“We have Provided Transparent Processes, Done away with Delays and Enabled Ease of doing Business”: Javadekar

“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.