The proposed organizational structure of GEMI-GUJRAT ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

he proposed organizational structure of GEMI

The Organization would have the following divisions

• Air Pollution Control
• Water and Wastewater Technology
• Solid Waste Management
• Cleaner Production
• Environmental Impact and Risk Assessment
• Marine Environment Technology
• Environmental Biotechnology
• GEMI's Laboratory

Various Divisions

The details of various divisions along with its area of working is worked out as follows:

• Air Pollution Control Division
  Air Pollution problem today is not restricted to industrial estates in Gujarat. Many cities of the State including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot are facing the problems of air pollution. There is no adequate capacity available for conducting the air pollution modeling, emission inventory and apportionment of air pollution from different sources.
  Judicial activism leading to strict implementation of the Air Act, 1981, and public awareness towards the air pollution related issues including respiratory diseases have necessitated development of capacity within the State for dealing with various aspects of Air Pollution Control and Management including air quality monitoring, air pollution modeling, design and implementation of Air Pollution Control equipments.
  There are thousands of industries in the State falling under the purview of the Air Act, 1981, as well as the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986, and required to take necessary steps for control of air pollution. Further, there is an utmost need to develop a state-of-the-art centre for basic R&D for developing cost-effective air pollution control techniques. In absence of a credible institute in the State, the industries implement improper technologies and end up with costly and/or ineffective solutions.
• Water and Wastewater Technology
  The problems of water pollution due to disposal of industrial effluent as well as disposal of municipal sewage into the rivers, estuaries and on land needs due attention. The stretch between Mehsana to Vapi known as "Golden Corridor" faces acute problems related to treatment and disposal of wastewater generated by various industries including the chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, metal processing, pesticide and petrochemical.
  
  The State needs to strengthen its capacity to carry out R&D for secondary treatment, photo-catalytic treatment and advance treatments. In absence of a competent institute within the State, the project proponents are dependent on NEERI, National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and similar other institutes outside the State. Hence, there is a dire need to have in house capacity to address these issues within the State.
  
  There is an urgent need to develop the capacity within the State for ground water modeling, coastal and marine disposal modeling and to carry out the basic research for evolving the cost-effective solutions for treatment and disposal of various types of wastewater.
  
  Gujarat being a water scarce State, effective management of water is an equally important aspect of environmental management. There is also a need for R&D in water environment including surveillance assessment studies for drinking water in urban and rural areas of the State. The commitments of the State Government in this direction enhance the potential of research and consultancy assignments for development of novel and cost effective water treatment technologies. Contamination tracking through tracer studies and remediation thereof, hydrodynamic modeling studies of estuaries / creeks and development of low cost treatment technologies for rural water supply are some of the areas that GEMI should be addressing to immediately.
• Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
  Considering the importance and priority to address the specific issues affecting the environment particularly the public health, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, has in recent years has come out with various subordinate legislation under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for management of the municipal solid waste, bio-medical waste, and the hazardous waste of industries.
  
  This has necessitated development of proper solutions for collection, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of solid and hazardous waste.
  
  Apart from conducting research for developing cost effective solutions, this division is expected to carry out various assignments for identification of suitable sites for treatment and disposal of solid and hazardous waste and developing bioremediation techniques for managing the old dumpsites in the State. Further, effect of leachate generated from the solid and hazardous waste disposal facilities especially on the groundwater is also a major concern for the State.
  
  This division is also expected to deal with the issues related to land pollution and rehabilitation of mining sites as well as GIS based landuse change studies and ecological modeling studies, which is an integral part of the environmental management and research.
• Environmental Analytical Instruments
  This is a core division helping all other divisions of the GEMI for carrying out qualitative and quantitative analysis and assessment of various parameters on hi-tech instruments including the Gas Chromatographs, Liquid Chromatographs, Ion Selective Meters and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers, etc. These are very costly and sophisticated instruments and they have very specific applications in almost all areas of environmental management. The precise results of the analysis would help each of the divisions to interpret and arrive at reliable and workable solutions to the environmental problems.
  
  It is, therefore, advisable to have a central division for this purpose instead of having such instruments in each of the divisions. This division would also carry out various monitoring and research activities in addition to testing and analysis work in the field of water, air, wastewater, soil, solid and hazardous waste as well as environmental microbiology.
  
  For this purpose, the first choice of any Government or private organization would be GEMI compared to any private enterprises.
• Cleaner Production
  Cleaner Production though can not completely rule out the end-of-the-pipe treatment, it definitely reduces dependency on the same to a great extent. It also encourages conservation of natural resources, reduction of raw material and energy consumption and enhancement of productivity at the same time. Thus, we can see that the Cleaner Production is not only a tool for control of pollution, but is also an overall environmental management tool. In this era of global competition, adaptation of the Cleaner Production methodology by the industries is one of the most effective tools for the sustainable development.
  
  The State Government in the Forests and Environment Department under the World Bank aided Environmental Management Capacity Building -Technical Assistance project had taken up various activities for promotion and propagation of the Cleaner Production. Various activities conducted by the State Government under this project have created awareness and demand for Cleaner Production.
  
  Providing solution and catering to the need of the industries in this area requires hard core research and dedicated work, which could be met with by creating a specific division with multidisciplinary staff in GEMI.
  
  This division would also deal with providing guidance to the industries in adapting clean development mechanism (CDM), clean technology transfer, which are the need of the hour.
• Environmental Impact and Risk Assessment
  The Government of India considering the problems that come off subsequent to the establishment of the developmental projects, felt the need to assess the impacts of various activities before allowing such projects to be established. Accordingly, the MoEF has come out with a specific Notification on Environment Impact Assessment in 1994. It is mandatory for 32 category of projects to have the EIA reports prepared and submitted for obtaining the environmental clearance prior to their establishment.
  
  The industrial and infrastructure development in the State is coming up in a big way subsequent to the proactive efforts of the State Government. Various developmental policies including the industrial policy, port policy and tourism policy have attracted massive investment in these sectors. In order that the State does not have to face the consequences of these activities on the environment, it is necessary that proper environmental assessment at an advance stage of the project planning is done before executing the same.
  
  It is equally important to assess the carrying capacity of various areas before allowing any industrial establishment so as to avoid the post project environmental problems. Further, the assimilative capacity of the receiving body including the air, water and land also needs to be properly assessed before planning the developmental activities.
  
  This division of GEMI would be looking into the following areas of environmental management:
  • Environmental Impact Assessment of developmental projects
  • Strategic Environmental Assessment of policies, plans and programmes
  • Carrying Capacity Assessment of various areas prior to planning and development to ensure sustainable development
  • Life cycle assessment of products and processes
  • Environmental Auditing of industries, processes or institutes including facilitating them to obtain the ISO 14000, ISO 18000 and adopting other Environmental Management Systems
  • Risk Analysis and Assessment of development projects especially those in the chemical, petrochemical and Oil & Gas sectors.
• Coastal and Marine Environment Technology
  The State has the longest coastline in the country admeasuring to 1650 km It harbours rich and unique ecosystems including the country's first Marine National Park. Various estuaries, two gulfs and coral islands make the coastal zone of the State' a major area of concern. Further, due to the development of port induced urbanization and industrialization, there has been tremendous pressure on coastal and marine environment.
  
  Further, the industries have the tendency to move towards the seas, as the standards are relatively lenient for effluent disposal into the seas and creeks. As a result, if not properly addressed, the issues related to marine environment would become more complex and there would be irreversible damage.
  
  Further, the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification of 1991 has also necessitated the requirement of adequate capacity for coastal and marine environmental management in the State.
  
  This division shall look into the following areas:
  • Marine outfall design and development
  • Development of specific tools for Coastal Zone Management
  • Coastal and marine water and sedimentation analysis and assessment
  • Coastal and marine ecological analysis and assessment
  • Studies on coastal morphology and coastal dynamics
  • Post project monitoring of projects in the coastal zone
• Environmental Biotechnology
  Environmental Biotechnology is an emerging area of environmental management. Development of the phytoremediation techniques, bioremediation using waste specific microbes, waste treatment through genetically modified or engineered organisms, etc. are the areas of concern and have much potential of growth and application in the field of environmental management. This area is relatively untouched so far within the State and to a certain extent within the country. The success of biotechnology in agriculture and forest management enhances the application of the environmental biotechnology in the State.
  
  The use of environmental biotechnology in the field of environmental Management may lead to cost effective solutions to the specific environmental issues / problems at the same time ensuring the long term sustainability.