ACTS AND POLICIES

• India is the first country in the world to have made provisions for the protection & conservation of the environment in its constitution.
• On June 5^th,1972, the environment was first discussed as an item of international agenda in the U.N.
• Conference of Human Environment in Stockholm & thereafter 5^th June is celebrated all over the World Environment Day.
• Soon after the Stockholm Conference our country took substantive legislative steps for environmental protection.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed in 1972, followed by the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act in 1974, the Forest (Conservation) Act, in 1980, the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, in 1981 & subsequently the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

1. Constitutional Provisions

The provisions for environmental protection in the constitution were made within four years of the Stockholm Conference, in 1976, through the 42^nd Amendment as follows:

Article-48-A of the constitution provides;

Article 51-A (g) provides;

• It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect & improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers & wildlife to have compassion for living creatures.
• Thus our constitution includes environmental protection & conservation as one of our fundamental duties. Some of the important Acts passed by the Government of India are discussed here.

2. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• The passing of the Wildlife Act of 1972 constitutes an important landmark in the history of wildlife legislation in the country.
• This is because the ‘forest’ including ‘Wildlife’ was then a State subject falling in Entry 20 List II of the Seventh Schedule, Parliament had no power to make law on the same except as provided in Articles 249, 250 & 252 of the constitution.
• Having regard to the importance of the matter, the Act was adopted by all the states except that of Jammu & Kashmir which has a similar law enacted for wildlife protection.
• The operation of the Act is mandatory in the Union Territories.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 provides the basic framework to ensure the protection & management of wildlife.
• The Act was amended subsequently in 1982, 1986, 1991 & 1993 to accommodate provisions for its effective implementation.

Reasons

• The rapid decline of India’s wild animals & birds, one of the richest & most varied wildlife resources of the country was a cause of grave concern.
• Areas which were once teeming with wildlife have become devoid of it & even in sanctuaries and national Parks the protection afforded to wildlife needs to be improved.
• The Wild Birds & animals Protection Act, 1953 has become completely outdated.
• These existing laws not only have become outdated but also provide punishments, which are not commensurate with the offence & financial benefits that occur from poaching & trade in wildlife produce.
• Further such laws mainly relate to control of hunting & do not emphasize the other factors which are also the prime reasons for the decline of India’s wildlife namely taxidermy & trade in wildlife & products therefrom.

Salient Features of the Act

• The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is a product of a process which started long ago in 1887 for the protection of a few wild birds & after the addition of wild animals in 1912 & specified plants in 1919 it covered almost all the wildlife resources which need protection & management.
• The rating of the Schedules I-V is by the risk of survival of the wildlife (Fauna) enlisted in them.
• Animals included Schedule are provided for total protection from hunting, trade & commerce related to such animals are strictly regulated.
• The schedule VI was added to include the specified plant species to be protected by the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 1991.
• An expert committee, constituted by the Indian Board of Wildlife considers amendments to the Act as & when necessary.
• With the amendment of the Act in 1991, the powers of the State Governments have been withdrawn almost totally. Now the State Governments are not empowered to declare any wild animal a vermin.
• Further by addition of provision, immunization of livestock within a radius of 5 KM from a National Park/Sanctuary has been made compulsory.

3. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

• As compared to all other previous laws on environmental protection, the Environment Protection Act, 1986 is a more effective & bold measure to fight the problem of pollution.
• The Act empowers the Central Government to take all appropriate measures to prevent & control pollution & to establish effective machinery to protect & improve the quality of the environment & protect, control & abate environmental pollution.
• The genesis of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, is in Article 48A (Directive Principles of State Policy) & Article 51A(g)-(Fundamental Duties) of the Indian Constitution.
• The Central Government or any other person duly authorized is empowered to collect the samples of air, water, soil or other substances as evidence of the offences under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The Act prescribes a special procedure for handling hazardous substances & the concerned person has to handle the hazardous substances according to the procedure of the Act.
• This Act empowers & authorizes the Central Government to issue directions for the operation process, prohibition, closure or regulation of any industry.
• The Central Government is authorized to stop and regulate the supply of electricity or water or any other service directly without obtaining the order of the court in this regard.
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 grants immunity to the officers of the Government for any act done under the provisions of this Act or the power vested in them or functions assigned to them under this act.
• The Act debars the civil courts from having any jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of an action, direction, or order issued by the Central Government or other statutory authority under this Act.
• Under the Act, there will be supremacy of provision. In other words, the provisions of this Act & the rules or orders made under this Act shall have effect & supremacy over anything inconsistent contained in any enactment other than this Act.

4. National Forest Policy 1988:

The principal aim of the National Forest Policy, 1988 is to ensure environmental stability & maintenance of ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium which is vital for the sustenance of all life forms, humans, animals & plants.

Objectives

• Conserving the natural heritage of the country by preserving the remaining natural forests with the vast variety of flora & fauna, which represents the remarkable biological diversity & genetic resources of the country.
• Checking soil erosion & denudation in the catchment areas of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the interest of soil & water conservation, for mitigating floods & droughts & for the retardation of siltation of reservoirs.
• Encouraging efficient utilization of forest produce & maximizing substitution of wood.
• Increasing the productivity of forests to meet essential national needs.
• Checking the extension of sand dunes in the desert areas of Rajasthan & along the coastal tracts.

Major Achievements of National Forest Policy, 1988:

• Involvement of local communities in the protection, conservation & management of forests through Joint Forest Management Programme.
• Increase in the forest & tree cover.
• Meeting the requirement of fuel wood, fodder minor forest produce & small timber of the rural & tribal populations.
• Conservation of Biological Diversity & Genetic Resources of the country through ex-situ & in-situ conservation measures.
• Significant contribution to the maintenance of the environment & ecological stability in the country.

5. Biological Diversity Act, 2002

• The Biological Diversity Act 2002 was born out of India’s attempt to realize the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992 which recognizes the sovereign rights of states to use their own Biological Resources.
• An Act to provide for the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components are fair & equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge & matters connected therewith.

Objectives

• Conservation of biological diversity
• Sustainable use of its components
• Fair & equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.

The Act envisages a three-tier structure to regulate access to biological resources, comprising of National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) & Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) at the local level.

6. The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

FRA is a potential Tool:

• To address the livelihood security of the people.
• To empower & strengthen the local self-governance.
• To address the issues of Conservation and management of the Natural Resources & conservation governance of India.

For the first time Forest Rights Act recognizes & secures the following:

• Community Rights in addition to their rights
• Right to protect, regenerate conserve or manage any community forest resource which the communities have been traditionally protecting & conserving for sustainable use.
• Right to intellectual property & traditional knowledge related to biodiversity & cultural diversity.
• Rights of displaced communities and rights over developmental activities.

Salient Features

• The Act provides for recognition of forest rights of other traditional forest dwellers provided they have for at least three generations before 2005, primarily resided in & have depended on the forest/forest land for bonafide livelihood needs.
• The Nodal Agency for the implementation is MoTA.
• This Act applies to Tribal and other Traditional Forest Dwelling Communities.
• The maximum limit of the recognizing rights on forest land is 4 hectares.
• National Parks and sanctuaries have been included along with Reserve Forest, and Protected Forests for the recognition of Rights.
• The Act defined the term ‘minor forest produce’ to include all non-timber forest produce of plant origin, including bamboo, brushwood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu leaves, medicinal plants & herbs, roots, tubers etc.
• The Act recognizes the right of ownership access to collect, use & dispose of minor forest produce which was traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries.
• The rights conferred under the Act shall be heritable but not alienable or transferrable & shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons & the name of the single head, in the case of a household headed by a single person & in the absence of a direct heir.
• The Act provides that no member of a forest dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dwellers shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition & verification procedure is completed.
• As per the Act, the Gram Sabha was designated as the competent authority for initiating the process of determining the nature & extent of individual or community forest rights or both that may be given to the forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes & other traditional forest dwellers.

7. Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance)  Policy-2015

• India has a total of 46.99 lakh kilometres of road length & out of which over 96214 Km are National Highways, accounting for 2% of total road length.
• The Highways carry about 40% of the traffic load. The Ministry has decided to develop all of the existing National Highways & 40,000 Kms of additional roads in the next few years as Green Highways.
• The vision is to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of the community, farmers, NGOs, private sector, institutions, government agencies & the Forest Department.
• The objective is to reduce the impacts of air pollution & dust as trees, and shrubs along the highways act as natural sinks for air pollutants & arrest soil erosion at the embankment slopes.
• Plants along highway medial strips & along the edges reduce the glare of oncoming vehicles which sometimes becomes the cause of accidents.
• The community involvement in tree plantation directly benefits local people by generating employment.
• The Panchayats, NGOs & other self-help groups (SHGs) will be involved in the process of planting & maintenance.
• 1% of the total project cost of all highway projects will be kept aside for the highway plantation & its maintenance, about Rs.1000 crore per year will be available for plantation purposes.
• In the new policy, the provisions about the responsibilities attached have also been clearly defined. Now it will be the responsibility of the planting agency to ensure that the condition of the site is good enough for the successful establishment of grasses.
• The monitoring of the plantation status was included as an integral part of the policy, strong monitoring mechanism in place by using ISRO’s Bhuvan & GAGAN satellite systems.
• For highway projects to be environmentally sustainable, it is necessary that the natural resources lost in the process of Highway construction are restored in one way or the other.
• This requires that ecological needs are taken into consideration from the stage of project planning & designing to its execution.
• The Highways developed as green corridors not only sustain biodiversity & regenerate natural habitat but also benefit all stakeholders from road users to local communities & spur eco-friendly economic growth & development.

Chemical Safety

• The government has notified two rules-Manufacture, Storage & Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 & Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness & Response) Rules, 1996 for ensuring chemical safety in the country.
• These rules delineate the criteria for the identification of Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units. As per these rules, an off-site emergency plan for a district having an MAH unit is required to be in place to mitigate the impact of chemical accidents.
• As per the information received from various State and Union Territories, there are 1,861 MAH units in the country located in 303 districts.

8. Coastal Regulation Zone, 2011

In the 1991 Notification, the CRZ area was classified as CRZ-I (ecological sensitive), CRZ-II (built-up area), CRZ-III (Rural Area) & CRZ-IV (water area). In the 2011 Notification, the above classification is retained. The only change is the inclusion of CRZ-IV, which includes the water areas up to the territorial waters & the tidal-influenced water bodies.

For the very first time, a separate draft Island Protection Zone Notification was issued for the protection of the islands of Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

9. Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011

• There are about 500 islands in Andaman & Nicobar, 30 in Lakshadweep. These two groups of oceanic islands are home to some of the country’s most thriving biodiversity hotspots.
• The A & N Islands are known for their terrestrial & marine biodiversity including forest area which covers 85% of the Andaman & Nicobar geographical area, while Lakshadweep is a coral island.
• The geographical areas of these islands are so small that in most cases the 500 meters Coastal Regulation Zone regulations overlap.
• A separate Notification is being issued which takes into account the management of the entire island, except for 4 islands of A & N which include North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman & Great Nicobar.

Objectives

• To ensure livelihood security for the fishing communities, tribals & other local communities living in the coastal areas.
• To conserve & protect coastal stretches
• To promote development in a sustainable manner based on scientific principles, taking into account the dangers of natural hazards in the coastal areas & sea level rise due to global warming.

Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016

• 62 million tons of waste is generated annually in the country at present, out of which 5.6 million tons is plastic waste, 0.17 million tons is biomedical waste, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million tons per annum & 15 lakh tons is e-waste.
• The per capita income waste generation in Indian cities ranges from 200 grams to 600 grams per day.
• 43 million TPA is collected, 11.9 million is treated & 31 million is dumped in landfill sites, which means that only about 75-80% of the municipal waste gets collected & only 22-28% of this waste is processed & treated.
• Waste generation will increase from 62 million tons to about 165 million tons in 2030.
• Scientific disposal of solid waste through segregation, collection & treatment, and disposal in an environmentally sound manner minimizes the adverse impact on the environment.
• The local authorities are responsible for the development of infrastructure for the collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing & disposal of MSW.
• The Rules are now applicable beyond Municipal areas & extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbases, port & harbour, defence establishments, special economic zones, state & central government organizations, places of pilgrims, religious & historical importance.
• The source segregation of waste was mandated to channel the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse & recycling.
• Integration of waste pickers & waste dealers in the formal system should be done by State Governments & Self Help Groups, or any other group to be formed.
• No person should throw, burn or bury the solid waste generated by him, on streets, open public spaces outside his premises or in the drain or water bodies.

Time Frame

• Setting up solid waste processing facilities by all local bodies having 1 lakh or more population, within 2 years.
• Bio-remediation or capping of old & abandoned dump sites-5 years.
• Census towns below 1 lakh population, setting up common or stand-alone sanitary landfills by or fall all local bodies having 0.5 million or more population & setting up common or regional sanitary landfills by all local bodies & census towns under 0.5 million population-3 years.

Duties of Waste Generator

• Every waste generator shall segregate & store the waste generated by them in three separate streams namely biodegradable, non-biodegradable & domestic hazardous wastes in suitable bins and hand-segregated wastes to authorized waste collectors.
• Event organizers of more than 100 persons shall inform the local authority, at least three working days in advance.
• Such person or the organizer of such event shall ensure segregation of waste at source & handing over of segregated waste collector or agency as specified by the local authority.
• All Resident Welfare and market Associations, Gated communities & institutions with an area >5,000 sq.m & all hotels & restaurants shall, within one year from the date of notification of these rules & in partnership with the local authority by the generators as prescribed in these rules, ensure segregation of waste at source, facilitate collection of segregated waste in separate streams.
• The biodegradable waste shall be processed, treated & disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible.
• The residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority.
• The developers of the Special Economic Zone, Industrial Estate, and Industrial park to earmark at least 5% of the total area of the plot or a minimum of 5 plots/sheds for recovery & recycling facility.

Duties of the Ministry of Urban Development

• MoUD shall formulate a National Policy & Strategy on Solid Waste Management including a policy on Waste to Energy in consultation with stakeholders within 6 months from the date of notification of these rules.
• Review the measures taken by the States & local bodies, undertake training & capacity building of local bodies & other stakeholders, and provide technical guidelines & project finance to States, UTs & local bodies on solid waste management to facilitate meeting timelines & standards.

Promotion of Marketing & Utilization of Compost

• The Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers shall provide market development assistance on city compost & ensure the promotion of co-marketing of compost with chemical fertilizers in the ratio of 3-4 bags: 6-7 bags by the fertilizer companies to the extent compost is made available for marketing to the companies.
• The Ministry of Agriculture shall provide flexibility in the Fertilizer Control Order for the manufacturing & sale of compost, propagate utilization of compost on farmland set up laboratories to test the quality of compost produced by local authorities & issue suitable guidelines for maintaining the quality of compost & ratio of use of compost while applying compost to farmland.

Promotion of Waste to Energy Plant

• The Ministry of Power shall fix tariffs or charges for the power generated from the Waste to Energy plants based on solid waste & ensure the compulsory purchase of power generated from such waste-to-energy plants by DISCOMs.
• The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Sources shall facilitate infrastructure creation for Waste to Energy plants & provide appropriate subsidies or incentives for such Waste-to-Energy plants.
• All industrial units using fuel & located within 100 KM of a solid waste-based RDF plant shall make arrangements within 6 months from the date of notification of these rules to replace at least 5% of their fuel requirement by RDF so produced.
• Non-recyclable waste having a calorific value of 1500 K/Cal/KG or more shall not be disposed of in landfills & shall only be utilized for generating energy either through refuse-derived fuel or by giving away as feed stock for preparing refuse-derived fuel.

10. Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2016

• Hazardous waste means any waste which because of characteristics like physical, chemical, biological, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive/corrosive, causes danger to health/environment.
• It comprises the waste generated during the manufacturing processes of commercial products like industries involved in petroleum refining, production of pharmaceuticals, petroleum, paint, aluminium, electronic products etc.
• As per information furnished by CPCB in the year 2015, the total hazardous waste generation in the country is 7.46 million metric tons per annum from about 44,000 industries.
• Unscientific disposal of hazardous & other waste through burning or incineration leads to the emission of toxic fumes comprising of dioxins &furans, mercury, and heavy metals causing air pollution & associated health-related problems.
• Disposal in water bodies or municipal dumps leads to toxic releases due to leaching in land & water entailing the degradation of soil & water quality.
• There is a need for systematic management of hazardous & other waste in an environmentally sound manner by way of prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, recovery, and utilization including co-processing & safe disposal of waste.
• Scientific disposal of hazardous waste through collection, storage, packaging, transportation & treatment in an environmentally sound manner minimizes the adverse impact on human health & the environment.
• The hazardous waste can be disposed of at a captive treatment facility installed by the individual waste generators or at Common Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs).
• Rules have been made to distinguish between Hazardous Waste & other wastes. Other wastes include waste tyres, paper waste, metal scrap, used electronic items, etc & are recognized as a resource for recycling & reuse.
• These resources supplement the industrial processes & reduce the load on the virgin resources of the country.

Salient Features

• The ambit of the Rules has been expanded by including ‘Other Waste’.
• Waste management hierarchy in the sequence of priority of prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, recovery, co-processing & safe disposal was incorporated.
• All the forms under the rules for permission, import/export, filing of annual returns, transportation etc have been revised significantly, indicating the stringent approach for management of such hazardous & other wastes with simultaneous simplification of procedure.
• Co-processing as a preferential mechanism over disposal for the use of waste as a supplementary resource or for recovery of energy was provided.
• The basic necessity of infrastructure to safeguard the health & environment from the waste processing industry was prescribed as Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), specific to waste type which has to be compiled by the stakeholders & ensured by SPCB/PCC while granting such authorization.
• Procedure was simplified to merge all the approvals as a single window clearance for setting up of hazardous waste disposal facility & import of other wastes.
• The approval process for co-processing of hazardous waste to recover energy was streamlined & put on an emission norms basis rather than on a trial basis.
• The import of metal scrap, paper waste & various categories of electrical & electronic equipment for re-use purposes was exempted from the need to obtain the Ministry’s permission.
• The basic necessity of infrastructure to safeguard the health & environment of the waste processing industry was prescribed as Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) specific to the waste type.
• State government is authorized to prepare an integrated plan for effective implementation of these provisions & have to submit an annual report to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
• State Pollution Control Board is mandated to prepare an annual inventory of the waste generated; waste recycled, recovered, utilized including co-processed; waste re-exported & waste disposed & submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board by the end of September every year.

Responsibilities of the State Government for environmentally sound management of hazardous & other wastes were introduced as follows:

• To set up/allot industrial space or shed for recycling, pre-processing & other utilization of hazardous or other waste.
• To register the workers involved in recycling, pre-processing & other utilization activities.
• To form groups of workers to facilitate setting up such facilities.
• To undertake industrial skill development activities & ensure the safety & health of workers.

The following items were prohibited for import:

• Household waste
• Waste edible fats & oil of animals or vegetable origin
• Critical care Medical equipment
• Tyres for direct re-use purpose
• Solid Plastic wastes including Pet bottles.
• Waste electrical & electronic assemblies scrap.
• Other chemical wastes especially in solvent form.

11. Construction & Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016

• Every waste generator shall segregate construction & demolition waste & deposit it at a collection centre or handover it over to the authorized processing facilities.
• Large generators shall submit a waste management plan & get appropriate approvals from the local authority before starting construction demolition or remodelling work.
• Large generators shall have an environment management plan to address the likely environmental issues from construction, demolition, storage, transportation process & disposal/reuse of C & D Waste.
• Large generators shall segregate the waste into four streams concrete, soil, steel, wood & plastics, bricks & mortar.

Duties of Service Providers & Contractors:

The service providers shall prepare a comprehensive waste management plan for waste generated within their jurisdiction, within 6 months from the date of notification of the rules.

Shall remove all construction & demolition waste in consultation with the concerned local authority on their own or through any agency.

Timeframe for Implementation:

• 5-1 million cities shall commission the processing & disposal facility within two years from the date of final notification of these rules.
• Million-plus cities shall commission the processing & disposal facility within one & half years from the date of final notification of these rules.

A local authority shall be responsible for the proper management of construction & demolition waste within its jurisdiction including placing appropriate sites for processing & disposal.

Procurement of materials made from construction & demolition waste shall be made mandatory to a certain percentage in municipal and government contracts subject to strict quality control.

12. Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016

• Bio-medical waste comprises human & animal anatomical waste, treatment apparatus like needles, syringes & other materials used in health care facilities in the process of treatment & research.
• This waste is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization in hospitals, nursing homes, pathological laboratories, blood banks etc.
• Total bio-medical waste generation in the country is 484 TPD from 1,68,869 health care facilities (HCF), out of which 447 TPD is treated.
• The quantum of waste generated in India is estimated to be 1-2kg per bed per day in a hospital & 600 grams per day per bed in a clinic.
• 85% of the hospital waste is non-hazardous, 15% is infectious/hazardous.
• Mixing of hazardous results into contamination & makes the entire waste hazardous.
• Hence there is a necessity to segregate & treat. Improper disposal increases the risk of infection, encourages the recycling of prohibited disposables & disposed drugs & develops resistant micro-organisms.
• Scientific disposal of bio-medical Waste through segregation, collection & treatment in an environmentally sound manner minimizes the adverse impact on health workers & the environment.

Salient Features

• The ambit of the rules was expanded to include vaccination camps, blood donation camps, surgical camps or any other healthcare activity.
• Phase out the use of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves & blood bags within two years.
• Provide training to all its healthcare workers & immunize all health workers regularly.
• Pre-treatment of the laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood samples & blood bags through disinfection or sterilization on-site in the manner as prescribed by WHO /NACO,
• Establish a bar-code system for bags or containers containing bio-medical waste for disposal.
• Existing incinerators to achieve the standards for retention time in secondary chamber & Furans, Dioxin within 2 years.

• Bio-medical waste was classified into 4 categories instead of 10 to improve the segregation of waste at source.
• The new rules prescribe more stringent standards for incinerators to reduce the emission of pollutants into the environment.
• Inclusion of emissions limits for Dioxins and furans.
• No occupier shall establish an on-site treatment & disposal facility if a service of a common bio-medical waste treatment facility is available at a distance of 75 Km.

Amendment Rules, 2018

• Phase out chlorinated plastic bags & gloves by March, 2019.
• Operators of common bio-medical waste treatment & disposal facilities shall establish barcoding & global positioning systems for handling bio-medical waste according to guidelines issued by the CPCB.
• All healthcare facilities shall make available the annual report on its website within 2 years.
• Every person having administrative control over the institution generating bio-medical waste shall pre-treat it through sterilization on-site in the manner as prescribed by WHO & then send it to the Common Bio-medical waste treatment facility for final disposal.

13. E-Waste Management Rules, 2016

• 17 lakh tons of E-waste is generated every year, with an annual increase of 5% of generation of E-waste.
• The rules will bring the producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), along with targets.
• The producers were made responsible for the collection of E-waste & its exchange.

Salient Features

• The applicability of the rules was extended to components, consumables, spares & parts of EEE in addition to the equipment.
• Manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) were introduced as additional stakeholders in the rules.
• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) & other mercury-containing lamps brought under the purview of rules.
• Provision for Pan India EPR Authorization by CPCB was introduced replacing the state-wise EPR authorization.
• A collection mechanism-based approach was adopted to include a collection centre, collection point, take-back system etc for the collection of e-waste by producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
• Option was given for setting up of PRO, e-waste exchange, e-retailer, and Deposit Refund Scheme as additional channels for implementation of EPR by producers to ensure efficient channelization of e-waste.
• Deposit Refund Scheme was introduced as an additional economic instrument wherein the producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale of the electrical & electronic equipment & returns it to the consumer along with interest when the end-of-life electrical & electronic equipment is returned.
• The manufacturer is now responsible for collecting e-waste generated during the manufacture of any electrical & electronic equipment & channelising it for recycling or disposal & seeking authorization from SPCB.
• The dealer, if given the responsibility of collection on behalf of the producer, needs to collect the e-waste by providing the consumer a box & channelize it to the producer.
• Dealer/retailer/e-retailer shall refund the amount as per the back system or Deposit Refund Scheme of the producer to the depositor of e-waste.
• The roles of the state government were also introduced in the Rules to ensure the safety, health & skill development of the workers involved in the dismantling & recycling operations.
• Liability for damages caused to the environment or third party due to improper management of e-waste including a provision for levying financial penalty for violation of provisions of the rules has been introduced.
• The transportation of e-waste shall be carried out as per the manifest system whereby the transporter shall be required to carry a document prepared by the sender, giving the details.

Amendment Rules, 2018

• The e-waste collection targets under extended producer responsibility (EPR) were revised. The phase-wise collection targets for e-waste in weight shall be 10% of the quantity of waste generation as indicated in the EPR Plan during 2017-18, with a 10% increase every year until 2023.
• From 2023 onwards, the target has been made 70% of the quantity of waste generation as indicated in the EPR plan.
• Under the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) provisions, the cost for sampling & testing shall be borne by the government for conducting the RoHS test.
• If the product does not comply with RoHS provisions, then the cost of the test will be borne by the producers.

14. Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016

• 15,000 tons of plastic waste is generated every day, out of which 9,000 tons are collected & processed, but 6,000 tons of plastic waste is not being collected.
• An eco-friendly product, which is a complete substitute for plastic in all uses, has not been found to date.
• In the absence of a suitable alternative, it is impractical & undesirable to impose a blanket ban on the use of plastic all over the country.
• The real challenge is to improve plastic waste management systems.

Salient Features

• Increase the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40-50 microns & stipulate a minimum thickness of 50 microns for plastic sheets to facilitate collection & recycling of plastic waste.
• Rural areas have been brought into the ambit of these rules since plastic has reached rural areas. Responsibility for the implementation of the rules is given to Gram Panchayat.
• To promote the use of plastic waste for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guidelines or energy recovery or waste to oil etc, for gainful utilization of waste.
• The responsibility of waste generators is introduced. Individual & bulk generators like offices, commercial establishments, and industries are to segregate the plastic waste at source, hand over segregated waste, and pay user fees as per the bylaws of the local bodies.
• Plastic products are left littered after the public events held in open spaces. First time, persons organizing such events have been made responsible for the management of waste generated from these events.
• A large number of commodities are being packed/wrapped into plastic sheets & thereafter such sheets are left for littered. Provisions have been introduced to ensure their collection & channelization to authorized recycling facilities.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Earlier, EPR was left to the discretion of the local bodies. The producers & brand owners were made responsible for collecting waste generated from their products.
• SPCBs will not grant/renew the registration of plastic bags or multi-layered packaging unless the producer proposes the action plan endorsed by the concerned State Development Department.
• The entry points of plastic bags/plastic sheets/multi-layered packaging into the commodity supply chain are primarily the retailers & street vendors.
• They were assigned the responsibility of not providing the commodities in plastic bags/plastic sheets/multi-layered packaging which does not conform to these rules.
• Plastic carry bags will be available only with shopkeepers/street vendors pre-registered with local bodies on payment of certain registration fees. The amount collected as a registration fee by local bodies is to be used for waste management.
• CPCB was mandated to formulate the guidelines for thermoset plastic-plastic difficult to recycle. In the earlier rules, there was no specific provision for such type of plastic.
• Manufacturing & use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic to be phased in two years.

Amendment Rules, 2018

• Phasing out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) is now applicable to MLPs, which are non-recyclable or non-energy recoverable or with no alternative use.
• Central registration system for the registration of the producer/brand owner/importer.
• A national registry was prescribed for producers with a presence in more than two states, and a state-level registration was prescribed for smaller producers/brand owners operating within one or two states.
• Explicit pricing of carry bags was omitted.

15. Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules 2017

Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017 supersede the Wetlands Conservation & Management Rules, 2010 for effective conservation & management of wetlands in the country.

Key Features

• Decentralization of wetland management: Under the new rules, the powers have been given to the State governments so that protection & conservation can be done at the local level. The central government has mainly retained powers regarding monitoring.
• The new rules prohibit encroachments on wetlands, solid waste dumping, and discharge of untreated waste & effluents from industries & human settlements.
• The new rules replaced the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority (CWRA) with the National Wetland Committee, which has a merely advisory role.
• The state or UT Wetlands Authority will have to prepare a list of all wetlands & also develop a comprehensive list of activities to be regulated & permitted within notified wetlands & their zone of influence.
• It prescribes that conservation & management would be based on the principle of wise use, which is to be determined by the Wetlands Authority.

16. National Green Tribunal (NGT)

• The Preamble of the act provides for the establishment of a National Green Tribunal for the effective & expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection & conservation of forests & other natural resources, including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment & giving relief, compensation for damages to persons & property & for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• India is 3^rd country in the world to full fledge green tribunal followed by New Zealand & Australia.
• With the establishment of NGT, India joined the distinguished league of countries that have a dedicated adjudicatory forum to address environmental disputes.
• The specialized architecture of the NGT will facilitate fast-track resolution of environmental cases & provide a boost to the implementation of many sustainable development measures.
• NGT is mandated to dispose of the cases within 6 months of their respective appeals.

17. The Ozone Depleting Substances Rules

• The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000 under the Environment (Protection) Act, in July 2000.
• The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation & Control) Rule, 2000 was amended in 2001, 2003, 2004 & 2005 to facilitate the implementation of ODS Phase-out at enterprises in various sectors.
• These rules set the deadlines for phasing out of various ODSs, besides regulating the production, trade import & export of ODSs & the products containing ODS.
• These rules prohibit the use of CFCs in manufacturing various products beyond January 2003.
• Similarly use of halons is prohibited after January 2001, except for essential use. Other ODSs like Carbon tetrachloride & methyl chloroform & CFC for metered dose inhalers can be used up to January 2010.
• Further, the use of methyl bromide was allowed up to January 2015. Since HCFs are used as interim substitutes to replace CFC, these are allowed up to January 2040.