In the past five years, several studies have documented the health and economic consequences of pollution in India. This emphasized that bad air, poor water quality and chronic waste management are problems not only for big cities, but undermine the quality of life of people in Tier 2 and 3 cities. The problem is not due to a lack of laws. Effective monitoring and enforcement has been the Achilles heel in the fight against pollution. The problem, as the affidavit submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to the National Green Tribunal admitted, is that the regulatory agencies have been understaffed. Almost half of all posts in state pollution control boards (SPCB) are lying vacant, some for decades. About 54 percent of the approved positions in the National Capital Region, whose bad air problems begin with the start of the holiday season in October and continue through the winter, are vacant.
SPCBs were established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. Over time, their mandate has extended to dealing with air and noise pollution and managing hazardous waste. However, environmental regulation is rarely compatible with the needs of a post-liberal economy. The SPCBs have simply failed to fulfill their mandated mandate. They also did their work no justice by failing to rope in a sufficient number of independent scientists in pollution control activities. The independence of these bodies in technical matters is often compromised because civil servants and officials with a background in government, not experts, hold many senior positions. In addition, the terms of the chairman and secretaries who are members of these organizations vary from one year to three years – only in rare cases where these officials hold office for more than five years. Such short-term plans are not ideal for long-term plans to eliminate pollution.
These problems have been going on for decades. However, there has never been an attempt to explain their causes. Over the past five years, as the Center has embarked on major waste management and water quality projects, it and the state governments have paid very little attention to improving regulatory efficiency. A start can be made by using other technologies in the country’s universities and environmental technology institutes. This would be a precursor to increasing the financial and institutional independence of pollution control agencies.