Pollution-related offences will now invite a jail term of up to 5 years and a penalty up to Rs 1 crore. The Centre issued an Ordinance — Commission for Air Quality Management — on Wednesday night after the approval of President of India to curb air pollution in Delhi and NCR.
In recent years, the region has been facing huge air pollution issues with respective Governments in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan passing the buck on each other.
The ordinance will also have the power to prohibit activities that are likely to cause or increase air pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas.
“The Ordinance may be called the Commission for Air Quality Management In National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020. It shall apply to NCR and also adjoining areas in so far as it relates to matters concerning air pollution in the NCR. It shall come into force at once,” said the notification issued by the Union Law Ministry.
As per the Ordinance, the adjoining areas where it shall be in force include Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, adjoining areas of the NCR and Delhi where any source of pollution is located which is causing an adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.
The commission which will be heavily dominated by bureaucrats will consist of over 20 members, including a chairperson, who is or has been a secretary of the Government of India or chief secretary of a State, a representative of Environment Secretary and five ex-officio members who are either chief secretaries or secretaries in charge of the environment departments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it added.
“There shall be a full-time secretary who shall be the chief coordinating officer of the commission and shall assist in managing the affairs of the commission,” it said.
The commission which will have three sub-committees, one each for monitoring and identification, safeguarding and enforcement, and research and development will have power to take mitigation measures, issue directions/orders suo moto and entertain complaints under any other existing laws such as the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The EPCA in the last 22 years when it was set up by the apex court has introduced several important interventions to control pollution.
Among their most significant intervention was converting all public transport in Delhi to compressed natural gas (CNG) in 1998, phasing out polluting fuels like pet coke and furnace oil from industries and imposing pollution charge on old polluting trucks.
The new commission, however, will function completely under the aegis and supervision of the Central Government. It will have powers to take decisions and act against pollution sources under various environmental laws, like the environment protection act and air act.
