Water Pollution 20.23 The 14 major rivers in India carry, among themselves, 85 per cent of the surface run on, covet 83 per cent of the country within their drainage basins, and house about 80 per cent of the population in their basin area. Together with other medium and minor rivers, lakes, tanks, etc., They provide for our fresh water needs. For India's large and growing population, water courses must satisfy various domestic demands besides those for agriculture, industry, fisheries, navigation and power generation as well as be a receptacle for community, industrial and agricultural wastes. There is now a wealth of documented evidence of the adverse effects of water pollution from all over the country. These range from the transmittal of waterborne; diseases like cholera, jaundice, typhoid and dysentary to fish kills and loss of agricultural productivity through the use of polluted water. From the Dal Lake in the North, to the Periyar and Chaliyar rivers in the South, from the Damodar and Hooghly in the East to the Thana Creek in the West, the picture of water pollution is uniformly gloomy. Even our large perennial rivers like the Ganga are today heavily polluted.
20.24 Investigations by the Central and State Boards for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution show that the major Sources of pollution of our natural water courses including coastal waters are the discharge of community wastes from human settlements. Most of the community and industrial waste waters go straight into water courses rendering them unfit for most uses, least of all as drinking water sources. According to the Central Board for Water Pollution only 8 cities in India are provided with complete sewerage and sewage treatment facilities. They are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bijapur, Sangli, Nanded, Nasik, Thana and Durgapur. In a report* on a detailed study of the seriousness of water pollution in the Yamuna caused by the discharge of Delhi's waste, the Board States:
"What is depicted in this report is a replica of what may be seen at Ludhiana in Punjab, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, Varanasi in UP, Patna in Bihar, Calcutta in West Bengal, Gauhati in Assam, Cuttack in Orissa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Madras in Tamil Nadu. The daily discharge of waste water ..... is threatening the natural water bodies like rivers, estuaries and coastal waters."
20.25 The Water pollution Boards in the Central and States have not yet been given adequate support to tackle these massive problems. Far greater priority than hitherto must be given to this special sector.
Air Pollution 20.26 Air Pollution is usually associated with industrial growth and urbanisation. However, in many towns and cities of India domestic sources which burn coal,
+ Annual Report 1978-79, Central Board for the Prevention and Control, of Water Pollution.
*Control of Urban Pollution Series, CUPS/1/78/79, Union Territory of Delhi, Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution.
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cowdung, firewood or trash can be a significant source of pollution particularly under conditions of stagnant air in winter montrs. Fortunately, Indian coal is low in sulphur content, the number of automobiles is relatively small and the rainy season is an effective scrubber for mitigating air pollution. Despite these advantages, problems of air pollution are becoming severe in major cities like Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. A high background dust level during certain times of the year aggravates the problem. Studies conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) confirm that levels of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter in certain major cities exceed permissible limits set by organisations like WHO. The high incidence of problems such as asthma, bronchitis. cough, breathlessness, sneezing and nasal blocks among people living in the Chembur area in Bombay is attributed to constant exposure to the high levels of air pollutants. Studies by the Banaras Hindu University and the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University have established the adverse impact of industrial and transportation emissions on crop productivity. Fears have been expressed about the effect of power plant and refinery emissions on targets ranging from human lungs to ancient monuments. With the Air Pollution Control Legislation soon to be enacted a strong and well-equipped enforcement authority will be required if the problem is to be checked in its relatively early stages.
Land Pollution 20.27 Pollution of Land results largely from the insanitary disposal of solid wastes. In India open dumping of such wastes (of municipal and industrial origin) on low lying land is a common phenomenon. This serves as a breeding ground for pests and disease carrying vectors.
Noise 20.28 Noise in our major cities and towns is a growing menace. Studies by the National physical Laboratory, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Occupational Health, and the Madras Medical College have indicated the growing threat to our physiological and mental well-being from community noise (religious and cultural) traffic noise, and noise in the occupational environment. While there are disparate NO of legislation (municipal bye-laws) that attempt to control noise, these have proved inadequate and there is now a clear need for a comprehensive legislation to curb noise pollution.
20.29 Among large sections of our population there is an inadequate perception of the extent of, and potential hazards from, pollution problems in India. This sometimes leads to statements about pollution being primarily a problem of the advanced nations and therefore of no consequence to India. Such trends must be countered vigorously through appropriate methods of environmental education be- fore the magnitude, of our response to the challenge of pollution in India can bear a reasonable relationship to what is warranted by its actual dimensions.
Human Settlements and the Environment 20.30 It is within the framework of hum-an settlements (both rural and urban) that the basic human needs for our vast population must be provided in a manner that does not irreversibly damage our natural environment and cultural heritage. We have more than 579,000 human settlements (1971 census) of which nearly 3,000 are urban. More than three fourths of our population lives in rural settlements.
Rural 20.31 Rural life styles have close links with nature and its resources. Thus the environmental problems that manifest in rural areas are largely due to over-use or misuse of natural resources mostly because of sheer poverty and lack of alternatives. The denundation of vegetative cover due to indiscriminate collection for firewood, and the over-grazing by cattle and other livestock and consequent soil erosion are two common examples of the impoverishment of environmental resources. Again, the non-availability of systems for disposal of community wastes in rural areas has led to the contamination of water courses and creation of insanitary living conditions. This, in turn. has had major impacts on the health of the population especially where unprotected sources of water have, of necessity to be used by the rural population. Despite all efforts so far about 2 lakh villages with a population of some 160 million are yet to be provided with potable water supply facilities while sewerage systems in the villages are non-existant. This has been a cause of water-borne diseases like jaundice, typhoid, cholera etc. The chronic unemployment and under-employment in these areas have led to the migration into towns and cities that have added to the already severe environmental problems in urban settlements.
Urban 20.32 According to the 1971 census nearly 20 per cent of our urban population lived in 8 metropolitan cities and another 30 per cent lived in 143 cities with a population more than 100,000. The phenomenal increase in urban population both as a result of natural growth as well as immigration, has lead to the mushroom growth of slums and squatter settlements. The pressures on urban land have often resulted in an indiscriminate mixture of land uses resulting in a steady deterioration of already strained urban services and environmental quality. In order to provide additional land, ill- conceived reclamation has been carried out on water bodies and marsh lands which have crucial ecological roles to play in safeguarding coastal towns and cities. Major instances of such coastal reclamation are to be found in Bombay, Cochin and Calcutta.
20.33 Since Independence several new towns have been built and practically every city bag been extended often at the expense of fertile agricultural land. When extensions of old cities have been made there have been inadequate assessments of the capacities
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of existing urban infrastructure to cater to the larger combined populations. Thus roads, water Supply, drainage, sewerage services become over-loaded with the consequent frequent break-downs leading to unsatisfactory environmental conditions.
20.34 These trends will only intensify in the future as increase in population density lowers per capita availability of resources both natural and man-made-thus generating additional problems related to environmental health. So far attempts at environmental improvement in human settlements have come in a disjointed and piecemeal fashion with attention focussed on one particular function or the other (transportation, water supply, power generation, etc.) rather than treating settlements and their activities as a dynamic and organic whole. Vigorous and coordinated steps are now required for environmentally sound planning and development of human settlements.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FROM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 20.35 The unintended environmental impacts resulting from the execution of development projects like those involving thermal or hydropower generation, mining industry, agriculture, human settlements, etc. manifest themselves through one or more of the environmental problems discussed in the preceding sections. For instance, mining operations in India have often led to serious problems of water and air pollution, land subsidence and scarring of large tracts of land. Indiscriminate discharge of wastes by indus- tries has caused a whole variety of pollution problems including those due to heavy metals and other 'exotic' chemicals that are inimical to all life forms. The unplanned, intensive use of agricultural chemicals have led to cases of water pollution and appearance of pesticide residues in food and food products.
20.36 There are other serious and more insidious consequences for human health arising through poorly planned developmental activities. In particular, there is the whole range of tropical, communicable diseases such as malaria, filariasis, dengue, guinea worm, Japanese encephalities etc. that are becoming more wide spread due to the creation of favourable environmental conditions for the pathogens. The majority of the breeding places of these disease-vectors are created by man in the form of stagnant ponds, burrow pits and ditches. Whilst it is recognised that provision of water for agriculture and for human use is a major developmental activity and a vital necessity, it must be ensured that conditions favourable for the breading of vectors of human and animal diseases are not encouraged. Unplanned urbanisation has changed the ecological conditions in favour of the spread of filariasis. Kala-azar has now come back in an unprecedented form. Studies have shown that the construction of large reservoirs can result in the elevation of sub-soil water in the vicinity with consequent change in the levels of flouride, calcium, trace metals, etc. in soil sediments. This in turn results in the emergence of diseases, such as flurosis, in people who are forced to use the contaminated water. For instance, the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad has consclusively revealed the seriousness of fluorosis in areas adjacent to the Nagarjunasagar Dam. Skin infections, trachoma, guinea worm and schistosomiasis are other diseases transmitted by water. The price for the lack of recognition and control of these environment related diseases, is paid not only in terms of human health but also in terms of costs of pest control and medical care.
20.37 It is now recognised that most of these impacts can be minimised or even completely avoided by adequate pre-planning, through use of techniques like environmental impact analysis for which the interdisciplinary expertise will need to be built up. Environmental considerations must form an integral part of all planning for development and be supplemented by mechanisms to ensure that environmental safeguards proposals are implemented and that there is systematic monitoring to assess their effectiveness.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGISLATIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION 20.38 Plans and programmes in fields of soil conservation, public health, forest and wildlife protection, industrial hygiene etc. have been in existence in India for many decades. However the first formal recognition of the need for integrated environmental planning was made when the Government of India constituted the National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination (NCEPC) in 1972.
20.39 In the past eight years the NCEPC, a high level advisory body of the Government of India, with technical staff support from the Department of Science Technology has done valuable work in a number of areas related to environmental planning. These include environmental appraisal of projects from selected sectors, surveys of wetlands and aquatic weeds, human settlement planning and spread of environmental awareness. At the instance of the NCEPC, high level Environment Boards have been constituted in various States and Union Territories.
20.40 There are several laws that directly or indirectly relate to the protection of environmental resources. Among the more recent ones are the Insecticides Act, 1968, Wild Life Protection Act 1972, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, the Water Pollution Cess Act, 1978 and the forthcoming legislation on Air Pollution. Some of the older laws like the Indian Forest Act, 1927, are presently under review. However, many of the existing environmental laws dealing with various sectors have become outdated and are poorly implemented. There is also need for new legislation to take account of the special problems arising from the objective of rapid economic development with social justice.
20.41 In recognition of the need for a fresh. comprehensive look at the administrative and legislative aspects of environmental protection. the Government
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of India constituted a High Power Committee under the Chairmanship of the, Deputy Chairman of the planning Commission. The Committee, which submitted its report to the Prime Minister in September, 1980, made a number of recommendations in this regard. The Committee expressed the need for creating a Department of the Environment (DOE) at the Centre to provide explicit recognition to the pivotal role that environmental conservation must play for sustainable national development. The functions of the Department of the Environment were indentified as :
(a) 'Nodal' agency for environmental protection and eco-development in the country.
(b) Carrying out of environmental appraisal of development projects through other ministries/agencies as well as directly.
(c) Administrative responsibility for
(i) Pollution monitoring and regulation.
(ii) Conservation of critical ecosystems designated as Biosphere Reserves.
(iii) Conservation of Marine Eco-systems.
20.42 Thus the DOE would play an important coordinating role for environment related programmes in all sectors which would be implemented by the relevant ministries/agencies of the Central and State Governments. This 'nodal' function would therefore be in addition to those for which the DOE would have direct administrative responsibility.
PROGRAMMES 20.43 As has been stressed earlier in this Chapter, it is the successful control of population growth and the satisfaction of basic human needs that will ultimately protect environmental health and hence the quality of life of our people. In that sense the, entire plan for national development could be termed environmental. However specific programmes for environmental protection would also be necessary to correct various local and regional stresses on environ- mental resources arising as a result of the conditions of poverty and underdevelopment and the unintended side-effects of programmes for national development.
20.44 The plan will adopt an integrated approach to find and implement, methods of redressing existing environmental problems and build up the capability for preventing or mitigating those that could arise in the future. In the following paragraphs an indication has been given of some of the main programmes to be carried out by the Department of the Environment (DOE) either directly or through other Ministries) agencies/institutions.
20.45 A strong programme of Environmental Research and Development will be supported to generate the king of information and data required for the formulation of environmental policy. Standards and criteria for environmental quality relevant to Indian conditions particularly in the field of human settlement planning have to be worked out through carefully planned research schemes. Low cost methods for environmental protection, methods for energy, water and other resources conservation, recycling and re-use in all sectors of the economy, are some of the other objectives to be pursued through programmes of environmental R&D. Gaps in existing knowledge, experitise and infrastructure will be identified on a continuing basis so that appropriate action may be taken.
20.46 In order to ensure that plans for development in all sectors are in harmony with the goal of maintaining the health of life- sustaining eco-systems and other environmental resources the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be made an integral part of the entire planning process. The cost of pre-project studies related to EIA will be built into regular project costs. Special case studies relating to environmental impact from the execution of projects in various sectors (industry, mining, irrigation, power, forestry, settlements etc.) will be carried out to generate information and guidelines (standards, safeguards) required for routine EIA. A system to monitor the compliance of project authorities with stipulations made at the time of conducting the EIA is to be established with the help of other agencies at the Central and State level.
20.47 Monitoring of Environmental Quality is a critical function of accurate information on the success or otherwise or programmes for environmental protection is to be available. It will also enable optimal deployment of scarce resources and determination of areas in which urgent action is required. Environmental quality will be monitored through a number of carefully chosen indicators (physical, chemical, biological, socio-economic etc.) in various fields such as agriculture, forestry, mining, rural and urban settlements etc. Programmes for the development of infrastructure required in this regard (hardware, expertise etc.) will be strengthened or where necessary initiated afresh. This work will be coordinated by the Department of Environment but will be carried out in their respective sectors by various other Departments/Ministries/agencies of the Central and State Governments.
20.48 The Plan envisages the setting up of an Environmental Information System for the collection, processing and dissemination of environmental information that will aid planners, decision makers and researchers. In order to avoid duplication of effort (particularly in fields like natural resource management, in which a number of agencies are already serving as repositories of information) the system will work on a distributed data-base concept. As a part of the activity. a Documentation and Publication centre will regularly bring out status reports, research monographs, case studies and other relevant material to serve the information needs of the general public.
20.49 Programmes to increase Public Awareness about environmental issues and to stimulate public participation in activities for environmental protection will form a key component of this plan. Particular emphasis will be given for communication programmes for target groups such as village panchayats, district and municipal authorities, State and Central
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legislators and administrators. Apart from the use of non-formal means (mass media, performing arts, etc. ) for public education, formal environmental education will be considerably strengthened at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels through inputs into the relevant curriculae strengthened at the and training workshop.
20.50 In response to the identified need for strong research development and training support to programmes for environmental protection it is proposed to set up a number of Centres/Institutions, for Studies/Training in Environmental Science, Technology and Management. This would be accomplished both by strengthening institutions already working in this area and setting up a small number of new institutions. Using a network of existing institutions it is proposed to set up a Centre for Himalayan Studies and a Centre for Western Ghats Studies. The latter would lay emphasis on the study of tropical rain forests. The new institutions would include an Institute for Environmental Management, a Wildlife Research and Training Institute and a Centre for North-East India Studies. The last mentioned institution is of high priority in view of the rich genetic resources of the region and the rapid rate at which developmental changes are expected in the near and medium-term future.
20.51 The Department of the Environment will sponsor a number of Field Action Programmes. These will include demonstration projects that illustrate successful tools. techniques and methodologies for environmental protection in fields such as land reclamation low-cost pollution control, recycling/re-use of waste materials, mass communication of 'environmental messages'. Collaborative programmes with other governmental bodies, municipalities, forest departments, voluntary agencies will attempt to directly accomplish clearly defined objectives of 'ecodevelopment' in local or regional contexts. Such projects would include tree planting, weed eradication, community waste collection and reuse, "cleaning" of water bodies. involvement of communities in areas surrounding Biosphere Reserves and National Parks in protection of wildlife etc. Emphasis is to be given for projects involving youth in eco-development activities through summer camps. Thus particular emphasis will be given to the involvement of voluntary social organisations, groups of scientists or individuals in various facets of environmental protection at the field level. A provision is being made for grants-in-aid to such groups who can be of great assistance to Government in carrying out activities that mould public opinion and elicit cooperation in favour of programmes to conserve the wisely managed environmental resources.
20.52 In order to accelerate the process of repairing the damage already done to fragile hill eco-systems, an Eco-development Force consisting of ex-servicemen will be, set up. Such a force will consist Of discrete units which will be deployed to begin with in the upper catchment areas of major Himalayan river systems. The various units of the Eco-development Force will take up a massive afforestation and soil conservation programme and also assist in harnessing rain water for subsequent use both for domestic and agricultural purposes. The Force togather with the local community will take steps not only to develop hill ecosystems and forests but also to produce the needed quantities of fuel and fooder without damage to forests.
20.53 Another step which will be initiated by the Department of Environment will be the organisation of Eco-development Camps, consisting of students from the different Universities in the country. Each Eco-development Camp will have a specific goal such as the repair of a damaged eco-system setting up of a marine or desert national park, bio-sphere reserves organisation of village fuel wood plantations, etc. For each camp, selected groups of students drawn from a mixture of Universities will be trained in relevant tasks before the work of the camp is started. The necessary material for implementing the programme will have to be kept ready in advance, so that the students participating in such camps are able to complete time frame. Thus this programme will be so designed as to foster team work among students drawn from different parts of the country in executing a development tasks of both ecological and educational value.
20.54 The role of the State Governments in ensuring a coordinated approach to environmental protection has been recognised to be crucial. The DOE will play a selective role in-strengthening of capabilities of State Governments in carrying out environmental planning protection and review. This will be through joint par- ticipation in studies, assistance, development of expertise and infrastructure, seed money for carrying out studies and research programmes etc.
20.55 An important structural/organisational innovation to ensure flow of information and expertise required for environmentally sound development at the field level will be the constitution of Rural Environmental Cells. The cells will be set up with the cooperation of the relevant State and District authorities. They will act as local level mechanisms to identfy and implement opportunities for optimal use of environmental resources, and prevent their misuse. The cells would function in close coordination with local units of public health, forestry, water and soil management, agricultural services, educational institutions and voluntary agencies working in the field of environment protection. The proposed cells would be clustered around Regional Environmental Centres (REC). The REC's would have specialisation in environmental problems of the region and would act in cooperation with State Governments as agencies to transfer information of the DOE and in the reverse direction also. The Rural Environmental Cells and Regional Environmental Cells would serve as the eyes and ears of the DOE at the Centre to facilitate the coordination and nodal functions. A beginning would be made in a few key blocks in every State where eco-catastrophies are relatively frequent.
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20.56 Apart from its work in regulating and coordinating the work of pollution monitoring and control the DOE will be directly responsible for the major programmes of : (a) Creation and Management of Biosphere Researves (b) Monitoring and Conservation of Marine Eco- systems. A separate cadre of specialists is to be constituted for management of the Biosphere Reserves which are to be set up under Central control. Considerable preliminary work has already been done to identify potential areas of value to be designated as Biosphere Reserves.
20.57 It is proposed to identify an agency to be entrusted with the task of monitoring and planning or the conservation of the nation's valuable marine eco-systems. The agency will be adequately strengthened to carry out comprehensive research, design and development related to prevention of marine pollution, rational exploitation marine resources and protection of particularly valuable areas and species of marine life.
20.58 A comprehensive programme to make an Inventory of Ecological Resources of the country is to be undertaken. This will be done in coordination with the Environmental Quality Monitoring and Environ- mental Information Systems programme described earlier. The work will be done in phases by using existing institutions such as Survey of India, Botanical and Zoological Survey of India. National Remote Sensing Agency etc. besides other Ministers and agencies of the Central and State Governments. Data gathered from satellite imagery, aerial photography and field surveys will be processed and collated in selected institutions throughout the country and will be available to planners and decision makers.
OUTLAYS 20.59 There is a provision of Rs. 40 crores in the Central Plan for these programmes in the Science and Technology sector. The break- up of outlays is as follows.
Table 20.2
Outlays on Environment
Rs. crores
1 Environment Planning & Co-ordination (R & D
Programmes, field action/demonstration, en-
vironmental information system, monitoring net-
work and support to State Environmental Com-
mittees) 15.00
2 Eco-Development Programmes (Biosphere re-
serves, eco-development force, eco-develop-
ment camps) 10.00
3 Ecology & Environment Education/Training
Programmes (training schemes, centres of excell-
ence, environment management institutions) 5.00
4 Botanical Survey of India 5.00
5 Zoological Survey of India 5.00
TOTAL 40.00