Lok Sabha Question No. 3128 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Damage to Environment by Pollution
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shankar Lalwani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3128

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2019

## Damage to Environment by Pollution

## 3128. SHRI  SHANKAR LALWANI:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  made  any  assessment  of  the  quantum  of  damage  to environment caused by  pollution in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any accountability  has been fixed by the Government in this regard; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

- (a) to (d) Methodologies have been developed for evaluating environmental compensation to be levied  on  the  person/authority  responsible  for  environmental  pollution  in  respect  of  certain categories. These cover violations by industrial units, violations of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), NCR-Delhi, untreated discharge of sewage by concerned individual/authority, and noncompliance  of  Solid  Waste  Management  Rules,  2016  by  concerned  municipal  authority (Annexure-I ).  Based  on  it,  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  has  imposed  Rs  52.63  crore  as environmental compensation on non-complying industries.

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## Brief  description  and  salient  features  of  methodologies  for  calculating  environmental compensation

The  methodologies  for  evaluating  environmental  compensation  have  been  formulated  for  the following categories.

1. Violations by industrial units.
2. Violations of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), NCR-Delhi.
3. Untreated discharge of sewage by concerned individual/authority.
4. Non-compliance  of Solid Waste Management  Rules,  2016  by concerned municipal authority.

A brief summary of each category is given as below.

## 1. Industrial units including common waste management facilities

In case  of  violation  of  discharge/emissions  norms,  consent  conditions,  directions  of CPCB/SPCB etc., EC is levied based on formula given below:

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## Where,

EC is Environmental Compensation in ₹

PI = Pollution Index of industrial sector (for Red-80, Orange-50 and Green-30)

N = Number of days violation took place

R = A factor in Rupees (₹) for EC (100-500, proposed-250)

- S = Factor for scale of operation (Small-0.5, Medium-1.0, Large-1.5)

LF = Location factor (1 to 2, based on population exposure and ecological sensitivity)

-  Minimum EC is 5,000 ₹/day and max upto 60,000 ₹/day.
-  EC  may  be  increased  by  2,  4  and  8  times,  if  violation  is  continuous  or  repeated  in nature.
-  In  case  of  grievous  damage  to  the  environment,  EC  will  be  decided  based  on  the detailed investigation by expert institutions/organizations.

## 2. Violations of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR-Delhi

Fixed amount of EC charges, as mentioned in the below table, is levied on the implementing agency, in case offailure to implement GRAP, NCR-Delhi.

| Activity                                                 | Air Quality Index Category                               | Environmental Compensation (₹)                           |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Industrial Emissions                                     | Severe +/Emergency                                       | Rs 1.0 Crore                                             |
| Industrial Emissions                                     | Severe                                                   | Rs 50 Lakh                                               |
| Industrial Emissions                                     | Very Poor                                                | Rs 25 Lakh                                               |
| Industrial Emissions                                     | Moderate to Poor                                         | Rs 10 Lakh                                               |
| Vapour Recovery System (VRS) at Outlets of Oil Companies | Vapour Recovery System (VRS) at Outlets of Oil Companies | Vapour Recovery System (VRS) at Outlets of Oil Companies |
| i. Not installed                                         | Target Date                                              | Rs 1.0 Crore                                             |
| ii. Non-functional                                       | Very poor to Severe +                                    | Rs 50.0 Lakh                                             |
| ii. Non-functional                                       | Moderate to Poor                                         | Rs 25.0 Lakh                                             |
| Construction sites                                       | Severe +/Emergency                                       | Rs 1.0 Crore                                             |
| (Offending plot more than                                | Severe                                                   | Rs 50 Lakh                                               |
| 20,000 Sq.m.)                                            | Very Poor                                                | Rs 25 Lakh                                               |
| 20,000 Sq.m.)                                            | Moderate to Poor                                         | Rs 10 Lakh                                               |
| Solid waste/ garbage                                     | Very poor to Severe +                                    | Rs 25.0 Lakh                                             |
| dumping in Industrial                                    | Moderate to Poor                                         | Rs 10.0 Lakh                                             |
| Estates Failure to water sprinkling on unpaved roads     | Estates Failure to water sprinkling on unpaved roads     | Estates Failure to water sprinkling on unpaved roads     |
| a) Hot-spots                                             | Very poor to Severe +                                    | Rs 25.0 Lakh                                             |
| b) Other than Hot-spots                                  | Very poor to Severe +                                    | Rs 10.0 Lakh                                             |

## 3. Untreated discharge of sewage by concerned individual/authority

-  EC  is  levied  on  the  concerned  individual  or  authority  which  is  responsible  for discharge of untreated sewage.
-  There are three components in EC:
- i. One-time component of  capital cost (cost saved by individual/authority for not installing required sewage network and treatment facility).
- ii. Recurring component for operational and maintenance (O&M) cost saved by not installing and operating required system.
- iii. Recurring component of cost for damage to the environment.
-  For rationalizing  the  EC,  minimum  and  maximum  values  of  above  mentioned  cost components are fixed, depending upon the class of the city, i.e. Mega-city, Million plus and Class-I & others.
-  To include deterrent effect for continuous violations , component of O&M cost and cost for the environmental damage, may be increased by 2, 4, and 8 times after every six-months, beyond the time prescribed by authority for ensuring complete treatment of sewage of the city/town or project.
4. Non-compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 by concerned municipal authority
-  EC  is  levied  on  the  concerned  Urban  Local  Body,  which  is  responsible  for  solid waste management in the assigned area.
-  There are three components in EC:
- i. One-time  component of  capital  cost  (cost  saved  by  not  having  required  waste management system).
- ii. Recurring  component for  operational  and  maintenance  cost,  saved  by  not installing and operating required system.
- iii. Recurring component of cost for damage to the environment.
-  For rationalizing  the  EC,  minimum  and  maximum  values  of  above  mentioned  cost components are fixed, depending upon the class of the city, i.e. Mega-city, Million plus and Class-I & others.
-  If mixing of Bio-medical Waste or Hazardous Waste is found in Municipal Solid Waste than capital cost component of EC may be increased by a multiplication factor of 1.5.
-  Deterrent effect for continuous violations, similar to sewage facility, may be applied.

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