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What are proposed amendments to Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) act?

The Rajya Sabha passed a Bill that aims to decriminalise minor offences related to water pollution, allows the Centre to set service

By Ground Report 07 Feb 2024

New Update

What are proposed amendments to Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) act?

The Rajya Sabha passed a Bill that aims to decriminalise minor offences related to water pollution, allows the Centre to set service conditions for State Pollution Control Boards chairpersons, and exempts certain categories of industrial plants from statutory restrictions.

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Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav piloted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill 2024 in the Upper House of Parliament, stating that development and environmental protection must go hand in hand.

The Bill's statement of objects and reasons states that the amendment aims to rationalise criminal provisions and ensure that citizens, businesses, and companies can operate without fear of imprisonment for minor, technical, or procedural defaults.

The bill suggests that the punishments for breaking the law should match how serious the offense is. This way, people and businesses won’t have to worry about going to jail for small mistakes or technical issues.

The bill also gives the central government the power to let certain types of factories not follow Section 25, which has rules about new outlets and discharges. Yadav said this will make things simpler and take some pressure off of regulatory agencies.

Yadav stated, 'It will reduce the duplication of surveillance and mitigate the unnecessary burden on regulatory agencies.' Furthermore, the law gives the central government the power to issue guidelines on matters related to granting, refusing, or canceling consent by any state board for establishing any industry, operation, or process, or initiating and disposing systems, or implementing new or modified outlets.

Key highlights of the proposed amendments

State Pollution Control Boards process nominations: The Central Government will prescribe the manner of nomination for the chairman of the State Pollution Control Board, streamlining the appointment process.
Exemption for Industrial Plants: The Central Government may exempt certain categories of industrial plants from specific provisions, such as restrictions on new outlets and discharges, providing flexibility to industries while ensuring environmental compliance.
Guidelines for Consent Granting Process: The Central Government may issue guidelines on granting, refusal, or cancellation of consent by State Boards for various industrial processes, operations, or treatment systems, enhancing transparency and efficiency in regulatory processes.
Adjudication of Penalties: An officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India or Secretary to the State Government will conduct the adjudication of penalties, ensuring a fair and efficient resolution of violations.
Environmental Protection Fund: The Act will credit penalties imposed under it to the Environmental Protection Fund, established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, reinforcing the commitment to environmental conservation.

The proposed law also lets the central government decide how to choose the leaders of State Pollution Control Boards. It also lets the central government make rules about whether a state board can give or take away permission for any industry, operation, or process, or treatment and disposal system, or the use of new or changed outlets.

Yadav said that this change will ensure fair selection of the leaders. He also stated the necessity to update the Water Act to match the Air Act, as they both share similar rules.

Debate on water pollution bill

The proposed law says that the central government will have the power to make rules about how state boards can give or refuse permission to start or run any industrial unit. This will make the process the same everywhere, meet the needs of industries, protect the environment, and make it easier to do business.

Lakshmikant Bajpai of the BJP started the debate on the bill. He said this is a step towards making it easier to do business. It will free businesses from too much regulation and provide a better system. The government will be able to give certain green industries some exceptions.

Jawahar Sircar of the Trinamool Congress criticised the government about the bill. He said, “This is just a way to make offences legal.”

Sircar also said that the bill tries to give all the power to the central government and goes against the idea of federalism. He said, “You need some amount of strict fear to deal with a subject like the environment.”

Sulata Deo of the BJD supported the bill and said we need a better system to monitor water waste. Subhashh Chandra Bose Pilli of the YSRCP, V Sivadasan of the CPI(M), and M Thambidurai of the AIADMK also took part in the discussion on the bill.

Recommendations

Suggestions from a consultation proposed higher environmental law fines to deter violations, particularly when the profit exceeds the fine. Criticism was leveled at the current fine calculation method, considered incomplete and inapplicable.

In environmental damage calculations, we should separately count the cost of damage assessment, pollution cleanup, ecosystem restoration, victim compensation, and biodiversity loss. Due to the complexity of assessing environmental and biodiversity harm, especially long-term damage, the law needs to provide clear guidelines for identifying and categorizing misconduct for fair penalty determination.

They suggested a three-level model for deciding the final penalty amount. The penalty would comprise a fixed penalty, the unlawful gains, and the environmental damage. They would set the fixed penalty by law. The unlawful gains would encompass the net profits earned, the costs avoided or deferred, and the competitive advantage.

The environmental damage would include the cost of the investigation, the cost to fix the ecosystem and biodiversity loss, compensation for human losses, and other factors that make the situation worse.

Violations were divided into three levels. Level 1 violations are small and can be fixed, and they will have fixed penalties. Level 2 violations involve making money, and the penalty will take away that money and Level 3 violations involve harming the environment, and the penalty will include compensation for the damage.