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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION. by Mrs Almitra H Patel Member, Supreme Court Committee for Urban Solid Waste Management almitrapatel@rediffmail.com 1. India is a “soft State”.

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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

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  1. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION by Mrs Almitra H Patel Member, Supreme Court Committee for Urban Solid Waste Management almitrapatel@rediffmail.com 1

  2. India is a “soft State” It has excellent environmental laws, but politics and/or corruption prevent their effective implementation. The result has been disastrous for our environment and hence for the economy too, as we are now seeing. 2

  3. Public Interest Litigation has become the last resort It has given a voice to concerned and knowledgeable citizens and a a push for action and enforcement. It is politically convenient to pass the buck to the Courts for doing what the legislature and executive ought to do. 3

  4. India’s environmental laws span more than a century 1865 British take forest lands from princes 1927 Forest Act, amended 1980 1974 Water Act 1981 Air Act 1986 Environment Protection Act 1991 Coastal Regulation Zones 4

  5. New Laws are moving from the general to Specifics This has been made possible under the 1986 Environment Protection Act 1989 Hazardous Waste Rules 1998 Biomedical Waste Rules 1999 Rules for Recycled Plastics, Fly Ash Notification 2000 Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000 Battery Mgt & Handling Rules 5

  6. Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimisation Rules will be next A major weakness of the Environment Protection Act is its lack of “teeth” So new directions may arise either as judgments : CNG for Delhi vehicles, or State or City Rules : Plastic carry-bags banned in Sikkim, parts of West Bengal, Nilgiris Dt, Shimla, all of Bangla Desh 6

  7. Economic Instruments will be the next phase Karnataka’s Green Tax on 15-year-old vehicles is the first of such moves. World-wide, these are the most effective, e.g. for take-back of PET bottles and beer cans. Such moves should be welcomed, creatively used and suggested by industry, e.g to prevent water pollution. 7

  8. WATER Water-sharing cases are decades old. Judgments continue to cover Ganga Action Plan, Yamuna Pollution, drinking-water for villages beside Bhima River ! National River Conservation Authority & National Water Policy won’t succeed till we rethink centralised sewage treatment. 8

  9. RIGHT TO MANAGE WATER Alwar villagers revive a dead river, but officials tried to destroy their check-dam Fishing rights won for Tawa Lake villagers Chilika Lake fishermen still fight big business Ground-water withdrawal rules flouted Citywide rainwater harvesting becoming a requirement 9

  10. AIR MC Mehta’s 1985 case for unleaded petrol won relief only in 2001, only because private sector Reliance offered it. Still 2 out of 7 IOC refineries produce leaded fuel which finds its way to cities. Public vigilance is the answer. Noise pollution judgments have begun: fire-crackers only during limited hours, loud-speaker rules for Calcutta, etc. 10

  11. LAND : PRIVATE OR COMMUNITY PROPERTY? All lands in India except the king’s were community-owned until the British brought the concept of private property. Nepal’s forests are now being restored through community control. “Me-first” culture has wrought massive degradation. Citizens need to support community control of urban or rural spending and our precious coastline. 11

  12. THE US EPA HAS “TEETH” National Capital Territory of Delhi’s “Bhure Lal Committee” is the first in India to enjoy similar powers. We need such models to spread to other metro areas for effective environment protection 12

  13. HAZARDOUS WASTE The 1989 Rules are totally useless as not one State has officially identified & started work on an engineered landfill. So industries asked to “store on-site” just pour effluents down “reverse borewells” or dump illegally all over. 13

  14. MSWRules2000 These require keeping ‘Wet’ food wastes and ‘Dry’ recyclables unmixed. Bio-degradable Wet wastes to be composted. By 31.12.2001 improve existing landfills Dec 02 identify & prepare landfill sites Dec 03 Set up waste processing and disposal facilities 14

  15. WHERE ARE THE LANDFILLS? Appalling open dumps make villagers protest : NIMBY syndrome everywhere. State balks at declaring Buffer Zones of No-Development, so property-owners clamour for relocation of existing dumps. Is decentralised composting the answer? 15

  16. OTHER LAWS ARE ENTWINED Contract Labour Act 1970 prevents cities from privatising cleaning services. Transport cartels fight its fair privatisation. Citizens pay the price in filth and taxes. This will be so in other spheres too. IEA can collate such issues & address them. 16

  17. THANK YOU Mrs Almitra Patel 50 Kothnur, Bagalur Rd Bangalore 560077 080-8465365 almitrapatel@rediffmail.com 17

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