The Environment Ministry has lifted the moratorium on polluting industrial clusters in the Critically Polluted Areas (CPA) of Chandrapur in Maharashtra, a move aimed at enabling new investments which have been stalled for the last over five years.
The move came after the evaluation of the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) score of the area done by pollution watchdog Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed improvement.
"The Environment Ministry through its office memorandum dated 20.05.2016 has lifted moratorium from the CEPI area of Chandrapur (MIDC Chandrapur, Tadali, Ghuggus, Ballapur) in Maharashtra. This will enable new investments in the region, which was stalled for last more than 5 years. The Ministry had imposed moratorium on 13.01.2010 in 43 CEPI areas," an official statement said.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitored Chandrapur's CPA during February - March, 2016, re-assessed the CEPI score, and informed the Ministry on April 18 this year about it.
The evaluation of the CEPI score in the Chandrapur is 54.42, as compared to 81.90 in 2013.
"In view of the re-assessment of CEPI score and taking into consideration that action plans for improving environment quality take time to yield results, it has been decided to lift the moratorium on the consideration of projects for environmental clearance in respect of projects to be located in Chandrapur (Maharashtra), where CEPI score is below 70 as compared to the CEPI score of 2013 (81.93)," the statement said.
According to reports, pollution watchdog CPCB has recently revised the criterion to assess CEPI across industrial clusters in the country and has asked state pollution control boards to do a fresh assessment of industrial clusters based on the new parameters.
"The new formula of CEPI is more scientific reasonable and will ensure pollution management better. To that end this new formula will give justice and this will end arbitrariness," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told PTI after the Ministry lifted the moratorium.
The Ministry despite lifting the moratorium has also
imposed conditions which include putting up of an approved action plan along with implementation status by CPCB and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
The state pollution control board will also ensure that any new projects or expansion of existing ones or any change in product mix is in line with the overall approved action plan of the CPA. The implementation of action plan of CPA will be reviewed by the SPCB on quarterly basis and report sent to CPCB by the seventh day of the month.
"Monitoring in CPA to be done by SPCB through a third party on annual basis for computing CEPI. The monitoring be done during December-February and the report sent to CPCB by April. CPCB, in turn, to submit its report to MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change).
"Monitoring in CPA be done by CPCB through a third party on biennial basis for computing CEPI and report submitted to MoEF for taking an appropriate view," the statement elaborating about the conditions said.
It also said that the Environment Assessment Committee (EAC) and its state unit will take extra precaution during appraisal of projects to be located in these areas and prescribe stringent safeguard measures, so that the environmental quality does not deteriorate further in the CPA.
In 2009-10, the CPCB had carried out the first comprehensive environmental assessment in 88 prominent industrial clusters which showed that 43 industrial clusters were CPA based on a high CEPI score.
Of the 43, the three states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra alone had 17 CPA's. In 2010, based on the CEPI scores, the union environment ministry under Jairam Ramesh imposed a moratorium on consideration of developmental projects in all 43 CPAs.
