The National Green Tribunal on Friday directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to devise an appropriate mechanism to ensure that industrial expansion can take place after due precautions in "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said there is no absolute bar to any legitimate industrial activity being set up in "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas as they may not add to the pollution.
"If it is so, all that is required is to determine viability of such units on 'precautionary' principle by an appropriate mechanism. Reasons for doing so are that the area as per data available is polluted and 'red' and 'orange' category have higher potential for pollution," the bench said.
The tribunal further said action has to be taken only against polluting activities and if any unit is compliant with the norms, such unit is not affected.
"There is no basis for apprehension that compensation may have to be paid twice. The provisions of Air Act, Water Act and Environment Protection Act and the rules or other environment norms are to be enforced not only against the industrial units but also against every polluting activity whether the same has already been set up or is yet to be set up in terms of provisions of the law in question. This being the undisputed legal position, no further clarification remains necessary," the green panel said.
With regard to MoEF's submission that CEPI policy framework will be finalised and implemented in six months and one year, the bench said order of the tribunal does not in any manner debar MoEF to take the proposed steps.
"However, pendency of such steps can be no justification for not enforcing the existing pollution norms and applying the 'sustainable' 'precautionary' and 'polluter pays' principles on the basis of data available," it said.
The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by the MoEF seeking plea for clarification and review of July 10 order of the NGT, which had directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to shut down polluting industries in "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas within three months.
According to the MoEF, it is yet to take a final view in the matter of protocol to be followed by states/UTs for implementation of the action plan for environmental improvement of critically polluted area (CPA) after considering the CPCB's report.
"Current Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) framework may need to be reviewed. CEPI score is to be used as a warning tool for formulating an action plan to restore environment quality. MoEF will require six months for policy framework and one year for implementation and till then ban on expansion/setting up new industries may be kept in abeyance.
The tribunal, however, said, as regards the plea of MoEF that CEPI policy framework will be finalised and implemented in six months and one year "we are of the view that the order of the tribunal does not in any manner debar MoEF to take the proposed steps.
"What the tribunal has directed is inter alia to 'identify the particular industrial units in the said polluted industrial areas (PIAs) that are causing pollution, particularly those units which fall under the 'red' and 'orange' category and take action against them by way of closing the polluting activity, initiating prosecution and assessing and recovering compensation' 9. No ground whatsoever has been shown to review the said direction," it said.
Contending that economic development cannot take place at the cost of public health, the NGT had directed the Central Pollution Control Board to shut down polluting industries in "critically polluted" and "severely polluted" areas within three months.
On the basis of a study jointly carried out by the CPCB and state pollution control boards in 2009-10, industrial clusters were notified as PIAs and they were ranked as 'critically polluted area', 'severely polluted area' and 'other polluted areas', depending upon the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index scores.
The tribunal had taken note of a media report which said the CPCB had started a process to rank 88 industrial clusters across the country based on their pollution levels.
The report said the CPCB has recently completed the analysis of the levels based on air and water quality and hazardous waste generated by these clusters.
According to the media report, the state pollution control committees and the CPCB had conducted surveys in 2009-10 to check pollution levels in the 88 notified industrial clusters.
Thereafter, the CPCB had ranked these clusters under 'critical' and 'serious' categories.
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