Lok Sabha Question No. 3941 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-18
Subject: New Rules under the Environment Protection Act
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri V K Sreekandan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3941

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025

## New Rules under the Environment Protection Act

## 3941.   SHRI V K SREEKANDAN:

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

- (a) whether  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  contaminated  sites  definition  means  sites  where hazardous waste had been dumped historically, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is a fact that the Government has notified new rules under the Environment Protection  Act  to  address  sites  that  are  chemically  contaminated,  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (c) whether it is also a fact that the remedial operations have commenced only in seven of the 103 such sites in the country, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (c): The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 on 24.07.2025 for identification and  management  of  contaminated  sites  in  the  country.  The  process  of  identification, determination and remediation of contaminated sites has been defined under the said Rules.

Under  the  Rules,  a  contaminated  site  has  been  defined  as  an  area  or  a  site  affected  with contaminants and declared as a contaminated site by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) / Pollution Control Committee (PCC), if the contaminant is found to be above the prescribed threshold levels after completion of the detailed site assessment.

The local body or District Administration, on its own or on receipt of a complaint from public, has  been  mandated  to  identify  an  area  affected  with  contaminants  taking  into  account  the information as prescribed in the Rules and list all such areas as suspected contaminated sites in its jurisdiction on centralised online portal.

On receipt of the list of suspected contaminated sites, SPCB/ PCC, on its own or through a reference organisation, has been mandated to undertake the preliminary site assessment of the suspected  contaminated  site  by  sampling  and  analysis  of  the  suspected  contaminated  site, within  ninety  days  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  list.  SPCB/  PCC  may  list  the  suspected contaminated site as probable contaminated site of the contaminant is found to be above the prescribed screening levels.

Further, SPCB/ PCC, on its own or through a reference organisation, has been mandated to undertake a detailed site assessment of a probable contaminated site by detailed sampling and analysis, covering the entire geographical area of the probable contaminated site, within three months from the date of listing of such site. SPCB/ PCC, after completion of the detailed site assessment, may list the site as contaminated site if the contaminant is found to be above the prescribed response levels.

SPCB/PCC has been mandated to publish the list of contaminated sites on the centralised online portal inviting comments and suggestions from the stakeholders likely to be affected, within sixty days of such publication.

Upon receipt of the comments and suggestions from the stakeholders, SPCB/ PCC has been mandated to publish the final list of contaminated sites on the centralised online portal and publish a notice in this regard in two local newspaper having circulation in the area for the information of the general public and also indicating the precaution to be taken in this regard.

The responsible person has been mandated to prepare a remediation plan within six months from the date of directions by the SPCB/ PCC, initiate the remediation after approval of the remediation plan by the SPCB/PCC, and submit the progress reports periodically to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and concerned SPCB/PCC.

In case of orphan contaminated sites and sites under temporary possession of banks or judicial proceedings, SPCB/ PCC has been given the responsibility to prepare the remediation plan and conduct the remediation activities. The expenditure for remediation activities in this regard is to be met by the Central and State Government in the ratio and manner prescribed in the Rules.

CPCB  has  identified  103  contaminated  sites  across  the  country,  out  of  which  remediation activities have been initiated at 07 sites. The details of the 07 contaminated sites have been given below:

- (i) Mercury contaminated sites at Ganjam, Odisha
- (ii) Chromium contaminated sites at Rania, Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh
- (iii) Groundwater  contamination  at  Lohia  Nagar  &  Industrial  area,  Ghaziabad,  Uttar Pradesh due to untreated industrial effluents by several industries
- (iv) Mercury  contaminated  soil  at  the  premises  of  M/s  Hindustan  Unilever  Ltd., Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu
- (v) BPCL oil contaminated site at Tondairpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- (vi) Groundwater  contamination  in  &  around  the  premises  of  M/s  Godavari  BioRefineries, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
- (vii) Groundwater contamination at Effluent Channel Project (ECP), Vadodara, Gujarat

*****