PARTNERSHIP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

E.C. Thomas*

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Industrial development is an important element in our pursuits for economic growth, employment generation and improvement in the quality of life. However, industrial activities, without proper precautionary measures for environmental protection are known to cause pollution and associated problems.

Therefore, it is necessary for the industry to comply with regulatory norms for prevention and control of pollution. Simultaneously, it is imperative to adopt clean technologies and improvement in management practices.

The Government and the industry recently entered into a partnership, breaking new ground for environmental protection. A charter on corporate responsibility for environmental protection was released recently by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The charter is a mutually agreed document between the Government and industrial houses, incorporating voluntary initiatives by 17 identified categories of industries to ensure total compliance with pollution control norms. The charter is the outcome of long discussions among the Central and State Governments, Pollution Control Boards and 17 major polluting industries.

This is the firs public-private partnership of its kind in the country without any compromises by the Government, for environmental protection.

The charter is primarily aimed at safeguarding the environment in the future because most industries were adhering to pollution control norms. Therefore, the industrial units have been given specific targets and time to come up to the standards set in the charter.

The measures to be taken by the industry include modernisation and technological upgradation of production processes, changing over to new technologies, waste minimization through reduced use of resources and re-cycling waste. Other steps includes installation of pollution control and monitoring equipment, improving house-keeping practices and furnishing bank guarantees by the defaulting industries till compliance is ensured.

Charter

The charter is a road map for progressive improvement in environmental management systems. In several industrial sectors, the targets set in the charter are ahead of notified effluent and emission standards. It was finalized at a national seminar of more than 300 representatives of the Central and State Governments, pollution control boards and 17 major polluting categories of industries held in New Delhi on March13, 2003.

During the interaction meetings, representatives of some industrial units sought extension of time to meet the regulatory norms because of techno-economic constraints. In case of units falling in such industrial sectors, time-bound action has been proposed in the charter. This measure has been agreed on the understanding that a bank guarantee would be furnished by the concerned units, indicating commitment to the action plan. However, this is without any prejudice to the stipulations made in the existing standards and action already taken for non-compliance and area-specific requirements warranting stringent action. The Charter marks a paradigm shift from regulatory enforcement of pollution control norms to voluntary compliance by the industry to significantly enhance the quality of environment.

The Charter seeks to considerably reduce air and water pollution with the industry voluntarily agreeing to take up modernisation of production processes and installation of necessary systems to reduce polluting effluents and other solid wastes. This will be achieved through water and energy conservation, reduced use of raw materials, better monitoring of air and water quality, adoption of waste minimization options, better work practices and housekeeping.

The Charter also enables the industry to know the Government’s programmes, priorities and concerns in respect of 17 categories of major polluting industries and gives appropriate time for implementation of action points identified in the sectoral discussions, thus relieving the industry from the sudden burden and enforcement pressure. The Charter imparts the ‘dimension of conscience’ to the collective endeavour to fulfil the environmental objectives and targets.

The Government is in favour of an agreed pollution control programme with the industries to drive towards self-regulation and voluntary compliance which are expected to bring a positive change in the status of environment and enforcement.

The 17 major polluting industries identified for participatory approach towards pollution control are : cement, aluminium, thermal power plants, oil refineries, pesticides, iron and steel, pulp and paper, copper and zinc, distilleries, sugar, petrochemicals, dye and dye intermediates, caustic soda (Chlore alkali), pharmaceuticals, tanneries and fertilizer industry.

Agreement

Of the 17 most polluting industries, the sugar industry has agreed to reduce waste water generation to 100 litres a tonne of cane sugar crushed by April 2004 from the present consumption of 400 litres a tonne. The pharmaceutical industry has agreed to take up segregation of waste streams for providing appropriate treatment by December 2003. A similar commitment has been made by the pesticide industry.

With 232 distillery units, the industry has agreed that the non-compliant distilleries will furnish bank guarantees and action plans to the State pollution control boards to ensure compliance.

Water consumption will be reduced by the leather and fertilizer industry by December 2003. The 126-unit strong cement industry has agreed that non-complying units will take up augmentation of existing air pollution control devices by July 2003 and their replacement by July 2004.

Similar steps will be taken by the thermal power plants by December 2005, while the new oil refineries will have sulphur recovery units with 99 per cent efficiency. All the refineries located in the critically polluted areas, identified by the Control Pollution Control Board (CPCB), will submit an action plan within six months for a phased reduction of sulphur dioxide.

Emission of cancer causing-gases through leakages in the iron and steel industry will be checked by March 2008 and fluoride emission will be reduced by 50 per cent in the aluminium plants.

Discharge of ammonium oxide by large scale pulp and paper units will be brought down to 1.5 kg per tonne of paper within two years. Odour control system will be installed in four years. Small scale units will either install chemical recovery plants within 3 years or shift over to waste paper. Effluent treatment plants will be upgraded within one year to meet discharge standards. Waste water discharge will be reduced to 150 cubic metre per tonne of paper within 3 years.

Some environmental groups have pointed out that certain industries area reluctant to comply with the charter. This is a clear indication that it is not a voluntary compliance system, but the same old command and control regime of the Government, they said. The Environment Ministry contends that the charter makes a case for compliance level higher than those mandated by the law by almost 80 per cent. However, when it comes to waste disposal methods, it still relies on burning hazardous waste, which is highly-polluting.

Waste Disposal

Most industrialised nations have clean production programmes which build upon progressive tools such as Toxics Release Inventories (TRI) and Toxics Use Reduction Plans. The TRI requires industries to provide detailed information relating to the quantity of toxics released to various environmental media. This information is made available publicly. Companies are asked to submit plans to reduce their releases over set periods of time.

The State of Massachusetts in the United States has a remarkable toxics use reduction act that levies a fee on industries using toxic substances. It also mandates the submission of toxics use reduction plans by industries, and penalizes industries that fail to adhere to their commitments to reduce releases.

Companies that met their commitments also reported substantial cost savings. The Indian Hazardous Waste Rules have no provision for such detailed reporting or the public’s right to know about the nature and quantity of industrial poisons released into their environment. Even the recently amended version of the rules continues to emphasize end-of-pipe waste disposal technologies- landfills, incinerators and effluent treatment plants – rather than clean production approaches.

Requirements

At lease three requirements are critical to a successful programme to minimize hazardous wastes and their effects on the environment and public health. These include access to up-to-date information regarding the quantity and nature of hazardous wastes generated, ability to implement plans for minimizing wastes, and safely disposing what remains, and a visionary industrial policy that operationalises the precautionary principle, encourages the setting up of clean industries and discourages the expansion of polluting industries, especially in regions already overburdened by pollution.

India’s track record on monitoring industrial pollution is not impressive enough. The industry can be tackled at the local level by alert citizens and environment groups. It is for this reason that the Supreme Court has empowered them by making public hearing mandatory for new projects. By not involving them in the process, the message of cost-effective policing of industry has been lost on the Environment Ministry.

The intervention of individuals and organisations to raise environmental issues in public and the role of the courts in public interest litigation in matters like the Taj Mahal environment and education are developments that have improved implementation of policies and programmes. The level of awareness of sustainable development issues has grown and the sociological dimensions, including gender issues, have come to the fore. (PIB Features)

*Senior Freelance Journalist