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Environmental policies and programmes of India
Dr. G. V. Subramanium
Director, CP Division, Ministry of Environment &
Forest
Spatial Planning - Importance
- Natural Resources are located (on land/space) at spatial sites.
- Sites are demanded for and used for various uses. Demand for Land/uses is
more than availability.
- To protect natural resources and to use them on sustainable basis, these
sites must be preserved and developed.
- Use conflicts are existing every where and have to be fairly managed (e.g.
agriculture versus forestry)
Objectives of Ecologically Compatible
Landuse Planning
- Preserve and protect important sensitive sites of natural resources to allow
their sustainable use.
- Rehabilitation of degraded sites.
- Develop Sites / lands in accordance with their environmental properties/
ecological significance (ecologically sites specific use).
EIA
Vis-a Vis Imperatives of Spatial Environmental Planning in India
- Targets for industrial development are fixed.
- Sites for industries are rarely predetermined.
- Selection of sites rests with entrepreneurs.
- Consideration of Environmental Aspects are inadequate.
- Information available is weak.
- Decision making is weak.
- Lack of spatial plan leads to environmentally incompatible development.
Environmental Planning in India
- A major thrust of Indo-German bi-lateral project- "Strengthening of Central/
State PCBs"
- Need for Environmental Planning in India is well recognised.
- EP Act authorises Central Govt. "To take all such measures as it deems
necessary for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of environment
and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution".
- Measures under this clause include:
- "Planning and execution of nationwide programme for the prevention, control
and abatement of Environmental Pollution".
Development
of Environmental Planning Concept in India
- CPCB to develop concepts and to test them in UT of Pondicherry.
- Indo-German bilateral TA Project - since 1990.
- Study of District Hasan - Industrial Siting suitability atlas - Karnataka
State Council of Science & Technology.
- Publication of Atlas.
- Conduction of further studies through out the country.
- Environmental Planning Cell - CPCB
- Indo-German bilateral TA
- Provided advisory services
- Infrastructural support (hardware, software)
- 1995-96 : 23 districts in 17 states - comprehensive land capability planning
guidelines for siting of polluting industries.
- Each study contains a set of maps in the form of an atlas (scale 1:250000).
- Stating and evaluating the siting suitability of the whole area of the
district.
- Evaluation is based on:
- Assessment of spatially distributed environmental factors.
- Siting suitability to different types of industries.
- Classified according to their expected environmental impacts
- Evaluation is stated ranging from "not suitable" to "highly suitable"
- District-wise Zoning Atlas Project under World Bank EMCBTA.
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