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ENVIRONMENT
Environment is a natural world in which people, animals and plants live.
Nature has been kind to mankind. But natures response has limits. It is very fragile
and its recuperative powers are finite. It cannot stand the massive onslaught of
mankind in his millions. It can not withstand his thoughtless depredations, so man
must learn to respect the laws of nature and live within their bounds as the earths
other creatures have to do.
Environment is vital to supporting life, absorbing waste and providing inputs
for production. Environment provides raw material and energy for economic
production and household activity. The waste products of economic and household
activity are absorbed by the environment. Environment also performs amenity or
ambience function. Environmental degradation is concomitant of economic growth,
industrialization and surging population.
Development harms the environment and the environment, in turn, adversely
affects development. Environmental degradation is viewed as negative externality.
For instance, pollution is a negative externality (neighbourhood cost or spill over
cost). Negative externality occurs when a factory pollutes the air. The cost is borne
by those who breathe the polluted air. Thus it is a side effect of production or
consumption (person or businesses other than the producer or consumers are
affected). Air pollution reduces life expectancy of individual and causes the
occurrence of acid rain which destroys many lakes and seas while water pollution
poisons fish and makes them dangerous for human consumption.
15.1. Sources of Pollution and Environmental Degradation:
effluents.
Land - Bio-medical waste, e-waste and solid waste, toxic waste, open
defecation.
Deforestation and over-exploitation of forests beyond its sustainable yield*.
Extinction of species.
Impact of poverty on environmental quality.
Sustainable yield is the amount of a renewable resource like fish that can be harvested while still
leaving the population constant.
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10. Petroleum
11. Refinery
12. Zinc
13. Cement
14. Dyes and DI
15. Leather (tanning)
16. Pharmaceuticals
17. Sugar
The Board issued orders to close the polluting industrial units if they were
found to emit effluents into the atmosphere beyond the limit. Information in this
regard is set out below.
Table 15.2: Number of Industries for which Show Cause Notices
and Clsoure Orders were Issued
Sl.
Period
Show Cause Notices
Closure Orders
No.
Issued
1. 2008-09
2558
535
2. 2009-10
2828
392
3. 2010-11
2257
1768
Source: Data collected from TNPCB.
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Manali
Cuddalore
Thoothukudi
Mettur
Ranipet
6. Sriperumpudur
7. IT Corridor at Perungudi
8. Perundurai
9. Gummidipoondi
10. Tiruppur
With regard to any pollution problem arising from the industries in these
areas, the pubic can contact the locally available Board Engineers directly for taking
corrective action.
15.4.4. Construction of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP):
Construction of CETP is capital-intensive by nature. The TNPCB plays an
important role in the establishment of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs)
for clusters of small-scale industries in various parts of the State. Small-scale
industries often express financial difficulties, lack of space and other reasons, which
prevent them from putting up individual effluent treatment plants. The Board assists
the units on mobilization of financial resources and in the technical scrutiny of the
proposals for the establishment of common effluent treatment plants. The
establishment of the CETP for tannery units in Nagalkeni, Pallavaram and Chennai is
a case in point.
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15 Schemes
31 Schemes
1 Scheme
1.
2.
Sector
2008-09
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
14
30
19
2009-10
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
14
31
29
Tanneries
Textile
Bleaching &
Dyeing
3.
Hotels &
1
1
Lodging
4.
Hospitals
11
11
Total
63
45
Source: Data collected from TNPCB.
2010-11
No. of
No. of
CETPs
CETPs
under
formed
operation
21
15
31
29
11
64
11
55
11
64
11
56
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TNPCB also tested and issued PUC for Goods Vehicle in the testing centre located at
Ambattur.
15.4.13. Green Cover Programme:
As a measure to mitigate pollution, industries had been directed to develop 25
per cent of the land area as a green belt with trees having a thick canopy cover.
Accordingly, industries had taken action to plant adequate number of trees in and
around the industrial premises.
To tackle the climate change, all the countries are initiating action. One way
to control this problem is to develop green belt. With the assistance of school
children in middle school and higher secondary school in Tamil Nadu, it was
proposed to develop the green belt in Tamil Nadu and TNPCB has provided
`31,00,000/- for this project.
15.5. Conservation of Biodiversity:
Biodiversity is an integral part of environment. Biodiversity refers to the
existence of a large number of different kinds of animals and plants which make a
balanced environment. Biodiversity is the variety or richness of ecosystems, species
composition therein and their genetic diversity too.
Biodiversity provides all basic needs for our healthy survival oxygen, food,
medicines, fibre, fuel, energy, fertilisers, fodder and waste-disposal, etc. Fast
vanishing honeybees, dragonflies, bats, frogs, house sparrows, filter (suspension)feeder oysters and all keystone species are causing great economic loss as well as
posing an imminent threat to human peace and survival. The three-fold biodiversity
mission before us is to inventorize the existing biodiversity, conserve it, and, above
all, equitably share the sustainable benefits out of it. Mangrove plants in Pichavaram
Cuddalore district shield the fury of natural forces like Tsunami and earth quake.
15.6. Policy for Sustainable Development:
The environmental problem is the problem of natural resource exhaustion
resulting from exploitation at speeds beyond their natural recovery rates which
jeopardizes sustenance of life. If property rights are given to particular individual or
groups, they will utilise their resources efficiently with due consideration for future
living, thereby avoiding resource exhaustion. The human propensity to be free
riders is responsible for deforestation and air and water pollution. The lag in
institutional adjustment tend to become large because of poverty and high rate of
discount for future consumption and income among people.
Even if scarcity of natural resources increases, natural resources and
environments can be adequately preserved by investment in conservation and antipollution activities such as reforestation, soil erosion prevention (such as terracing),
and purification of gas emission. In order to promote these activities, institutional
innovations are required, such as setting property rights where applicable, regulating
and taxing natural resource utilization, and organizing governmental and nongovernmental bodies for environmental monitoring.
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