Lok Sabha Question No. 136 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-18
Subject: Pollution caused by Old Factories
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Vijay Kumar Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.136 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2022

## Pollution caused by Old Factories

## 136. SHRI VIJAY KUMAR DUBEY:

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

- (a) whether the old factories situated in the middle of cities and towns across the country are causing environmental pollution as well as affecting the health of the local population;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  any  scheme  to  close  or  displace  the  said  factories  in  a phased manner;
- (c) whether  the  Government  plans  to  displace  the  sugar  mills  operating  in  the  middle  of towns in Uttar Pradesh so as to keep these towns free from environmental pollution; and
- (d) the proposed time limit in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a )to  (d) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under section 18(1)(b) of  the Water (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution  )  Act,  1974  and  the  Air  (Prevention  and  Control  of Pollution)    Act,  1981    has    directed  all  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)/  Pollution Control  Committees  (PCCs)  that  'siting  of  industries  shall  be  only  in  conforming  areas. SPCBs/PCCs  shall  evolve  sector-specific  plans  for  control  of  pollution  and  industrial surveillance for verifying compliance'.

There is no specific scheme of Union of India to close or displace any factories including sugar mills operating in the middle of towns inUttar Pradesh. Several steps are taken towards prevention  and  control  of  pollution  caused  from  various  types  of  industries  across  the country. Steps towards control of industrial pollution inter alia include the follows:

-  The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change,  Government  of  India notifies  Industry  Specific  Discharge  Standards  under  Schedule-I:  'Standards  for Emission  or  Discharge  of  Environmental  Pollutants  from  various  Industries'  of Environment Protection  Act,  1986  including  Sugar  industries.  SPCBs  and  PCCs  in States  and  Union  Territories  respectively  are  adhered  to  ensure  the  compliance  of these  standards.  So  far,  industry  specific  environmental  standards,  for  about  80 industrial sectors, have been notified.
-  The SPCBs/PCCs issue consent to establish/ consent to operate and authorization to the industries in the Statesverifying the permission granted by concerned authority for land  conversion  for  setting  up  of  industry.  Also,  the  SPCBs/PCCs  monitor  the compliance of industrial emissions/effluent discharges and other operational activities according to the prescribed standards.
-  CPCB  has  revised  the  criteria  for  categorization  of  industries  and  directed  all SPCBs/PCCs  in  March,  2016,  to  adopt  the  same.  The  categorization  is  based  on pollution potential of the industrial sector and the purpose of the categorization is to ensure that the industry is established in a manner consistent with the environmental objectives and to prompt industrial sectors to adopt cleaner technologies, resulting in generation of no or minimum pollutants. CPCB has categorized 254 industrial sectors into red (61), orange (90), green (65) and white (38) categories.

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