5 PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION [ Industrial Pollution Abatement through preventive strategies, Development and Promotion of Cleaner Technologies, Taj Protection Mission, Environmental Health, Noise Pollution, Air Pollution, Vehicular Pollution Control, Industrial Pollution Control, Common Effluent Treatment Plants, Zoning Atlas, Establishment of Environment Protection Authority, Central Pollution Control Board, Hazardous Substances Management] T he enhanced pace of developmental activities and rapid urbanization have resulted in stress on natural resources and quality of life. The trend of increasing pollution in various environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. Realising the urgent need for arresting the trend, Ministry adopted policy for Abatement of Pollution which provides for several mechanisms in the form of regulations, legislation, agreements, fiscal incentives and other measures to prevent and abate pollution. Further, realizing that conventional pollution control approach by treatment at the end of the pipe is not delivering the desired benefits in terms of resource conservation, the thrust has been shifted to pollution prevention and control through promotion of clean and low waste technology, re-use and recycling, natural resource accounting, Environmental Audit and Institutional and Human Resource Development. To give effect to various measures and policies on ground, multi-pronged approach is adopted which includes stringent regulations, Development of Environmental Standards, Control of Vehicular Pollution, preparation of Zoning Atlas for Spatial Environmental Planning including Industrial Estates etc. Major activities carried out under several programmes/schemes during the year are as follows : Industrial Pollution Abatement through preventive strategies This scheme is an amalgamation of the three on-going schemes viz. Environmental Audit, Adoption of Clean Technologies in Small Scale Industries and Environmental Statistics and Mapping, which have been continuing since eighth Five Year Plan. Due to encouraging results and benefits to various small scale units, these schemes are being continued during the 10 th Five Year Plan also: Environmental Statement (As a part of Environmental Audit) Environmental audit is a management tool and provides a structure and comprehensive mechanism for ensuring that the activities and products of an enterprise do no cause unacceptable effects on the environment. Submission of an Environmental Statement by polluting units seeking consent either under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 or the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 or both and the Authorization under the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 has been made mandatory through a Gazette Notification of April, 1993 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Environmental Statement enables the units to undertake a comprehensive look at their industrial operations and facilities, understanding of material flows and focus on areas where waste reduction and consequently saving in-put cost if possible. The primary benefit of environmental audit is that it ensures cost effective compliance of laws, standards, regulations, company policies etc. During the year, action has been initiated to evolve model environmental statements in various sectors for facilitating comparison in use of raw material, water conservation, energy consumption etc. A project has been sponsored to Central Pollution Control Board for evolving model environmental statement in the eight sectors viz. Sugar, Thermal Power Projects, Cement, Paper and Pulp, Pesticides, Bulk Drugs, Tanneries and Textiles Activities. Waste Minimisation/Cleaner Production Waste minimization is one of the strategies adopted for minimizing the industrial pollution. The objective of the scheme is to assist the small and medium scale industry in adoption of cleaner production practices. A project has been sponsored to National Productivity Council on “Waste Minimisation in Small Scale Industries” for establishment and running of waste minimization circles in clusters of small scale industries, capacity building in areas of cleaner production, establishment of demonstration units in selected industrial sectors etc. So far 115 waste minimization circles have been established through out the country and a large number of Organizations and Institutions have been trained in waste minimization activities. The project was executed till November, 2002 under the World Bank project on Industrial Pollution Prevention (IPP) as Phase-I and Phase-II is now being continued with Ministry’s internal funds. Implementation of this project has helped in identification of more than 200 options for resource and energy conservation in various small scale industries. Environmental Statistics and Mapping For sound Environmental Management, reliable information base and the mapping of areas needing special attention for pollution prevention and control are a pre-requisite. As a step in the direction, projects and pilot studies have been initiated through various research institutions and organizations. Under this program, following studies have been initiated and are in various stages of completion : - GIS based Hydrological Modelling for Water Quality and Quantity in Cauvery River Basin by IIT, Delhi. - Geochemical baseline Mapping for Environmental Management by National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad. Development and Promotion of Cleaner Technologies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Life Cycle Assessment is a decision cum management tool which provides information on the environmental effects of various products and processes so as to arrive at necessary corrective measures to make the entire process efficient with optimal utilization of resources and minimal wastes generation. LCA studies have been initiated in various sectors namely; Steel, Pulp and Paper and Thermal Power. The study in the Steel Sector was completed earlier and the report is under preparation. The study relating to the Thermal Power Sector has been completed during the year while the study in the Pulp and Paper Sector is progressing as per schedule. Industrial Ecology Opportunities in Ankleshwar and Nandesari Industrial Estates, Gujarat A study was undertaken to develop and implement Industrial Ecology Opportunities in Ankleshwar and Nandesari Industrial Estates of Gujarat. The study has examined technologies used by industries in this region and suggested possible approach to achieve eco-efficiency within the industrial estates to reuse and recycle wastes and effluents generated from different industrial units. The recommendations of the study have been discussed in a workshop with all stakeholders including State Government Agencies for their implementation and an Action Plan is being drawnup by them. Development of Market Based Instruments for Regional Environmental Management in the Kawas-Hazira Region in Gujarat The ongoing project on Development of Market Based Instruments for Kawas-Hazira Region of Gujarat has been completed. The study report has observed that the taxes and incentives based on efficiency improvements align the pollution control agencies better with the polluters than the Command and Control (CAC) regime. Such an instrument also facilitates prescribing incentives for achieving the triple bottom line, viz economic-efficiency, environment-responsibility, and social-relevance entitling the Corporate to Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other cleaner-production benefits. The recommendations of the study have been discussed in a workshop with all concerned. Field Demonstration and Development of Bamboo Based Composites/Panels The ongoing project on field demonstration and development of bamboo based composites/panels was continued during the year. Under this project, commercial production of horizontal and vertical laminates have been made using Bambusa bamboo Species. Construction of demonstration houses will be taken up during the current year. Recycling of Marble Slurry in Udaipur, Rajasthan A two years duration project has been sponsored for the manufacture of bricks and tiles from marble slurry in Udaipur, Rajasthan with the aim of utilizing wastes arising out of marble cutting and processing for the purpose of improving the local environment. Bio-remediation of Railadevi Lake in Thane, Maharashtra A project relating to cleaning of Railadevi Lake in Thane District in Maharashtra using bio-remediation technique has been sponsored to Thane Municipal Corporation. Development of Natural Dyes from Forest Wastes A three years duration project has been sponsored to Forest Research Institute, Dehradun for development of natural dyes from forest wastes. Taj Protection Mission As per the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Order the protection of the Taj Mahal is a National priority for the country. In order to implement various schemes for the protection of the monument, the Planning Commission decided to provide additional funds to the State Government. The Planning Commission approved Rs.600 crores on a 50:50 cost sharing basis with the concerned State Government to implement various schemes in the Taj Trapezium Zone in the context of environmental protection of the Taj Mahal. In the first phase during the Ninth Five Year Plan, 10 projects were approved and are being implemented. These are :- - Improvement in Electric Supply at Agra - Improvement in Electric Supply in and around the rural areas of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri - Water supply (Agra) - Water Supply (Mathura-Vrindavan) - Gokul Barrage - Solid Waste Management - Storm Water Drainage System (Agra) - Construction of one part of Agra bye-pass - Widening of Agra Bye-pass - Improvement of Master Plan of Roads of Agra City The Mission Management Board of the Taj Protection Programme has approved another seven projects to be taken up during the Tenth Five Year Plan. These are : - Taj Trapezium Zone Heritage Corridor covering the areas of Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Ram Bagh, Emad-ud-Daula, Chinni-ka-Rauza and river Yamuna. - Taj Trapezium Zone Authority Environmental Centre and Allied Schemes. - Planning of Taj Trapezium Zone and Study of Taj Ecocity / Conceptual Plan / Master Plan. - Automatic Air Monitoring Stations, Display Boards and Networking at Agra-Mathura and Firozabad. - Hazardous Waste Secured Land-fill site for Agra and Mathura. - Common Treatment Facility for Treatment of Bio-medical Wastes at Agra, and - Public Awareness Programme in Taj Trapezium These projects have been reviewed and steps have been taken for clearance of the EFC Memo of these Projects. Environmental Health Environmental Health Cell of the Ministry has commissioned nine environmental health studies in the cities of Ludhiana, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Manali (Tamil Nadu), Bangalore and Trivandrum for documenting Environmental Health Profile so that necessary corrective measures could be evolved and addressed for pollution control and protection of public health. The Ministry in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, World Bank, the United States Environmental Protection Authority, United States AID and Confederation of Indian Industry organized a two-day Conference on Environmental Health at New Delhi on 20-21 November, 2002 to sensitise the issues among the Central and State Government and other stakeholders in the country but also to come up with the consensus on the issues to act upon and to evolve strategies for the protection of public health. The recommendations have been finalized and are to be implemented depending on availability of resources and infrastructure Noise Pollution An increasing trend of noise pollution has been observed in the major cities of the country. To regulate and control noise pollution, the Government has issued various notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. During the year noise limits for diesel generator sets (upto 1000 KVA) manufactured on or after 1 st July, 2003, were notified on 17 th May, 2002. The maximum permissible sound pressure level for new diesel generator sets with rated capacity upto 1000 KVA shall not exceed 75 dB(A) at the distance of one metre from the enclosure surface. It has been made mandatory for the diesel generator sets to provide integral acoustic enclosure at the manufacturing stage itself. The State Pollution Control Boards and the Pollution Control Committees will regulate these limits. A Notification on Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 was issued vide S.O. 123(E) on 14 th February, 2000 to curtail noise pollution in the country. Accordingly, the use of loudspeakers and public address systems were restricted during night between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. except for the closed auditorium, banquet halls, etc. Owing to various representations received from State Governments, these rules have been amended vide Notification S.O. 1088(E) issued on 11 th October, 2002 to permit the use of loudspeakers or public address system during night hours (between 10.00 p.m. to 12.00 midnight) on or during any cultural or religious festival for a limited duration not exceeding 15 days in all during a calendar year. Noise limits for vehicles at manufacturing stage were notified vide GSR 7(E) on 25 th September, 2000 which would be effective from 1 st January, 2003. To make these standards commensurate with the emission standards for vehicles, the notified rules have been revised and are phased out in two stages. In the first phase, two wheelers, three wheelers, and passenger cars would comply with the notified norms from 1 st January, 2003. A relaxation of 3dB(A) has been given to passenger and commercial vehicles of various categories and would become effective from 1 st July, 2003. In the second phase, noise limits for vehicles at manufacturing stage would be applicable on and from 1 st April, 2005 which would be at par with EC norms and based on engine power for various categories of vehicles. Hon’ble Supreme Court, in September, 2001 has passed an interim order to comply with the notification of the Ministry issued on 5 th October, 1999 to control noise from the bursting