15.

ENVIRONMENT
Environment is a natural world in which people, animals and plants live.
Nature has been kind to mankind. But natures response has limits. It is very fragile
and its recuperative powers are finite. It cannot stand the massive onslaught of
mankind in his millions. It can not withstand his thoughtless depredations, so man
must learn to respect the laws of nature and live within their bounds as the earths
other creatures have to do.
Environment is vital to supporting life, absorbing waste and providing inputs
for production. Environment provides raw material and energy for economic
production and household activity. The waste products of economic and household
activity are absorbed by the environment. Environment also performs amenity or
ambience function. Environmental degradation is concomitant of economic growth,
industrialization and surging population.
Development harms the environment and the environment, in turn, adversely
affects development. Environmental degradation is viewed as negative externality.
For instance, pollution is a negative externality (neighbourhood cost or spill over
cost). Negative externality occurs when a factory pollutes the air. The cost is borne
by those who breathe the polluted air. Thus it is a side effect of production or
consumption (person or businesses other than the producer or consumers are
affected). Air pollution reduces life expectancy of individual and causes the
occurrence of acid rain which destroys many lakes and seas while water pollution
poisons fish and makes them dangerous for human consumption.
15.1. Sources of Pollution and Environmental Degradation:

Air - Smoke, air borne lead, chloroflurocarbon, hydroi fluorocarbon.

Water - Chemicals, inorganic fertilisers, mining of low grade waste, industrial

effluents.
Land - Bio-medical waste, e-waste and solid waste, toxic waste, open
defecation.
Deforestation and over-exploitation of forests beyond its sustainable yield*.
Extinction of species.
Impact of poverty on environmental quality.

The sea is used as a receptacle for a wide range of industrial toxins. As a

result, coral reef and other marine life get damaged and leads to depletion of fish
stock. This type of damage to environment is under constant threat to overall
environment. Ozone hole and ozone depletion occur owing to increasing amount of
CFC and HFC. What we need is ozone friendly and environment-friendly economic
policies.

Sustainable yield is the amount of a renewable resource like fish that can be harvested while still
leaving the population constant.

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15.2. Pollution Control Boards:

The Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board were
established by the Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu respectively.
The Department of Environment is working under the State Government. Their
important functions include taking legislative measures to protect the environment
and control pollution of environment and avoid the taking up of environmentallydamaging economic activities in environmentally sensitive areas.
Control of pollution is a costly job. Control measures encompass assigning
property rights in the case of tragedy of commons, imposing green tax, subsidizing
pollution control equipment, recycling of waste, encouraging establishment of
effluent treatment plants, sewage disposal by choosing between land filling or
incineration, dealing with traffic congestion by automobiles, conducting Environment
Impact Assessment, etc. Areas identified for capacity-building are: Environment
Policy Planning, Environmental Administration, Decentralisation of Environmental
Management, Implementation of Environmental Law, Monitoring com-pliance in
specific priority areas.
15.3. Department of Environment:
The Department of Environment is engaged in promoting environmental
awareness in the State. Activities relating to this Department are:
-

Coastal zone management

River and lake conservation works
Abatement of pollution in five polluted stretches of river Cauvery
National river conservation
Chennai City river conservation project
National lake conservation programme
Generating environmental awareness and capacity-building.

15.4. Role and Performance of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board:

Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has the responsibilities of
enforcing the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1974, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, enacted in the Parliament and the
rules made under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Industries have been categorized into three categories as `red, `orange, and
`green category based on the pollution load discharged. Highly polluting industries
are classified as red category industries, medium polluting industries are classified as
orange category industries and less polluting industries are classified as green
category industries. From August 2007 onwards, the highly polluting red category
industries have been split into ultra red and red categories in order to hae effective
monitoring.
The preservation and conservation of environment has assumed much
significance in the recent past. Commensurate with industrial expansion, a strong

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regulatory mechanism was put in place to ensure minimum environmental standard.

The following 17 industries are highly polluting industries.
1. Aluminium
2. Copper
3. Fertiliser
4. Pesticide
5. Pulp and paper
6. TPP
7. Caustic
8. Distillery
9. Iron and steel

10. Petroleum
11. Refinery
12. Zinc
13. Cement
14. Dyes and DI
15. Leather (tanning)
16. Pharmaceuticals
17. Sugar

15.4.1. Monitoring of Industries and Issues of Consent:

With the rapid industrialization in Tamil Nadu, there has been a marked
increase in the need for continuous monitoring of pollution of industrial activities.
The field officers of the TNPCB inspect the industries under their jurisdictions
periodically to assess the adequacy of pollution control measures provided by the
industries to treat sewage, tradde effluent and emissions and monitor their
performance. Table below presents information on the number of orders granted for
consent to establish and consent to operate under Water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981.
Table 15.1: Number of Consent Orders Issued to Establish and
Operate under Water Act and Air Act
(in Nos.)
Under Water Act
Under Air Act
Sl.
Period
No.
Consent to
Consent to
Consent to
Consent to
establish
operate
establish
operate
1. 2008-09
1229
1054
1228
1056
2. 2009-10
1553
2264
1550
2261
3. 2010-11
1171
1053
1175
1050
Source: Data collected from TNPCB.

The Board issued orders to close the polluting industrial units if they were
found to emit effluents into the atmosphere beyond the limit. Information in this
regard is set out below.
Table 15.2: Number of Industries for which Show Cause Notices
and Clsoure Orders were Issued
Sl.
Period
Show Cause Notices
Closure Orders
No.
Issued
1. 2008-09
2558
535
2. 2009-10
2828
392
3. 2010-11
2257
1768
Source: Data collected from TNPCB.

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15.4..2. Care Centre:

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board enforces the Water (Prevention and
Control Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control Pollution) Act, 1981
and various Rules under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board established a CARE Centre as an
industry-friendly initiative to help industries to file applications painlessly and to
expedite the process of issue of consent / authorization at a single point. All the
consent fee payments can also be made at the Care Centre. In the first phase, this
Centre will cater to the needs of industries / local bodies located in Chennai,
Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram District, comprising industries in Chennai,
Tambaram, Ambattur, Kancheepuram, Sl. Category of Time limit for issue of
Sriperumpudur, Tiruvallur areas. The Care No. industries
consent / rejection of
Centre has simplified and standardized the
application etc.
1.
Red
30 days
receipt of applications. The Care Centre is
2.
Ornage
15 days
instructed to issue consent within the time
3.
Green
10 days
limits specified below.
15.4.3. Hot Spot Monitoring:
The TNPCB identified 10 hot spot areas based on the location of hazardous
waste nature of the industries, high level of polluting industries and cluster of highly
polluting industries. In these areas TNPCB posted one Assistant Environmental
Engineer for each area for effective monitoring and to contact local public directly.
The ten locations are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Manali
Cuddalore
Thoothukudi
Mettur
Ranipet

6. Sriperumpudur
7. IT Corridor at Perungudi
8. Perundurai
9. Gummidipoondi
10. Tiruppur

With regard to any pollution problem arising from the industries in these
areas, the pubic can contact the locally available Board Engineers directly for taking
corrective action.
15.4.4. Construction of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP):
Construction of CETP is capital-intensive by nature. The TNPCB plays an
important role in the establishment of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs)
for clusters of small-scale industries in various parts of the State. Small-scale
industries often express financial difficulties, lack of space and other reasons, which
prevent them from putting up individual effluent treatment plants. The Board assists
the units on mobilization of financial resources and in the technical scrutiny of the
proposals for the establishment of common effluent treatment plants. The
establishment of the CETP for tannery units in Nagalkeni, Pallavaram and Chennai is
a case in point.

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15.4.5. Status of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP):

Common effluent treatment plants have been formulated in the following
sectors:
Tanneries
Textile Bleaching & Dyeing Units
Hotels and Lodges

15 Schemes
31 Schemes
1 Scheme

Out of these 47 CETPs formulated, 15 CETPs schemes for tanneries, 31

CETP schemes for textile dyeing units and 1 CETP scheme for hotels and lodges were
under operation. Out of 15 CETP schemes in Tannery sector, implementation of RO
and RMS was nearing completion in respect of 5 CETPs and in 8 CETPs RO and
RMS works were in progress. Further among 31 CETPs, 15 CETPs have completed
the construction of ZLD system consisting of RO with RMS and commissioned the
ZLD system and 4 CETPs were implementing the ZLD system and are at various
stages of implementation. The remaining 12 CETPs were in the process of preparing
ZLD proposal. Table 3 furnishes information on CETP by industry.
Table 15.3: Number of CETPs Formed
Sl.
No.

1.
2.

Sector

2008-09
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
14
30
19

2009-10
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
14
31
29

Tanneries
Textile
Bleaching &
Dyeing
3.
Hotels &
1
1
Lodging
4.
Hospitals
11
11
Total
63
45
Source: Data collected from TNPCB.

2010-11
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
15
31
29

11
64

11
55

11
64

11
56

15.4.6. Waste Management of Hazardous Waste:

The TNPCB is taking effective steps in handling and management of
hazardous chemicals and treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes in an
environmentally safe manner. The Board has identified and listed out 2655 units
generating hazardous wastes under the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling
and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 as on 31.12.2009.
15.4.7. Management of Biomedical Waste:
The Government of India has notified the Biomedical Waste (Management
and Handling) Rules 1998 as amended in 2000 udner Environment (Protection) Act,
1986. As per the notification, biomedical wastes are to be segregated and disposed in
an approved manner through a biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility. The
Board has so far listed out 2479 private hospitals and 317 Government hospitals in the
State for which biomedical waste treatment is necessary.

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15.4.8. Management of Municipal Solid Waste:

With increasing urbanization and rising levels of municipal solid wastes
generation, there is an urgnt need to evolve scientific approaches for the management
of municipal solid wastes. The Board is advocating the concept of segregation of
wastes at source, reduction, recycle and reuse of waste. The Board issued NOC to
109 Municipalities and one Corporation for composting of municipal solid waste and
setting up waste processing facility. NOCs issued for 63 Municipalities had been
converted as authorization.
15.4.9. Management of Plastic Waste:
The environmental problems arising due to the indiscriminate use ad disposal
of throwaway plastic items is well known. The use of throwaway plastics increased
among the public which ultimately mix with municipal solid waste and cause
environmental nuisance due to the non-biodegradable nature of plastics. In order to
control and regulate the above, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is implementing
the Plastic (Manufacture, Sale and usage) Rules.
15.4.10. Management of E-Waste:
TNPCB has taken several initiatives in the management of E-waste generated
in Tamil Nadu. A Committee consisting of professors of Anna University,
representatives of NGOs, an expert from National Metallurgical Laboratory has been
formed towards the management of E-Waste generated in Tamil Nadu. A workshop
on E-waste was held to create awareness among the stakeholders. TNPCB has issued
consent to 12 E-waste recyclers for segregation and recovery of PCB, IC, Iron
Copper, Rubber, Glass etc. PCB/IC wastes were exported to foreign countries such as
USA, Singapore and Malaysia to recover the heavy metal present in the said wastes.
Other wastes were sent to authorized industries in the country for recycling them.
15.4.11. Monitoring of Air & Water Quality:
Air Quality Monitoring:
With the increased industrial activities and vehicular pollution in the vicinity
of major cities, the quality of ambient air is affected. As per the Air (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the entire State of Tamil Nadu had been declared as
air pollution control area. The Board is monitoring the ambient air quality in Chennai
(3 stations), Coimbatore (3 stations), Thoothukudi (3 stations), Madurai (3 stations)
and Salem (1 station) under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme
(NAMP).
15.4.12. Vehicle Emission Monitoring:
The Government of Tamil nadu made necessary amendments in the Tamil
Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 to get Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUC) for
Goods Vehicles in Chennai City from authorized private testing centres also like other
vehicles. Prior to that, testing and issuance of PUC for Goods Vehicle in Chennai
City was entrusted with TNPCB. Accordingly 75 authorised private centres in
Chennai City could also test and issue PUC for Goods vehicles. In addition to that

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TNPCB also tested and issued PUC for Goods Vehicle in the testing centre located at
Ambattur.
15.4.13. Green Cover Programme:
As a measure to mitigate pollution, industries had been directed to develop 25
per cent of the land area as a green belt with trees having a thick canopy cover.
Accordingly, industries had taken action to plant adequate number of trees in and
around the industrial premises.
To tackle the climate change, all the countries are initiating action. One way
to control this problem is to develop green belt. With the assistance of school
children in middle school and higher secondary school in Tamil Nadu, it was
proposed to develop the green belt in Tamil Nadu and TNPCB has provided
`31,00,000/- for this project.
15.5. Conservation of Biodiversity:
Biodiversity is an integral part of environment. Biodiversity refers to the
existence of a large number of different kinds of animals and plants which make a
balanced environment. Biodiversity is the variety or richness of ecosystems, species
composition therein and their genetic diversity too.
Biodiversity provides all basic needs for our healthy survival oxygen, food,
medicines, fibre, fuel, energy, fertilisers, fodder and waste-disposal, etc. Fast
vanishing honeybees, dragonflies, bats, frogs, house sparrows, filter (suspension)feeder oysters and all keystone species are causing great economic loss as well as
posing an imminent threat to human peace and survival. The three-fold biodiversity
mission before us is to inventorize the existing biodiversity, conserve it, and, above
all, equitably share the sustainable benefits out of it. Mangrove plants in Pichavaram
Cuddalore district shield the fury of natural forces like Tsunami and earth quake.
15.6. Policy for Sustainable Development:
The environmental problem is the problem of natural resource exhaustion
resulting from exploitation at speeds beyond their natural recovery rates which
jeopardizes sustenance of life. If property rights are given to particular individual or
groups, they will utilise their resources efficiently with due consideration for future
living, thereby avoiding resource exhaustion. The human propensity to be free
riders is responsible for deforestation and air and water pollution. The lag in
institutional adjustment tend to become large because of poverty and high rate of
discount for future consumption and income among people.
Even if scarcity of natural resources increases, natural resources and
environments can be adequately preserved by investment in conservation and antipollution activities such as reforestation, soil erosion prevention (such as terracing),
and purification of gas emission. In order to promote these activities, institutional
innovations are required, such as setting property rights where applicable, regulating
and taxing natural resource utilization, and organizing governmental and nongovernmental bodies for environmental monitoring.

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15.7. Environmental Impact Assessment:

What will happen as a result of a project what are the impacts; how
big they are; and what causes them. It is also necessary to make a
judgement on what would have happened without the project to ensure
that the additional impact caused by the project is properly assessed;
Howbig the changes resulting from the project will be. This implies
the use of some form of measurement or classification scale;
Whether the changes resulting from the project matter;
If therer is some negative impact, what measures can be taken in
mitigation.
15.8. Summing up:
To recapitulate the main points briefly, the emerging areas of other
environmental concerns are internalization of externalities, climate change, ozone
depletion, phyto sanitation measures tied to the working of World Trade Organisation,
energy shortages, fillip to afforestation activities to attain the ideal norms of one-third
of the total geographical area of the State under forest cover against the current level
of 22 per cent as suggested by the National Commission on Agriculture,
environmental degradation in slum areas, conducting Environment Impact
Assessment, implementation of Policy of the Pollutor Pays, assigning property
rights in the case of tragedy of commons, etc.
There should be a reconciliation between environment and economic
development. Man is a child of nature he is not the master of nature. He must
conform his action to certain natural laws, if he is to maintain his domination over his
environment. When man tries to circumvent the laws of nature he destroys the natural
environment that sustains him.
We ought to plant a tree every few years and look after it until it is safely
established. Biodiversity needs to be nurtured and nourished adequately when the
environment is deteriorating of its own accord (for example, if a wild life species is
becoming extinct), the preservation of environment is viewed as a public good.
Thus, government protection of the environment is justified if the costs of this
protection are less than the benefits it provides to all individuals in society.
Global problems of ozone depletion and greenhouse warming have clearly
shown that humankind is not exempt from the general law. Natures ability to absorb
our waste products and to provide the sustainable supply of essential resources is
getting eroded. In this context, there is an analogy from the maritime world. Ship
captains pay attention to a marking on the vessels called the Plimsoll line. If the
water level rises above the Plimsoll line, the boat is too heavy and it is in danger of
sinking. When that happens rearranging the items on the ship will not do. The
problem is the total weight, which has exceeded the carrying capacity of the ship.
The ecological equivalent of the Plimsoll line may be defined as the maximum share
of the earths biological resources that humans can appropriate before a steep
deterioration in the planet life support system is set in motion. The question that we
have to pose to ourselves is how close we are to this critical mark.

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