildlife.
Article 48A is the sister provision to Article 51A(g), which places a corresponding Fundamental Duty on citizens, and has been extensively relied upon by the Supreme Court to read the right to a clean and healthy environment into the Article 21 right to life.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A state pollution control board orders an industrial plant to halt discharge of untreated effluents into a river and install modern water purification equipment.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 48A is the core constitutional directive for environmental stewardship.
- Inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, section 10.
- Commands state action on environmental protection, forest conservation, and wildlife preservation.
- Works in tandem with citizen duties under Article 51A(g) and the right to life under Article 21.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part IV, Article 48A, printed page 23 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.