E&E - Ch. 4.9

Q.18.  Explain the role of central board for pollution control and state board for pollution control for controlling pollution.                                                        (AKTU. - 2015 - 16)
Ans.    The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974. CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It Co-ordinates the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and also resolves disputes among them. It is the apex organisation in country in the field of pollution control, as a technical wing of MoEF. The board is led by its chairman, who is nominated by the Central Government.
Functions of CPCB: -
            Functions of CPCB comes under both national level and as State Boards for the Union Territories. CPCB, under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, aims to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.
Air quality/ pollution: -
            CPCB runs nation-wide programs of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The network consists of 621 operating stations covering 262 cities/towns in 29 states and 5 Union Territories of the country. Under N.A.M.P., four air pollutants viz., Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM/ PM10) have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations. The monitoring of meteorological parameters such as wind speed and wind direction, relative humidity (RH) and temperature were also integrated with the monitoring of air quality. This information on Air Quality at ITO is updated every week.
Water quality/ pollution: -
            Fresh water is a finite resource essential for use in agriculture, industry, propagation of wildlife and fisheries and for human existence. India is a riverine country. It has 14 major rivers, 44 medium rivers and 55 minor rivers besides numerous lakes, ponds and wells which are used as primary source of drinking water even without treatment. Most of the rivers being fed by monsoon rains, which is limited to only three months of the year, run dry throughout the rest of the year often carrying wastewater discharges from industries or cities or towns endangering the quality of our scarce water resources. CPCB in collaboration with concerned SPCBs/PCCs established a nationwide network of water quality monitoring, which has running 1019 stations in 27 States and 6 Union Territories. The monitoring process is done on quarterly basis in surface waters and on half yearly basis in case of ground water. It covers 200 Rivers, 60 Lakes, 5 Tanks, 3 Ponds, 3 Creeks, 13 Canals, 17 Drains and 321 Wells. Among the 1019 stations, 592 are on rivers, 65 on lakes, 17 on drains, 13 on canals, 5 on tanks, 3 on creeks, 3 on ponds and 321 are groundwater stations. The inland water quality monitoring network is operating under a three-tier program i.e. Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS), Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources System (MINARS) and Yamuna Action Plan (YAP).
Urban area programs (EcoCity Program): -
            CPCB programs for urban areas, also known as EcoCity Program comes under X Plan to improve environment through implementation of identified environmental improvement projects in the selected towns and cities. Pilot studies conducted for urban areas by the Centre for Spatial Environmental Planning created at the CPCB under the World Bank funded Environmental Management Capacity Building Project and supported by the GTZ-CPCB Project under the Indo-German Bilateral Program. According to these studies CPCB develop a comprehensive urban improvement system employing practical, innovative and non-conventional solutions. Under the X Plan, a budget provision of Rs. 15 crore has been made for the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 for the Ecocity projects.
Municipal Solid Waste rules: -
            Every municipal authority comes under the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 (MSW rules,2000) and responsible for collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal solid. CPCB collects necessary information form municipal authorities and provide them technical assistance.
Noise Pollution/ Rules: -
            According to S.O. 123(E) by MoEF, various sources like industrial activity, construction activity, generator sets, loud speakers, public address systems, music systems, vehicular horns and other mechanical devices have deleterious effects on human health. CPCB has the responsibility to regulate and control noise producing and generating sources with the objective of maintaining the ambient air quality standards.
Environmental Data Statistics: -
            CPCB manages environmental data statistic in which air quality data and water quality data comes through. In the case of air quality data, it measures the level of SO2, NO2, RSPM and SPM. CPCB measure and maintains water quality data as well. Quality level of river and ponds are the major fields which comes under the water quality data criteria.
Functions of the State Pollution Control Board:
·   To advice the Central Government, in any matter concerning the revention, control or abatement of air/water pollution.
·   To advice the State Government, on any matter to plan and cause to be executed a nationwide programme for the prevention, control or abatement of air/water pollution.
·  To collect information relating water/air pollution and to encourage, conduct, participate in investigations and research relating to problems of water pollutions.
·   To plan a comprehensive programme through mass media for prevention, control or abatement of air /water pollution.
·  To inspect sewage or trade effluents, works and plants for the treatment of sewage or trade effluent.
·  To lie down, modify or annual Effluent standards for the sewage and trade effluents and for the quality or receiving waters resulting from the discharge of effluents and to classify water resulting from the discharge for effluents and classify waters of the state.
·   To evolve economical and reliable methods of effluents of sewage and trade effluents.
·   To evolve methods of utilization of sewage and suitable trade effluents in agriculture.
·   To evolve efficient methods of disposal of sewage and trade effluents on land.
·  To lay down standards of treatment of sewage and trade effluents, to be discharged into any particular stream.
·    For prevention, control, abatement of discharged of wastes into stream or wells.