“Swacchh Bharat Campaign cannot Happen ......... Environment Minister said
“Swacchh Bharat Campaign cannot Happen without Wholehearted Participation
of Municipal/Civic Corporations, Gram Panchayats” : Environment Minister
CPCB Warns Municipal Commissioners of 184 Towns for Cleanliness
CPCB Warns Municipal Commissioners of 184 Towns for Cleanliness
Union Minister of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar said in a
statement here today that Swacchh Bharat campaign cannot happen without the
wholehearted participation of Municipal/civic corporations, Gram Panchayats.
“We are also finalising Waste Management Rules and will be publishing these
Rules by the year-end. Our inspection has brought to the fore a dismal
picture of negligence by some municipalities towards municipal Solid Waste
Management”, the Minister added.
Towards this end,
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), has issued statutory notices to 184 towns to
statutorily comply with Water Pollution Control Act and rules relating to
Municipal Solid Waste Management. CPCB stated that municipal authorities have
not given due attention for ensuring proper management of domestic sewage and
Municipal Solid Waste. The sewage is disposed off into rivers, lakes or allowed
to seep into the groundwater. This has resulted in worsening of groundwater
quality and caused many water-borne diseases. The sanctity of River Ganga,
including others, has been affected because of presence of fecal coliform
bacteria, on account of disposal of untreated/partially treated domestic
sewage. CPCB has also observed that out of 62, 000 million litres of sewage
generated in the country, treatment capacity of 23, 277 MLD has been provided
which amounts to less than 30%.
Similarly, based
on the information provided by its counterparts in the States (SPCBs), CPCB has
estimated that 1, 44, 000 MT of garbage is generated and only 39, 000 MT is
treated or processed. The waste dumped unscientifically into the landfills is
causing serious environmental damages in terms of water and air pollution. CPCB
further observed that majority of the civic authorities do not have a
systematic, time-bound action plan for management of municipal work.
CPCB has issued
directions under the Water Act and Environment Protection Act (EPA) to 46 million plus cities, 20 State
Capitals and 118 towns located on river Ganga. With these
directions, approximately 13 crore population residing In 184 towns will
benefit from cleanliness in terms of sewage and solid waste management. These
directions under the Act are statutory and non-compliance of these directives
will attract legal proceedings under the law.
The directions
issued for sewage arrangement include :
i. Untreated sewage shall not be disposed into the river, or at any other
recipient body.
ii. Local / urban body to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of adequate
capacity and provide sewerage system to cover the entire local / urban areas
and to ensure complete treatment of sewage generated.
iii. In case of disposal of effluents on land or river or any water body
including coastal water / creek or a drain, the treated effluents shall meet
the standards.
iv. Existing STPS, if any, as applicable, shall be properly maintained to
comply with the standards. At the inlet and outlet of the sewage treatment
plant, online monitoring devices should be installed to monitor the consented
parameters.
v. The local bodies shall seek consent under Water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1974 from the concerned SPCB / Committee within a period of 60
days.
vi. The Municipal Authority shall properly manage the wastewater flowing in
drains and take required measures to ensure that such wastewater is treated and
disposed off in accordance with the consorted standards.
vii. Municipal Authority/other concerned authority shall submit a time- bound
action plan for proper collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and such
plan shall be submitted by the municipal authority to the SPCB and copy to CPCB
within a period of 90 days. The Action Plan shall be kept in public domain.
CPCB has also
directed municipal commissioners of 184 towns to seek consents under Water Act
within a period of 60 days which would also include expression of interest of
the local authorities to set-up sewage and solid waste management facilities. CPCB
has also asked Municipal Commissioners to secure compliance with the relevant
requirement stipulated under the regulations.
For improving
Municipal Solid Waste Management, CPCB has issued comprehensive directions
which emphasises; seeking authorisations from concerned SPCB, implementing
plans for segregation, collection, storage and transportation of solid waste
and ultimately reduce the burden of landfills to zero or minimum level by
adopting appropriate waste processing / utilisation technologies.
***
“We have Provided Transparent Processes, Done away with Delays and Enabled
Ease of doing Business”: Javadekar
Twenty Joint Secretaries of Environment Ministry to Monitor Critically Polluted Areas Based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index
Twenty Joint Secretaries of Environment Ministry to Monitor Critically Polluted Areas Based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index
“We have provided transparent processes, done away
with delays and enabled ease of doing business for responsible businesses. Now,
our thrust will be on compliance”, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar said in a statement here today.
With this objective in view, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has decided that 20 Joint Secretary/Joint Secretary level officers of the Ministry will undertake assessment and periodical review of Critically Polluted Areas (CPAs) based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) for effective implementation of the action plans to mitigate pollution. These Joint Secretary-level officers have been directed to undertake field visits and to review the progress at least once in a quarter, in close coordination with CPCB to ensure effective action for pollution control. They will also monitor the progress in implementation of action plans in these CPAs, observe the deficiencies and submit reports to this effect to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) concerned, under intimation to the Ministry, for appropriate action.
In 2009-10, a comprehensive environmental assessment had been conducted jointly by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT) in 88 prominent industrial clusters. Out of these 88 industrial clusters, 43 industrial clusters with a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) scored of 70 and above were identified as Critically Polluted Areas (CPAs). The remedial Action Plans for all the 43 CPAs were formulated by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) concerned, in consultation with CPCB and the Technical Review Committee, comprising national level experts. These action plans addressed various environmental issues of respective CPAs and are currently under various stages of implementation.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change had imposed a temporary moratorium vide OM dated 13.01.2010 on consideration of developmental projects in such 43 CPAs, including projects in the pipeline for environmental clearance. Later, the moratorium was lifted in 28 CPAs in a phased manner, based on the initiation of groundwork towards implementation of formulated action plans and/or observed CEPI scores. At present, the moratorium is in force in 7 CPAs and re-imposition of the moratorium has been kept in abeyance in 8 other CPAs.
With this objective in view, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has decided that 20 Joint Secretary/Joint Secretary level officers of the Ministry will undertake assessment and periodical review of Critically Polluted Areas (CPAs) based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) for effective implementation of the action plans to mitigate pollution. These Joint Secretary-level officers have been directed to undertake field visits and to review the progress at least once in a quarter, in close coordination with CPCB to ensure effective action for pollution control. They will also monitor the progress in implementation of action plans in these CPAs, observe the deficiencies and submit reports to this effect to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) concerned, under intimation to the Ministry, for appropriate action.
In 2009-10, a comprehensive environmental assessment had been conducted jointly by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT) in 88 prominent industrial clusters. Out of these 88 industrial clusters, 43 industrial clusters with a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) scored of 70 and above were identified as Critically Polluted Areas (CPAs). The remedial Action Plans for all the 43 CPAs were formulated by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) concerned, in consultation with CPCB and the Technical Review Committee, comprising national level experts. These action plans addressed various environmental issues of respective CPAs and are currently under various stages of implementation.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change had imposed a temporary moratorium vide OM dated 13.01.2010 on consideration of developmental projects in such 43 CPAs, including projects in the pipeline for environmental clearance. Later, the moratorium was lifted in 28 CPAs in a phased manner, based on the initiation of groundwork towards implementation of formulated action plans and/or observed CEPI scores. At present, the moratorium is in force in 7 CPAs and re-imposition of the moratorium has been kept in abeyance in 8 other CPAs.
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