Andhra Pradesh to bring law for effective enforcement of environment laws

Andhra Presh government will soon bring in a new legislation for effective enforcement of various environment laws, billed as first of its kind in country, in aftermath of LG Polymers Limited vapour leak trdy that left 13 people de last month in Visakhapatnam.

main feature of proposed Environment Improvement act will be Environment Dam Compensation (EDC) that will be imposed on industries violating environment laws.

In existing environment laws, re is concept of EDC. AP government will introduce it for first time in country, which will enable recovery of dams from violating industries towards loss of human life, property, flora and fauna and also ecosystems, a top official of Environment and Forests Department told PTI here.

state Council of Ministers, which will meet here on Thursday, is expected to clear draft legislation for introduction in coming Budget session of Legislature.

As per proposed legislation, EDC would be levied on violating industries in case of any unauthorised activity, release of pollutants exceeding permissible limits, degration of air quality, contamination of water resources, soil and groundwater, verse effect on human health, dams caused to property, natural assets and productive assets, besides loss of ecosystem services.

amount realised through levy of EDC and or penalties would be credited to a Green Fund that would be utilised for protection, improvement and manment of environment.

AP Environment Improvement Act is also intended to improve compliance mechanisms in all industries, introduce third-party audit, install real-time pollution monitoring equipment and introduce a monetary penalty regime for violation of pollution rms.

existing laws primarily are objection and clearance-oriented and do t have sufficient provisions for ensuring compliance and environmental auditing. proposed law will dress that and ensure effective enforcement of various provisions of environment acts, official said.

proposed act would apply to all industries, factories, mining operations and all or activities governed by Water Act, Air Act and Environment (Protection) Act.

move comes over a month after styrene gas leaked from LG Polymers Limited's plant at R R Venkatapuram vill near Visakhapatnam on May 7, leaving 13 people de and affecting around 1,000 people, many of m collapsing to ground.

Under proposed law, all major polluting industries in red and orange categories will have to mandatorily install Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations, Continuous Effluent Quality Monitoring System and transmit data to AP Pollution Control Board for monitoring.

For mir violations, monetary penalties will be levied so that industries will be spurred to ensure compliance with pollution rms. EDC will cover major violations, official ded.

(Photo Credit: PTI)