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The Centre has notified amendments to environmental impact assessment rules, exempting highway projects related to defence and strategic importance within 100 km of the Line of Control or the border from the requirement of environmental clearance.

Highways within 100 km of LoC, borders won't need environmental clearance: Centre

Environmental activists had opposed the draft notification issued in April to exempt border projects from environmental clearance, saying it would cause environmental degradation in areas having a fragile ecology.

The Centre has notified amendments to environmental impact assessment rules, exempting highway projects related to defence and strategic importance within 100 km of the Line of Control or the border from the requirement of environmental clearance.
The notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry also exempts projects pertaining to the expansion of terminal buildings at airports (without an increase in the existing area of the airport) from seeking a green nod.
It also increases the exemption threshold of biomass-based power plants which also use auxiliary fuels such as coal, lignite or petroleum products up to 15 percent and fish handling capacity of ports and harbours which exclusively handle fish.
&ldquo;Highway projects related to defence and strategic importance in border states are sensitive in nature and in many cases need to be executed on priority keeping in view strategic, defence, and security considerations.
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&ldquo;And in this regard, the central government deems it necessary to exempt such projects from the requirement of environmental clearance in the border areas subject to specified standard operating procedure along with standard environmental safeguards for self-compliance by the executing agency,&rdquo; the notification read.
All highway projects are exempted up to 100 km from the LOC or the border, it said.
Environmental activists had opposed the draft notification issued in April to exempt border projects from environmental clearance, saying it would cause environmental degradation in areas having a fragile ecology.
With the amended policy coming into force, certain stretches of the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand, and several other projects in the Himalayas and the northeast which fall within 100 km of the border or the LoC will not require the green nod.
The project involves the widening of 899 km of roads in ecologically sensitive areas of Uttarakhand to improve connectivity to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunothri, and Gangotri shrines.

Is "Odd-Even" really the answer to Delhi's smog problem?

Delhi NCR just went through another stint of the odd-even rule from 4 to 15 November and right at the beginning of this schedule, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal put out a tweet saying-
&nbsp;Even though, the smog and pollution in Delhi seem a bit better than before. Is it really the odd-even rule that did it? And more importantly, is it really the solution to this issue? Let&rsquo;s try and answer that.
Every year around the month of late October and November Delhi and most of northern India gets covered with a layer of smog. It gets intensified due to the festival of Diwali accompanied by a lot of cracker burning.&nbsp;
But that&rsquo;s not the entire reason for this problem. Delhi is one of the most populated and polluted cities of the world with a lot of vehicles, industries and construction sites which add to this pollution problem.
One of the major reasons that have been cited by various studies and organizations is the stubble burning which happens around the Delhi region in the neighbouring states around the same time. It also gets aggravated because the wind pattern over the capital is stagnant during this time which doesn&rsquo;t allow the pollution and the smog to go away.
The odd-even policy aims to cut through this problem by rationing the number of vehicles on the road mainly to bring down the level of PM2.5; one of the major particulate matters contributing to this smog.
Studies done by TERI and IITK indicate that the contribution to the PM2.5 by vehicular pollution is between 20 to 28%. Surprisingly, the passenger vehicles including taxis and CNG cars is only 2 percent.
The IITK study also showed that the contribution by 2 wheeler vehicles stood higher at 6% and the major share went to trucks at 9.2%.&nbsp;
This data clearly indicated that the odd-even scheme alone can&rsquo;t solve the problem. Especially when certain exceptions like taxis, women drivers and two wheelers are put in place. The root causes need to be found and an exhaustive plan is necessary to be acted upon.
So what are these causes?
One of those major causes is the stubble burning in the states of Punjab and Haryana. According to a report by SAFAR, stubble burning contribution rose to its highest at 46% this year. Even though, the state govt. put up plans and provisions to counter this. This issue still stands tall.
According to an estimate, about 17% of the particulate matter can be reduced if the roads in the National Capital Region are paved, leading to a decline in the dust particles in the air.
Along with that, biomass burning and the burning of plastics is also a major concern. Even though, various fines and punishments have been implemented by the govt. They do not seem to have percolated through to the bottom.
Thus, it is very clear that the odd-even policy is not the solution to the problem. At least not the only solution. It is currently a reactionary measure to the problem which has a much more complicated basis.&nbsp;
As the study by the Central Pollution Control Board stated;&nbsp;
&ldquo;With no clear trend and wide fluctuations observed in the concentrations, it is evident that the meteorology and emissions from other polluting sources have been major factors impacting the air quality of Delhi during the period,&rdquo;
What the state government needs to do is to come up with a plan that tackles all these issues. A solo approach with vehicles will not be sufficient for Delhi to breathe free. Moreover, the aim to reduce pollution and make Delhi a better and cleaner city needs to be a yearlong exercise and not something we do for a week or when the problem is at the doorstep.
The condition has gotten better the past few days and I sincerely hope it gets better thanks to light winds that have been active in moving the smog away&nbsp;
but we should not be dependent on them if we want to save ourselves from this trouble every year.

Are Plastic Bans Effective in India?

What exactly is the decision to do with plastics?
While it was earlier speculated and suggested that there will be a complete ban on single-use plastics, the government has announced a &ldquo;mass movement to sensitise the public against the use of plastic&rdquo;. This is to be accompanied by a gradual phasing out of plastic products, although when this phasing out will start is not been made clear.&nbsp;
At the state level, however, there has been action against plastic. While 18 states have already banned plastic carry bags, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, Pondicherry have gone a step further and also banned single-use plastic cutlery, plates, cups and straws. Recently, Chandigarh approved its final notification on the same.&nbsp;
This decision to not introduce a blanket ban has irked a section of citizens, but what does such a ban actually entail? What are its implications? And is a ban the best way to start?
What is single-use plastic?
Single Use Plastics are different kinds of foamed plastics which are rigid, durable and mostly used for packing. These are items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. Globally, these types of plastic packaging make for the largest industrial sector at 36%. For now, the government is planning to ban six such plastic products &mdash; straws, plastic cups, plates, small bottles and certain types of sachets.&nbsp;
Why is it bad for the environment?
These take thousands of years to decompose, and thus stay in the oceans, soils or blow above the surface. An estimate shows that by 2050, 99% of seabirds will have ingested plastic and 15% of species would be affected by ingestion and entanglement from marine litter, making them endangered.&nbsp;
For its production, it has a huge dependence on fossil fuels: if the growth in plastic production continues at the current rate, by 2050, the plastic industry may account for 20% of the world&rsquo;s total oil consumption.&nbsp;
Further, as a recent report highlighted, single-use plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle, from its production to its refining and the way it is managed as a waste product. It means that by 2050 plastic will be responsible for up to 13% of the total &ldquo;carbon budget&rdquo; &ndash; equivalent to 615 coal-fired power plants.
It is estimated that one to 5 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. That is almost 10 million plastic bags per minute. If tied together, these entire plastic bags could be wrapped around the world seven times every hour.
Who all would be impacted with the ban?&nbsp;
While there is still no clarity on which items fall under the bracket of single-use plastics, estimates indicate that they could constitute 4-7 percent of raw material used in the manufacturing process. In this context,&nbsp;Jairam Ramesh tweeted, &ldquo;I resisted blanket ban on use of single-use plastic. Plastic industry employs lakhs and the real problem is how we dispose and recycle waste."&nbsp;
If implemented, the ban will affect close to 10,000 plastic manufacturing units, impacting 3-4 lakh employees working in these units. Almost every Fast Moving Consumer Good companies (FMCG) like Nestle, Britannia, PepsiCo would be impacted.&nbsp;
Food delivery services are also set to be hit by the ban. Apart from this many other people, up and down the value chain, will be affected including small manufactures of plastic as well as those in the informal recycling sector. Packaged drink producers are also likely to get hit, since they use PET bottles for packing their products. The chairman of Bisleri International had stated, &ldquo;Almost all PET is recycled in India, so where is the problem? Instead, the authorities need to step up incentives for recycling&rdquo;.
The All India Plastics Manufacturers Association, consisting of 2000 direct members and 20,000 indirect members, has suggested that before any such measure, there needs to be a clear scientific definition of the term 'single-use plastic'
Are Plastic bans really impactful?
More than 60 countries have introduced bans and levies to curb single-use plastic waste. But, in 50 per cent of cases, information about their impact is lacking, partly because some countries have adopted them only recently and partly because monitoring is inadequate. In countries that do have data, about 30 per cent have registered drastic drops in the consumption of plastic bags within the first year. The remaining 20 per cent of countries have reported little to no change.
In South Africa, the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and deposit-return schemes proved effective in reducing littering from PET bottles, while boosting the recycling sector. This created jobs and business opportunities, while addressing one kind of problematic single-use plastics.
In India though, where states have banned this, implementation was limited to restrictions on plastic carrying bags.&nbsp;&nbsp;
What other methods could be adopted for it to be more effective?
Waste management practices need to be improved, along with financial incentives to change the habits of consumers, retailers and manufacturers. The Research and development of alternative materials need to be financed as well. &nbsp;
India would do well to focus on a circular economy of plastics. This means that government leadership, producer responsibility, consumer education and awareness should ideally enable market mechanisms to drive higher resource productivity, innovation and economic growth. While the idea behind a blanket ban is commendable, the implications it carries must be considered before diving in. Phasing plastic products out seems like a better way to go, but this must be matched with real deadlines and strict implementation if we are to actually combat this issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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