UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ORIENTAL COLLEGE OF LAW

SANPADA, NAVI MUMBAI

SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

TOPIC: Visit of Regulatory Bodies under the Environment Protection Act.

PROFESSOR IN-CHARGE:
PROF. SANDEEP KAKKAR JARIAL

SUBMITTED BY:
HARSH JAIN
II Sem, LLB
ORIENTAL COLLEGE OF LAW
ROLL NO. 35
June 27, 2023
 VISIT TO
MAHARASHTRA POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

Address: Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Raigad Bhavan, 7th floor, Sector -
11, C.B.D Belapur, Navi Mumbai

Introduction and Purpose of the Visit

For the assignment, I along with a colleague visited the office of Maharashtra Pollution Control
Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘MPCB’) on 23.06.2023. The office is located on the 7 th Floor at
Raigad Bhawan, Sector 11, CBD Belapur. The purpose of the visit was to interact with a senior
official of MPCB and to know how the Regulatory Body works on day-to-day basis.

Relevance of regulatory bodies in environmental protection

Environmental regulatory authorities in India are post-constitutional development. It allowed for a

nationally regulated and state-coordinated governance of environment. Federally speaking, while
‘right to decide’ belongs to the centre, states have authority to execute and act upon central
decisions in a manner provided under such decisions.
Key Environmental Laws in India

Environment protection is mentioned in the Indian Constitution as part of Directive Principles of

State Policy (Art. 48A) as well as Fundamental Duties (Art. 51A).

The detailed and developed framework for environmental protection came after the UN conference
on Human Environment in Stockholm, in 1972. This led to the formation of the National Council
for Environmental Policy and Planning in 1972 within the science and technology department. This
was set up to establish a regulatory body for the overview of the environmental-related issues and
concerns. This council was later converted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

• Objective: To provide prevention and control of water pollution. Maintaining or restoring of
wholesomeness and purity of water in the various sources of water.

• It vests regulatory authority in Centre Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) and State Pollution
Control Board (SPCB).

• CPCB and SPSB are statutory bodies created under the Water Act, 1974. It empowers CPCB
and SPCB to establish and enforce effluent standards for factories discharging pollutants
into water bodies.

• CPCB performs these same functions for union territories along with formulating policies
related to the prevention of water pollution and coordinating activities of different SPSBs.

• SPCB controls sewage and industrial effluent discharge by approving, rejecting, and
granting consent to discharge.

2. The Air (prevention and control of pollution) act, 1981

• The act targets to control and prevent air pollution in India and its main objectives are:

a) To provide for prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution.

b) To provide for the establishment of the boards at the central and state levels to implement
the act.

• CPCB and SPCB were given the responsibility.

• It states that the sources of air pollution such as internal combustion engines, industry,
vehicles, power plants, etc., are not permitted to release particulate matter, lead, carbon
monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or other
toxic substances beyond the predetermined limit.

• It empowers the state government to designate air pollution areas.

3. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

• This act was passed under article 253 (legislation for giving effect to international
agreements). This was passed in the wake of the Bhopal gas tragedy in December 1984. It
was enacted to achieve the UN conference on the human environment, 1972- Stockholm
declaration.

• It is the umbrella legislation for environmental protection in India. It empowers the union
government to initiate various steps for environmental protection and improvement, some of
which include the determination of standards for emissions and effluents from industries,
regulation of the location of industries, assessment of the environmental impact of projects
before they commence operations and, most importantly, framing rules and regulations on
various aspects relating to environmental protection across the country.
• In exercising the powers provided under this Act, the union government has introduced
multiple rules, regulations and policies. Some of these include the Coastal Zone Regulation
Notification, 2019 (CRZ Notification); Environmental Impact Assessment Notification,
2006 (EIA Notification); Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016; E-Waste (Management)
Rules, 2016; Plastic Waste (Management) Rules, 2016; and Hazardous and Other Wastes
(Management) Rules, 2016.

About Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) – Role, Responsibility & Functions

Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is implementing various environmental legislations

in the state of Maharashtra, mainly including Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1974, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and some of the provisions under
Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 and the rules framed there under like, Biomedical Waste
(M&H) Rules, 1998, Hazardous Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2000 etc.
MPCB is functioning under the administrative control of Environment Department of Government
of Maharashtra.

Some of the important functions of MPCB are:

• To plan comprehensive program for the prevention, control or abatement of pollution and
secure executions thereof,
• To collect and disseminate information relating to pollution and the prevention, control or
abatement thereof,

• To inspect sewage or trade effluent treatment and disposal facilities, and air pollution control
systems and to review plans, specification or any other data relating to the treatment plants,
disposal systems and air pollution control systems in connection with the consent granted,
 • Supporting and encouraging the developments in the fields of pollution control, waste
recycle reuse, eco-friendly practices etc.
• To educate and guide the entrepreneurs in improving environment by suggesting appropriate
pollution control technologies and techniques

• Creation of public awareness about the clean and healthy environment and attending the
public complaints regarding pollution.

Interation with MPCB Officer

Shri Vikrant Bhalerao, SRO-II, Navi Mumbai

1) During the visit to MPCB office at Belapur, after two levels of security check, we met Shri.
Vikrant Bhalerao, Sub Regional Officer – II, Navi Mumbai in his chamber on 7th Floor.
He explained us the work they did and also answered the queries we had.
2) There are three SROs in the Navi Mumbai Regional office.
3) The SRO-II is entrusted with enforcing the various Environmental Laws which come under
the purview of MPCB.
4) The jurisdiction of SRO-II is Mahape, Kopar-khairne, Sarvali, Ghansoli, Rabale, Airoli,
Dighe and covers around 2500 industrial units.
5) There are two field officers subordinate to SRO-II who assist him in his duties.
6) All the industrial units are liable to file Form 5 and Form 4 annually as per the Regulations.
Total 3 forms are to be filed. Form 5 is the Hazardous Waste Return and Form 4 is
Environmental Return. Additionally, based on the type of industry, e-waste or plastic waste
return is to be filed.
 7) The officials can visit any industrial unit for inspection. However, due to the crunch in
manpower and owing to a large jurisdiction, this is often done when there are complaints or
requests in this regard.
8) The SRO-II also adjudicates the Consent Applications. About 500 Consent requests are filed
annually. Under the provisions of these Acts, an entrepreneur running or establishing any
industry or process, and discharging effluent/emitting pollutants into any water resources or
on land/air and polluting thereby the environmental water/air is required to obtain consent,
which needs to obtained in two phases;
•Consent to Establish: This consent is to be obtained prior to establishing any industry or
process.
•Consent to Operate: Once the industry or process plant is established along the required
pollution control systems, the entrepreneur is required to obtain consent to operate the unit.
This consent is given for a particular period, which needs to be renewed regularly.
11) With regard to the special initiatives taken by MPCB, we were informed that the MPCB
issues advisories from time to time to sensitize the industrial units and public at large
towards the protection of environment by mitigating pollution.
12) With regard to Air Pollution Monitoring, we were informed that there are 48 AQI
monitoring centres in Maharashtra and 6 in Navi Mumbai.

Conclusion
It is observed that although there are various environment protection laws in place, but the pollution
is increasing to alarming levels every year. If it is not stopped urgently, then the world might see
some catastrophic destruction in the coming years. This can be stopped/undone only if the
government takes stricter measures and every individual should also be involved in helping to
reduce and control pollution. A secured future depends on the environment as a whole.