(a) whether India has four of the five most pollutedcities in the world;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether apart from air, rivers and agricultural land have become polluted due to excessive use ofchemicals and other waste;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government to control pollution caused by chemical waste?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a)to (e) There is no established mechanism for ranking the cities in terms of pollution as it requires a proper peer review. The government is aware that several private institution and universities, while adapting different methodologies, different data set and giving different weightages to the parameters are ranking the cities. The data used for ranking is extracted primarily from satellite imageries, which are not validated by proper ground truthing. The Government has taken several steps to combat air pollution, water pollution and agricultural land pollution which inter alia, includes notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, revision of emission standards for industrial sectors from time to time, setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality, introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel ( CNG, LPG etc.), launching of National Air Quality index, leapfrogging from BS – IV to BS – VI fuel standards, notification of Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, Notifications of 6 waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, e – waste, bio – medical waste, C&D waste and hazardous wastes issued in 2016, banning of burning of biomass, streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate, issuance of directions under Section 18 ( I) (b) of Air ( Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Act, 1981 and under Section 5 of Environment ( Protection ) Act, 1986 for controlling air pollution, installation of on-line continuous ( 24 x 7 ) monitoring devices by major industries, notification of Graded Response Action Plan ( GRAP) for Delhi and NCR, Comprehensive Action Plan ( CAP)for air pollution control in Delhi and NCR, formulation of National Clean Air Programme ( NCAP), organization of clean air campaigns, etc. In reference to water pollution and chemical pollution, the steps taken by the Government to check the pollution of water bodies, inter alia, include formulation and notification of standards for effluents from industries into land masses / water bodies, operations or processes; enforcing of these standards by State Pollution Control Boards ( SPCBs) / Pollution Control Committee ( PCCs) through a consent mechanism to establish / operate and regular monitoring; setting up of monitoring network for assessment of water quality; installation of Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems
(OCEMS) to check the discharge of effluent directly into water bodies; promotion of cleaner production processes; installation of Common Effluent Treatment Plants for cluster of Small Scale Industrial units; issuance of directions for implementation of Zero Liquid Discharge in certain categories of highly polluting industries; issuance of directions under under Section 5 of Environment ( Protection ) Act, 1986 and under Section 18 (I) (b) of Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Act, 1974 etc.