JUDGMENT

BY HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR AGARWAL, JUDICIAL MEMBER

1. Original Application 1038/2018 (hereinafter referred to as ‘OA I’) was registered on suo-moto action initiated by Tribunal, pursuant to a newspaper report, pertaining to ranking of industrial clusters in respect of pollution and inaction on the part of Statutory Regulators in taking effective action for the remediation/preservation of environment in the said areas.

2. Original Application 469/2022 (hereinafter referred to as ‘OA II’) is an outcome of the proceedings initiated in OA I and hence since both are integrally connected have been clubbed, heard together and are being decided by this common judgment.

3. OA I Pleadings: A news item was published in the daily newspaper “The Asian Age”, dated 06.12.2018, authored by Sanjay Kaw, with the heading “CPCB to rank industrial units on pollution levels”. The report says that in 2009-2010, State Pollution Boards along with Central Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘CPCB’) had conducted surveys to check pollution levels in 88 odd notified industrial clusters. Later, CPCB read these clusters under critical and serious category. As many as 88 industrial clusters in 16 States, having Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (hereinafter referred to as ‘CEPI’) of 70 and above were identified as ‘critical pollution areas’. The clusters included Sonbhadra, Singrauli and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Kobra in Madhya Pradesh, Angultalchuer in Odisha, Bhadrabhati in Karnataka, Chandrapur and Chambur in Maharashtra, Dhanbad in Jharkhand, Durgapur in West Bengal and Pali in Rajasthan. As many as 32 industrial clusters with CEPI score between 60 and 70 were categoried as ‘seriously polluted areas’. After the above ranking, State Pollution Control Boards (hereinafter referred to as ‘SPCB’) formulated their action plans but as per the reports of experts despite action plans, there was hardly any improvement in pollution levels in these clusters as a result whereof Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as ‘MoEF&CC’) imposed a ban on opening new units and on expansion of existing industries in these areas. Later, on assurance of various State Governments for improvement in the stressed clusters, ban was lifted. CEPI score was revised by CPCB to make concept of CEPI simple to facilitate the citizens to evaluate CEPI score.

4. In a later evaluation, number of identified polluted clusters went upto 100 in the year 2017-2018.

5. Taking suo-moto cognizance of the said report, Tribunal got the above matter registered as OA 1038/2018 and considered it on 13.12.2018. After referring to the report, Tribunal observed that CEPI is based on evaluation of environmental parameters including ambient air, surface water and health related statistics. Based on such study, directions were issued by CPCB under Section 18(1) (b) of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1974 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Water Act, 1974’) and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Air Act, 1981’) for installation of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (hereinafter referred to as ‘CAAQMS’) and Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Stations (hereinafter referred to as ‘RTWQMS’) at various locations.

6. Revised CEPI (2016) is comprised of the following components:

7. As per directions of CPCB, dated 26.04.2016, addressed to SPCBs, were required to take steps to ensure prevention, control and abatement of pollution in critically polluted industrial clusters by installing Environmental Quality Monitoring Systems for which purpose action plan in respect of monitoring mechanism was to be evolved, in the manner stated in the said order. 4