All about the new, The
Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining
Areas Bill[i], 2021.
Bhupendra Yadav, the Union Minister in charge of the
Environment & Climate Change Ministry, introduced the new piece of
legislation in the Parliament. Although the Bill garnered decent support, many
members have expressed concern about the provision that allows the commission
to collect environmental compensation from the farmers for pollution.
The Delhi-NCR air quality monitoring and control
system is made up of several organizations, including the Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB), state pollution boards, the government of states, comprising
the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and
Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) of the NCR[ii]. They are under the supervision of the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MOEF), as well as kept
under check by the Supreme Court, which monitors air pollution through the 1988
‘M C Mehta vs Union of India[iii]’
judgement.
The Bill, however, aims to create an apex body, The Commission for Air Quality Management in
National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas that will bring together all monitoring bodies, and
bring them into one place so that air quality control can be carried out in a
comprehensive, effective, and timely manner. The Centre also seeks to exempt
the Supreme Court from constantly monitoring pollution levels through various
cases.
In addition to bringing together all agencies that monitor, investigate and plan to reduce air pollution in the region, the Commission has replaced the archaic Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). The EPCA had become a white elephant whose dismissal was imminent. The penal provisions for punishment that acts as an adjunct were missing in the EPCA, which in turn remained ineffective.
POWERS OF THE COMMISSION
The Commission is the most powerful air pollution
control organization formed by the Centre to date. The decisions of the
commission will veto anything contained in any other legislation. The powers of
this commission will also override any other body that dealt in the matters of
air pollution. Therefore, if a conflict arises between orders or directives
issued by other state governments, state pollution control boards or even the
Central Pollution Control Board, commission orders will be considered superior
and effective[iv].
The Commission will possess the power to take action,
issue directives/guidance and entertain complaints “for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of air in the
National Capital Region”.[v]
The commission would work in synergy with the state
government and guide on the topic of air pollution and will set limits on the
air quality as well as the emission or discharge of environmental
pollutants. It will also have the power
to limit industries in any area, inspect any area including industry and be
able to shut down the industries or cut off its supply of energy and water in
the event of non-compliance[i]. The
commission would also look into the measures to reduce the pollution caused by
‘stubble-burning’.[ii]
COMPOSITION OF THE
COMMISSION
A full-time
chairperson who has at least 15 years of experience in the field of environment
protection and pollution control or who has at least 25 years’ experience in an
administrative position will head the Commission[iii].
The members of the commission will also include an official from the
Environment Ministry[iv], five ex-officio members
who may be at the position of chief secretary or secretary of Delhi, Punjab,
Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh[v],
one full-time member that is or was at the level of joint secretary[vi],
three full-time technical experts who are experts in the area of reduction of
air pollution[vii] , one technical member
from the Central Pollution Control Board[viii]
and the Indian Space Research Organization[ix],
three members from NGOs working on the issue of air pollution[x]
and one executive from NITI Aayog[xi].
The Commission, to embolden their rim will have at least three sub-committees on-
- Monitoring and Identification;
- Safeguarding and Enforcement;
- Research and Development.
OPPROBRIUM AND WAY AHEAD
While the bill alluded support from various sections,
parliamentarians remained flabbergasted over the disparity in Section 14(1) and
Section 15.
Section 14(1) of the Act states that “the provisions of this section shall not
apply to any farmer for causing air pollution by stubble burning or mismanagement
of agricultural residue”[xii]. On the contrary, section 15 states that
the Commission “may impose and collect
environmental compensation from farmers causing air pollution by stubble
burning, at such rate and in such manner, as may be prescribed”[xiii]. Members of Parliament opposed the move to
collect environmental compensation from farmers and demanded that the Ministry review
the system
The act further states that no civil court shall have
jurisdiction over any lawsuit, proceedings or dispute arising out of or in
connection with the actions taken or directives issued by the commission and
that the commission's orders may be challenged only before the National Green
Tribunal[i]. Environmentalists
contended that this limits legal action that can be taken on environmental
issues as citizens as of now can approach the Supreme Court and other courts
directly with these issues. The composition of the commission faced critical opprobrium
on the issue of scant representation of independent experts and members of
NGOs.
[i] Id. ,sec. 12(2)(iv)
[ii] Id. ,sec. 12(6)(e)
[iii] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(a)
[iv] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(b)
[v] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(c)
[vi] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(d)
[vii] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(e)
[viii] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(f)
[ix] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(g)
[x] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(h)
[xi] Id. ,sec. 3(2)(i)
[xii] Id. ,sec. 14(1)
[xiii] Id. ,sec. 15
[i] The Commission for Air
Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act,(Act 29
of 2021)
[ii] id, sec.2(1)(a)
[iii] 1987 AIR 1086, 1987 SCR
(1) 819
[iv] Supra note 1,sec.3(6)
[v] Id. ,sec. 12(1)
About the Author: This post is prepared by Mritunjay Yadav, Law Student from Law School, Banaras Hindu University. He can be reached at devyadav1125@gmail.com
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