Check on Coastal Pollution

Check on Coastal Pollution Monitoring of marine pollution through Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System programme is carried out by Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management Project Directorate, Chennai, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) / Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) are regulating water pollution under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 including discharge of wastewater to coastal areas. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has laid down effluent standards under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in order to ensure that the industries comply with the prescribed standards. The Central Government at national level and the State Governments at the State level are also empowered under the E(P) Act, 1986 and have declared coastal stretches as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) imposing restriction on industries, operations and process in the CRZ. For treatment of industrial effluent, 23 Common Effluents Treatment Plants (CETPs) are operating in the coastal areas, of which 14 are in Gujarat, 6 in Maharashtra and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Under the central scheme of CETPs, no separate allocation of funds are made for setting up CETPs in the coastal areas. This was stated by Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

The Minister said that following steps have been taken to prevent and control coastal pollution:

i) Control of Industrial pollution under the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

ii) Ensuring pollution control compliance in 17 categories of highly polluting industries.

iii) Urban centres discharging wastewater in aquatic resources and having no treatment facilities have been identified and recommended for appropriate action to respective authorities.

iv) With respect to industrial effluents, consent management for compliance of standards is being enforced by SPCBs / PCCs to improve the water quality.

RM/
(Release ID :97610)