Controlling Pollution:

The Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution was adopted in 1992. It provides instruments such as laws and regulations and fiscal incentives to prevent control and reduce pollution of water, land and air. Emphasis is being laid on the promotion of clean and low-waste technologies, minimisation, re-use and recycling of wastes, improvement of water quality, environment audit, natural resources accounting, and institutional and human resource development.

The main idea is to reduce the pollutants at source rather than adopt an end-of-the-pipe treatment. The thrust has, therefore, been towards considering process changes which involve better energy and water conservation.

Environmental Statement/Audit:

Polluting units are required to submit an environmental statement (as part of the environmental audit) under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 or the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 or both.

Cleaner Technologies:

Efforts are being made to develop and promote cleaner technologies. With World Bank assistance, a waste minimisation programme has been launched for small scale industries. Programmes covering sectors such as textiles, pulp and paper, and tanneries have been identified for action.

Controlling Water and Air Pollution:

Central Pollution Control Board:

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is an autonomous body of the environment ministry set up in September 1974, under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. It coordinates the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).

The CPCB, SPCBs and the PCCs are responsible for implement­ing the legislations relating to prevention and control of pollution; they also develop rules and regulations which describe the standards for emissions and effluents of air and water pollutants and noise levels.

The CPCB advises the central government on all matters concerning the prevention and control of air, water and noise pollution and provides technical services to the ministry for implementing the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Seventeen categories of heavily polluting industries have been identified, namely, cement, thermal power plants, distilleries, sugar, fertiliser, integrated iron and steel, oil refineries, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, pesticide, tannerier, basic drugs and pharmaceuticals, dye and dye intermediates, caustic soda, zinc smelter, copper smelter, and aluminium smelter.

The CPCB has identified about 2,300 medium and large scale polluting industrial units under these 17 highly polluting categories. The requisite pollution control devices are reported to have been provided in 1,927 units, while 235 have been closed and around 139 are still defaulting. Under the Eleventh Plan, the CPCB will monitor ambient air quality at 308 stations covering 115 cities/towns in 28 states and four UTs to:

i. Determine the status and trend in ambient air quality on significant parameters like benzene and polyaromatic hydrocar­bons (PAH);

ii. Assess health hazard and the damage to materials;

iii. Develop preventive and corrective measures; and

iv. Understand the natural cleansing process.

The CPCB in consultation with State Pollution Control Boards has identified critically polluted water bodies and areas in the country which need special attention for control of pollution.

These are Vapi (Gujarat), Singrauli (Uttar Pradesh), Korba, Ratiam, Nagda (Madhya Pradesh), Digboi (Assam), Talcher (Orissa) Bhadravati (Karnataka), Howrah (West Bengal), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Pali and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Manali and North Arcot (Tamil Nadu), Visakhapatnam and Patancheru (Andhra Pradesh), Chembur (Maharashtra), Najafgarh (Delhi), Govindgarh (Punjab), Udyog Mandal (Kerala), and Parwanoo and Kala Amb (Himachal Pradesh).

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 regulates water quality through the state pollution control boards. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), under the Ministry of Environment and Forest, has established a nationwide network for water quality monitoring comprising 1019 stations in 27 states and 6 UTs. The monitoring is done on a monthly or quarterly basis for surface water and on half-yearly basis for groundwater.

Under the Eleventh Plan, the monitoring network will cover 200 rivers, 60 lakes, 6 tanks, three ponds, three creeks, 13 canals, 17 drains, and 321 wells. Water samples will be analysed for 28 parameters including physical parameters, nutrients, .major ions, and organic and bacteriological parameters.

The CPCB sees to the monitoring of water quality in a 3-tier system. The first tier caters to the needs of the Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS). In tier-2, water quality is monitored under the national programme, Monitoring of India National Aquatic Resources (MINARS). At tier-3, water quality is monitored at state level in addition to the stations set up under GEMS and MINARS.

Monitoring of the Ganga and the Yamuna has been taken up in the Himalayan segments of these rivers. Automatic water quality moni­toring stations (AWQMS) on River Ganga monitor five parameters, viz. temperature, pH, DO, conductivity and turbidity at one-hour intervals.

Besides the Ganga and the Yamuna, several other rivers (such as Sabarmati, Krishna, and Godavari) have been identified for monitoring polluting sources and stream quality. Ground-water quality is also being monitored at select places.

A programme, National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (NAAQM), has been in operation. Pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and SPM, and respirable SPM (RSPM) are monitored.