Читать книгу Industrial Environmental Management - Tapas K. Das - Страница 141

The extent of the environmental legislation network is evident from the above discussion, but the enforcement of the laws has been a matter of concern. One commonly cited reason is the prevailing command and control nature of the environmental regime. Coupled with this is the prevalence of all or nothing approach of the law; they do not consider the extent of violation. Fines are levied on a flat basis and in addition there are no incentives to lower the discharges below prescribed levels.

Some initiatives have addressed these issues in the recent past. The Government of India came out with a Policy Statement for Abatement of Pollution in 1992, before the Rio conference, which declared that market‐based approaches would be considered in controlling pollution. It stated that economic instruments will be investigated to encourage the shift from curative to preventive measures, internalize the costs of pollution and conserve resources, particularly water. In 1995, MOEF constituted a task force to evaluate market‐based instruments, which strongly advocated their use for the abatement of industrial pollution. Various economic incentives have been used to supplement the command‐and‐control policies. Depreciation allowances, exemptions from excise or customs duty payment, and arrangement of soft loans for the adoption of clean technologies are instances of such incentives. Another aspect that is evident is the shift in the focus from end‐of‐pipe treatment of pollution to treatment at source. The role of remote sensing and geographical information systems in natural resource management and environmental protection has also gained importance over time. India has made commendable advances in the use of remote sensing for natural resource management and in integrating environmental and development at the policy planning and management levels.

An important recent development is the rise of judicial activism in the enforcement of environmental legislation. This is reflected in the growth of environment‐related public litigation cases that have led the courts to take major steps such as ordering the shutdown of polluting factories.

Agenda 21 highlights the need for integration of environmental concerns at all stages of policy, planning, and decision‐making processes, including the use of an effective legal and regulatory framework, economic instruments, and other incentives. These very principles were fundamental to guiding environmental protection in the country well before Rio and will be reinforced, drawing on India's own experiences and those of other countries.