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English Project On
Pollution Control in India
Hidayatulla h National
Law University,
Raipur, Chhattisgar
h
Submitted By: Submitted To:
Ayush Kumar, Roll no. 39 Mrs Alka Mehta,
Semester I, B.A. LLB (Hons.) Faculty Member, English
Declaration
I hereby declare that my project titled “Pollution Control in India” is my own work and represents my own ideas. And wherever others ideas or words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all
the principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission.
Ayush Kumar Roll no. 39, Section B B.A. LLB., 1st^ year
Acknowledgement
Being a lover of environment I feel highly esteemed to present this project titled “Pollution Control in India”. Firstly, I’d like to thank our English Faculty, Mrs. Alka Mehta for allotting such an enlightening topic and for all the help and co-operation extended by her in helping scrutinize the same.
environmental media is evident from the deteriorating air and water quality, higher noise levels, increasing vehicular emission etc. While modern societies face growing concern about global environmental issues, developing countries are experiencing complex, serious and fast-growing pollution problems of their own. The potent combination of industrialization, urban development and mass consumption trends is exacerbated by foreign companies operating with little regard for the impact on the local environment.
Environmental pollution is more than just a health issue; it is a wider social issue in that pollution has the potential to destroy homes and communities.
Pollution problems are also closely tied to the mode of development in developing countries. Despite this, many developing countries like India either have not developed environmental pollution control measures, or have not provided adequate implementation structures to ensure that policies are effective.
Contents
Introduction 1 Air Pollution 2 Water Pollution 3 Soil Pollution 3 Noise Pollution 4 Controlling Pollution 5
- Central Pollution Control Board
- Vehicular Pollution and its Control
- Noise Pollution Control
- River and Lake Pollution Control and Regeneration
- Conclusion
- References
According to WHO, air pollution is defined as the presence of materials in the air that are harmful to humans and their environment. Air is polluted by suspended particulate matter (SPM), harmful gases released from factories and industries, domestic pollutants from fossil fuels burnt by humans, vehicular emissions, etc. Air pollution causes lung diseases, nervous disorders, brain damage, etc.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 is the main legislation for regulating air quality through the pollution control boards (PCBs) in the states. A programme for real time air quality monitoring for cities with population of more than 1 million was started during the Tenth Plan. The automatic air quality monitoring systems are operational in Jodhpur, Patna, and Sholapur while those in Kanpur, Varanasi, Jharia, and Kolkata are to be operationalised during the Eleventh Plan.
During the Tenth Plan period, as many as 76 cities/towns were found to exceed acceptable limits of the parameters set, mainly due to vehicular and industrial pollution measured in terms of ambient air quality in residential, industrial and sensitive areas for SO2, oxides of nitrogen, suspended particulate matter (SPM), RSPM, ammonia and carbon monoxide. The report on average air quality levels of select Asian cities between 2000 and 2004 showed that apart from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Seoul, Dhaka and Colombo also could not meet the WHO standards in this respect.
Water Pollution
Water is another basic amenity of life. Over the years it has been extensively polluted, mainly due to domestic sewage, industrial waste, chemical inputs of agriculture, excess of nutrients from sewage and soil erosion, pathogens from sewage, heavy metals and organic compounds, etc. Some health hazards caused by water pollution are spread of epidemics like cholera, nervous disorders, disruption of biological processes, etc.
The main source of pollution in Indian rivers is municipal sewage (75 per cent). In India, fresh water in general is slightly alkaline with a pH usually more than 7. Unlike surface waters, subsurface water varies widely from place to place. In coastal Tamil Nadu, intrusion of sea water into the subsurface aquifer makes ground water saline. As ground water is drawn to an excess, the water table falls deeply, and this allows sea water to percolate. This is a problem in Gujarat also. However, the salinity of ground water depends on other dissolved solids. Health concerns have been aggravated due to high fluoride and/or arsenic content of some ground water. Wells in several districts in West Bengal and the mining districts of Khetri and Zawar in Rajasthan have high levels of dissolved arsenic. Ajmer in Rajasthan and Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh are two regions with high fluoride content in ground water, and this causes fluorosis.
Soil Pollution
Increase in population in the urban areas due to urbanisation, industrialisation has resulted in the disposal of wastes in the vast land areas. Soil is polluted by solids and liquid waste from factories and industries, use of pesticides and insecticides, domestic waste, soil erosion, etc.
Soil erosion is one of the gravest disasters caused by human activity. It poses a severe threat to the livelihood and food security of the people, especially those in the lower economic
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 statement, 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
Polluting units are required to submit an environmental statement 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.
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). It also 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. 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.
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. 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.
Vehicular Pollution and its Control
A sign of development seems to be the increasing number of vehicles on Indian roads. Vehicular emissions are major pollutants of ambient air quality. Petrol-driven vehicles produce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, oxides of nitrogen, and sulphur dioxide. Vehicles driven on diesel produce maximum sulphur dioxide followed by the other pollutants produced by petrol-driven vehicles. These emissions are responsible for the high incidence of
To regulate and control noise pollution, the government has issued various notifications under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. A Notification on Noise Pollution Regulation and Control Rules 2000 was issued on February 14, 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 were amended in October 2002 to permit the use of loudspeakers or public address system during night hours (between 10.00 p.m. and 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.
The Supreme Court, in September 2001, passed an interim order to comply with the notification of the ministry issued in October 1999 to control noise from the bursting of fire crackers, which shall not exceed 125 dB (AI) and 145 dB (C) peaks. The manufacture, sale and use of fire crackers should be restricted accordingly.
The Ministry had also issued a draft notification inviting suggestions for amending the notification on “Noise Limit for Generator Sets Run with Diesel” under Environment Protection Rules, 1986. The noise limits for diesel generator sets up to 1000 KVA were notified in 2002 (not to exceed 75 dB (A) at a distance of one metre from the enclosure surface) and are under implementation since 2005.
River and Lake Pollution Control and Regeneration
It is necessary to consider rivers holistically to evolve plans to restore their ecological health and improve the water quality. Cities and towns located on the banks have been found to be gross polluters and these have been taken up for planning and implementing schemes to ensure that only treated wastewater is discharged into the rivers.
Untreated sewage dumped into our rivers is a major cause of river pollution. The total sewage generation in India is about 33,000 MLD (million litres per day). However, the total average treatment capacity against this is only 6,190 MLD. This underlines the urgent need to expand the sewage treatment capacity in the country.
Hence, the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) that functions under the environment ministry was set up. It provides assistance to various state governments for implementing the River Action Plans in the identified grossly polluted stretches of various rivers of the country under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). The objective of the NRCP is to improve the water quality of these rivers, which are the major fresh water sources in the country, through the implementation of pollution abatement schemes.
Ganga Action Plan
Ganga is the major perennial river in northern India. A number of industrial towns have developed on the bank of this river which has led to pollution of the water source. To oversee implementation of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) for cleaning polluted stretches of the Ganga, the Central Ganga Authority (CGA) was set up in 1985.
The GAP model with necessary corrections on the basis of lessons learnt and experience gained from GAP Phase-I have been applied to the polluted major rivers of the country under the NRCP. Since Phase-I did not cover the pollution load of Ganga fully, the Phase-II, which covers its tributaries Yamuna, Gomti and Damodar, besides River Ganga itself, was launched and approved in stages between 1993 and 1996 for implementation. After the launching of the NRCP in 1995, it was decided to merge the GAP Phase-II with NRCP. A notification to this effect was issued in December 1996.
The GAP completed over 20 years and the NRCP completed 10 years in 2007. In November 2008, the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, declared Ganga a ‘National River’ to achieve the objectives of the clean-up operation. The decision was taken during a review of the Ganga Action Plan by the prime minister. The meeting also decided to set up a Ganga River Basin Authority. The Authority will be chaired by the prime minister and will have as its member’s chief ministers of the states through which the grand old river flows. Unlike the original Ganga Action Plan, which primarily focused on municipal sewage treatment, the latest decisions are aimed at broad-basing the river management efforts, integrating pollution control with measures for sustainable use of water and flood management.
Yamuna Action Plan
Originally, Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) covered pollution abatement works in 15 towns, break-up being Haryana (six), Uttar Pradesh (eight) and one in Delhi. This component is being funded by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) through a soft loan of Yen 17.77 billion.
In April 1996, on the directions of the Supreme Court, six additional towns of Haryana were included under YAP. Works in these towns are implemented through the Plan funds of the environment ministry. Thus, YAP presently covers pollution abatement works in 21 towns. The total cost of Yamuna Action Plan stands at Rs. 732.05 crore.
Gomti Action Plan
Gomti Action Plan (GoAP) was approved along with the YAP at an estimated cost of Rs 58.11 crore in April 1993. The approved cost comprises pollution abatement works in Lucknow and two other downstream towns Sultanpur and Jaunpur.
Damodar Action Plan
Under this Action Plan, pollution abatement works are being taken up in 12 towns. Of these eight are in Jharkhand and four in West Bengal. The approved cost is Rs. 23.58 crore. The NRCD has undertaken a series of measures to improve the performance, keeping in mind the experience gained by the implementation of GAP-I.
It has been decided that all future river action plans will be formulated, with people’s active involvement, in an integrated and holistic manner by addressing not only the issue of river pollution but that of other components like internal sewerage, low cost sanitation, solid waste disposal, etc.
Central government. The larger objective of the conservation of lakes is the maintenance of the aquatic ecosystems. The works envisaged under the project include interception and diversion of pollutants entering the lake, setting up of six sewage treatment plants (STPs), desalting, de-weeding, and removal of encroachments in the project area. By 2007, three out of the six STPs had been made operational. The progress of implementation is however, slow due to delay in relocation of families who need to be shifted from the project area of the lake. The expected date of completion of the project was 2010.
Conclusion
Therefore, from this study we came to know about the various types of pollution (air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and noise pollution) happening in India. We also came to know about the harmful effects caused by the mentioned pollution types on human beings, animals, plants and our overall environment and biodiversity. This project also gives us a brief idea about how we can control all types of pollution mentioned and it also tells us about the various government schemes and policies and steps taken by the government of
India to protect the natural resources of India and maintain or improve the quality of our rivers and lakes (such as Ganga, Yamuna, Damodar and Gomti).
Hence, whether there are favourable government policies to protect the environment present in India or not; whether everyone is contributing in controlling and reducing pollution or not; we should at least on an individual level do our best to protect the environment and natural beauty of India and spread awareness amongst other people also because once we lose the natural beauty of India to pollution, we can never get it back.
References
Bibliography
- Dr. A.N. Rai, A Text Book of Environmental Education for Class XI.
- Vidhi Oberoi, Environmental Science Class XI.
Webliography
- www.yourarticlelibrary.com
- www.downtoearth.org.in
