Air Quality Management Framework for India

Stakeholder Analysis of Air Quality Management Framework in India
Major Project Report
Submitted by: Radhika Kapoor
In partial fulfilment for the
Degree of MBA (Business Sustainability) Submitted to: Department of Policy Studies TERI University 10, Institutional Area,Vasant Kunj New Delhi, INDIA
June 2012

DECLARATION
This is to certify that the work that forms the basis of this project ―Stakeholder Analysis of Air Quality Management Framework in India‖ is an original work carried out by me and has not been submitted anywhere else for the award of any degree.
I certify that all sources of information and data are fully acknowledged in the project report.
Radhika Kapoor
Date: 21-06-2012

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Radhika Kapoor has carried out her major project in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration in Business Sustainability on the topic ―Stakeholder Analysis of Air Quality Management Framework in India‖ during March 2012 to May 2012. The project was carried out at Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, New Delhi, India. The report embodies the original work of the candidate to the best of our knowledge
Date: - 21-06-2012 Mr. Kunal Sharma (External Supervisor) Senior Programme Officer Climate Policy Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation Munirka, New Delhi- 110067 India
Dr. Kaushik R. Bandyopadhyay
Dr. Prateek Sharma (Internal Supervisor) Assistant Professor Department of Policy Studies TERI University
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070 India Associate Professor and MBA Programmes Director Department of Policy Studies TERI University
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110 070 India

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Apart from my efforts, the success of this project depends largely on the encouragement and guidance provided by many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. The project at Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation offered me both a learning experience, as well as a glimpse into the real world. For their inspiring and valuable guidance, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Prateek Sharma from TERI University and Mr. Kunal Sharma from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, who were not only my mentors but also my companions for the journey towards a successful project. I sincerely thank both of them for their constant mentoring, support and encouragement. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Suresh Jain and Dr. Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay from TERI University for their invaluable support. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to my God for blessing me and to my parents for being my role models and my mentors for life. Thank you for always believing in me. I dedicate my work to you. Radhika Kapoor

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
ABSTRACT v
LIST OF TABLES ix
LIST OF FIGURES x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Sources of air pollution in India .......................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Vehicular Pollution ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.2 Industrial Air Pollution ................................................................................................................. 2
1.1.3 Domestic Sources of Air Pollution ............................................................................................... 3
1.2 Regulatory Approach towards Control of Pollution ........................................................................... 4
1.3 Air Quality Management in India – An Overview .............................................................................. 4
2.0 OBJECTIVES 8
3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 9
4.0 METHODOLOGY 10
5.0 OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS 11
5.1 Stakeholder mapping of the Air Quality Management Framework .................................................. 11
5.2 Environmental Pollution Prevention Laws in India .......................................................................... 14
5.3 Stakeholder – Indian Judiciary .......................................................................................................... 16
5.3.1 The role of Judiciary in Environment Protection ....................................................................... 16
5.3.2 Supreme Court‘s intervention in improving the air quality in Delhi: A case study ................... 17
5.3.3 Review of the role of the judiciary in environment matters ....................................................... 20
5.4 Stakeholder- Ministries Involved ...................................................................................................... 21
5.4.1 Ministries involved directly in the Air Quality Management framework .................................. 21
5.4.2 Ministries involved indirectly in the Air Quality Management framework ............................... 37
5.5 Stakeholder - Government Agencies................................................................................................. 38

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5.5.1 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ................................................................................... 38
5.5.2 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) ...................................................................................... 56
5.5.3 Environment Pollution (Prevention Control) Authority for the National Capital Region (EPCA) ............................................................................................................................................................. 57
5.5.4 Loss of Ecology (Prevention and payments of Compensation) Authority for the State of Tamil Nadu..................................................................................................................................................... 59
5.5.5 Planning Commission ................................................................................................................. 59
5.5.6 Other Government Agencies (Indirectly Involved) .................................................................... 59
5.6 Associations ...................................................................................................................................... 60
5.6.1 Indian Association for Air Pollution Control (IAAPC).............................................................. 61
5.6.2 Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)............................................................... 61
5.6.3 Suzlon Powered PALS (Pure Air Lovers Society) ..................................................................... 62
5.6.4 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) ...................................................................................... 62
5.6.5 Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) ........................................ 63
5.6.6 ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) ....................... 63
5.6.7 The Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) ............................................................................ 64
5.6.8 Review of Associations .............................................................................................................. 64
5.7 Academic and Research Institutes..................................................................................................... 64
5.7.1 About .......................................................................................................................................... 65
5.7.2 Review of the Work of Academic/ Research Institutes .............................................................. 66
5.8 Non-Government Organisations ....................................................................................................... 66
5.8.1 Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) ............................................................................... 66
5.8.2 The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) ............................................................................... 68
5.8.3 Clean Air Initiative – Asia (CAI- Asia)...................................................................................... 69
5.8.4 Development Alternatives (DA) ................................................................................................. 70
5.8.5 Other NGOs ................................................................................................................................ 71
5.8.6 Review of NGOs ........................................................................................................................ 71
5.9 International Agencies and Bilateral Organisations .......................................................................... 72
5.9.1 World Health Organisation (WHO) ........................................................................................... 72

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5.9.2 Health Effects Institute (HEI) ..................................................................................................... 72
5.9.3 World Bank (WB) ...................................................................................................................... 73
5.9.4 United States Environment Protection Agency (US EPA) ......................................................... 74
5.9.5 Global Environment Facility (GEF) ........................................................................................... 77
5.9.6 Advisory Services in Environmental Management (ASEM) ..................................................... 80
5.9.7 Other International organisations working in this domain ......................................................... 81
5.9.8 Review of the role of International/Bilateral Organisations ....................................................... 81
5.10 Media Stakeholders ......................................................................................................................... 81
5.10.2 CMS ENVIS Centre ................................................................................................................. 82
5.10.3 Other Important Media Stakeholders ....................................................................................... 82
5.10.4 Review of the role of Media ..................................................................................................... 82
5.11 Website ............................................................................................................................................ 83
5.11.1 IFMR pollution map ................................................................................................................. 83
5.11.2 UrbanEmissions .Info ............................................................................................................... 83
5.12 India Inc. Stakeholders .................................................................................................................... 84
5.12.1 About ........................................................................................................................................ 84
5.12.2 Review of the work by India Inc. ............................................................................................. 84
6.0 CONCLUSION 85
6.1 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................. 85
6.2 Proposed Air Quality Management Framework for India ................................................................ 89
6.3 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 91
7.0 REFERENCES 92
8.0 APPENDIX 95
8.1 Annexure I: National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (Revised in 1994 & 1998).......... 95
8.2 Annexure II: National Ambient Air Quality Standards (Revised in 2009) ....................................... 96

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ABSTRACT
India is a developing economy faced with the grappling challenge of balancing economic development with environmental and social wellbeing. Amidst all the other pressing environmental concerns, air pollution is surging ahead to be one of the most daunting environmental threats the country faces today. Air pollution is not only an environmental issue but also has mortality related health implications for human beings. Therefore, India is under immense global and national pressure to improve the air quality and address this issue with seriousness. Despite the urgency, the piecemeal approach of the government in tackling the problem is leading to un-sustained short term benefits and fragmented air quality management framework. Air is a public good; hence, identifying and understanding its multi-stakeholder base and their contribution to the AQM framework is quintessential in building a robust Air Quality Management framework for the country. The project – ‘Stakeholder Analysis of Air Quality Management in India’, is an attempt to provide a comprehensive commentary on the present ‘Air Quality Management’ framework in the country. The broad objective of this report was to identify the various stakeholder organisations in the air quality management domain in India, determine the activity domain of these organisations, identify existing overlaps and inter-linkages between them, assess their efforts in relation to their stated objectives to analyze the shortcomings in the system, and thereby, make concrete recommendations while proposing a lean AQM framework for the country. This project report provides a holistic overview of the current status of the air quality management framework prevalent in the country while citing useful insights on the major initiatives undertaken by key stakeholders in this domain. This analysis is the first ever study to have been undertaken in this field with the sole objective of facilitating greater understanding of the framework in India and to study potential areas of development with regard to strengthening the system. Further, the in depth analysis of the framework laid the foundation stone for proposing an improved Air Quality Management Framework for India. The robust framework proposed is the first ever attempt to diagrammatic represent all the stakeholders of the AQM network and is of immense significance to all the stakeholders actively involved in improving the air quality in India.
Keywords: Air Pollution, Air Quality, Air Quality Management Framework, Stakeholder Analysis

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Role and Responsibility of CPCB .............................................................................. 40
Table 2: Research and Academic Institutes working on Air Quality Management ................. 65
Table 3: Summary table of recommendations .......................................................................... 85

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Major Polluting Industries in India ............................................................................. 3
Figure 2: Stakeholder Mapping of Air Quality Management in India ..................................... 13
Figure 3: Organisation Structure of CPCB .............................................................................. 41
Figure 4: Air Quality Monitoring Network in India ................................................................ 46
Figure 5: Proposed Air Quality Management Framework for India ........................................ 90

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AQM Air Quality Management ACF Advocacy Coalition Framework Abbreviations used MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest MoST Ministry of Science and Technology MoSRTH Ministry of Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways MoES Ministry of Earth Sciences MoP Ministry of Power MoH&FW Ministry of Health and Family Welfare MoPNG Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas MoUD Ministry of Urban Development MoCI Ministry of Commerce and Industry MoC Ministry of Coal MoHI&PI Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Industries MNRE Ministry of New and Renewable Energy CPCB Central Pollution Control Board SPCB State Pollution Control Board NGT National Green Tribunal NEP National Environmental Policy EIA Environmental Impact Association CREP Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection ETS Emission Trading Scheme UGC University Grants Commission CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ICAR Indian Council for Agriculture Research ICMR Indian Council for Medical Research ICSSR Indian Council of Social Science Research CEPI Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index CETP Common Effluent Treatment Plant NEPTRI National Environment Protection Training and Research Institute UNEP United Nations Environment Programme SACEP South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme

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ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development UNCED United Nations conference on Environment and Development CSD Commission on Sustainable Development GEF Global Environment Facility ESCAP Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation LRTAP Long –Range Transboundary Air Pollution NEAMA National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Agency C&AG Comptroller and Auditor General IT Information Technology IMD Indian Meteorological Department IITM Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology SAFAR System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research NEERI National Environmental Engineering Research Institute CRRI Central Road Research Institute SCOE Standing Committee on Implementation of Emission Legislation EPA Environment Protection Act NAMP National Air Quality Management Programme SPM Suspended Particulate Matter RSPM Respirable Particulate Matter EPCA Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority ARAI Automotive Research Association of India IIP Indian Institute of Petroleum NIOH National Institute of Occupational Health WHO World Health Organization ILO International Labour Organization CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety US EPA United States Environment Protection Agency NTPC National Thermal Power Corporation CERC Central Electricity Regulatory Commission RPO Renewable Purchase Obligation PCRA Petroleum Conservation Research Association

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NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standard BS Bharat Stage CPA Critically Polluted Area BEE Bureau of Energy Efficiency PPAC Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell TIFAC Technology Information Forecasting Assessment Council RAPIDC Regional Air Pollution in Developing Countries IAAPC Indian Association for Air Pollution Control SIAM Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers CII Confederation of Indian Industries FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ASSOCHAM Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India PCIA Partnership for Clean Indoor Air IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis IUAPPA International Union for Air Pollution Prevention Environmental Protection Associations BEE Bureau of Energy Efficiency

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Air pollution has been a major source of concern for India, a developing economy, which is struggling to strike a balance between development on one hand and environment protection on the other. To this effect, India recognises the fundamentals of sustainable development as the cornerstone for sustained economic progress of a nation and is working towards addressing the all important issue of air quality management. This report is the first ever attempt to provide an in depth analysis of the air quality management framework of India. This report undertakes a comprehensive review of all the stakeholders, directly or indirectly affecting the system and identifies potential areas of improvements for a robust air quality management framework for the country. The ultimate aim of this report is to design a lean and robust air quality management framework for India which will help India achieve its mission of better air quality..
1.1 Sources of air pollution in India
In India, outdoor air pollution is restricted mostly to urban areas, where automobiles are the primary contributors, followed by pollution in industries and thermal power plants. Apart from rapid industrialization, urbanization has resulted in the emergence of industrial centres without a corresponding growth in regulatory capacity and pollution control mechanisms in the country. The high influx of population to urban areas, increase in consumption patterns, and unplanned urban and industrial development has further aggravated the problem of air pollution. Sources of air pollution in India can be primarily categorized under the following three headings: 1. Vehicles 2. Industries 3. Domestic sources
1.1.1 Vehicular Pollution
Vehicular pollution is one of the most significant sources for increase in the emission load of various pollutants into the atmosphere. Following are identified to be the main factors leading

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to increased vehicular pollution: 1. Poor vehicle design 2. Old vehicles 3. Inferior fuel quality and fuel adulteration 4. Inadequate mass rapid public transport infrastructure 5. Inefficient travel demand, traffic management and capacity planning. 6. Poor road and railway infrastructure 7. Uncontrolled growth of vehicle population in urban sprawls 8. Inadequate inspection and maintenance facility
1.1.2 Industrial Air Pollution
There are many reasons for increased industrial air pollution in the country. Listed below are few of the reasons responsible for increased emission from industrial sources:
1. Poor quality of fuel (coal, diesel, petrol, fuel oil)
2. Toxic and hazardous air pollutants emission from chemical industries (pesticides, dye and dye intermediate, pharmaceutical etc.) specially located in industrial states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, A.P. And Tamil Nadu)
3. Use of high ash coal for power generation
4. Inadequate pollution prevention and control system in small/ medium scale industry (S.M.S) (brick kiln, foundry, stone crusher etc.)
5. Poor compliance of standard in small/ medium scale industry
6. Large number of polluting diesel ‗Gensets‘ operating in commercial area
Figure 1 illustrates the major air polluting industries as depicted by report of India (Swedish Energy and Environment Technology in India Program)1.
1 Original source : CPCB

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Figure 1: Major Polluting Industries in India
1.1.3 Domestic Sources of Air Pollution
Mainly four different types of cooking fuels are used in this country: biomass fuel (Wood, cow - dung cake, agricultural waste, coal etc.); liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); kerosene and a mixture of these. The primary source of indoor air pollution from domestic sources is through burning of biomass for cooking. Liquid and gaseous fuels such as kerosene and bottled gas, although not completely pollution-free, are many times less polluting than these unprocessed solid fuels. Burning such fuels produces large amounts of smoke and other air pollutants in the confined space of the home a perfect recipe for high exposures. About 95% of the rural population in India still relies primarily on biomass fuels (dung, crop residues, and wood)2 (Smith, 2000). It is the burning of these fuels which leads to indoor air pollution. It has been estimated that about half a million women and children die each year from indoor air pollution in India.3(Smith, 2000)
2 Smith KR. Inaugural article: national burden of disease in India from indoor air pollution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2000 ; 97 : 13286 - 93 3 Smith, K.R. Indoor air pollution implicated in alarming health problems. In: Indoor Air Pollution – Energy and Health for the Poor. Newsletter published by World Bank, p.1, 2000

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1.2 Regulatory Approach towards Control of Pollution
India has been following the ‗Command and Control‘ (CAC) approach for constraining polluting activities from each source by setting uniform standards for technologies, processes and emissions. By enforcing standards and regulating the emissions, the government seeks to abate pollution, while this approach is effective to keep the pollution under control; however, it doesn‘t provide any incentive for the polluter to stop polluting. It has been observed through several empirical studies that CAC approach is sub-optimal as it doesn‘t account for social costs in entirety i.e. they do not in general yield optimal pollution-abatement outcomes which equate the social marginal benefit of abatement with its social marginal cost (Sajal Ghosh) 4 A number of economic instruments have been introduced to internalize the external costs of pollution, make the polluter pay, and at the same time minimize the cost of a given level of abatement under given conditions with regard to production and abatement costs. Tradable permits, emission and effluent charges, subsidies for competitive outputs, and sustainable environment friendly inputs are all examples of ‗economic instruments‘, combination of which along with taxes not only generate revenue but also provide incentives for environmental improvements. India is looking forward to formulate the suitable combination of these instruments to both penalize the polluter and incentivize pollution abatement.
1.3 Air Quality Management in India – An Overview
Air, being a public good, has numerous stakeholders which form part of its quality management framework. Due to its public character, air is also subject to a number of negative externalities or the ‗free rider effect‘, as it is both non-exclusive and non-rivalrous to all. It is for this reason its protection is vital and a framework for its management quintessential. The air quality management framework germinated with the enactment of The Air (Prevention and Control) Act 1981 and The Environment (Protection) Act 1986, which were enacted for safeguarding the environment. The scope for development of this framework was provided in both these acts. Ever since, the ‗Air Quality Management Framework in India‘ has been constantly evolving.
4 Background Paper Prepared for The Atlantic Council of USA Paper by Sajal Ghosh CII on ‗Sustainable energy policies for clean air in India‘

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The intent of the sovereign to tackle air pollution with both hands is clearly underlined in the twelfth plan approach paper of the planning commission, which states that ―continuous improvement in ambient air quality must be achieved through regulatory control over emissions, increasing awareness about civic liability, using state-of-the-art technology and global best practices so as to achieve the standard set by the National Ambient Air Quality, by the end of the Twelfth Plan. Policy intervention should facilitate industrial symbiosis with respect to environmental pollution based on the principle ‗polluter must pay‘‖.
Air pollution if not controlled, is all set to become the most daunting environmental challenge yet to be faced by India, given its poor air quality management framework. In proof of the statement above, Environmental Performance Index5 2012 ranking of countries, conducted by environmental research centers at Yale and Columbia University, ranked India last in the indicator on ‗Air (effects on human health)‘.The dismal result of India in this ranking suggests the prevalent toxic air conditions in India which will lead to future health implications. The World Health Organization has found that due to the poor air quality, ‗Acute Respiratory Infections‘ were one of the most common causes of deaths in children under 5 in India, and contributed to 13% of in-patient deaths in paediatric wards in India.6 This situation re-emphasises the pressing need to counter the detrimental effects of air pollution by strengthening the incompetent air quality management framework in the country. AQM aims to maintain the quality of the air that protects human health and welfare but also provides protection of animals, plants (crops, forests, natural vegetation), ecosystems, materials and aesthetics, such as natural levels of visibility. AQM is a tool which enables governmental authorities to set objectives to achieve and maintain clean air and reduce the impacts on human health and the environment. Governmental authorities, in collaboration with other stakeholders, can determine the individual steps of the implementation of this process according to:
 local circumstances with respect to background concentrations of air pollutants and technological feasibility;
 cultural and social conditions; and
 financial and human resources available.
5 http://epi.yale.edu/epi2012/countryprofiles
6 http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section313/Section1519_10854.htm

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An effective AQM strategy is dependent on a number of factors. These include emission inventories, air quality monitoring networks, air quality prediction models, exposure and damage assessments, as well as health and environment based standards. Along with these factors are a range of cost-effective pollution control measures and the legislative powers and resources to implement and enforce them. In the wake of long term health impacts of air pollution, India‘s intent has been to enhance its scale and scope in the field of air quality monitoring and planning; its capacity to monitor and assess the problem of air pollution remains abysmally weak, which impedes nationwide planning and action. The monitoring data available provides a very fragmented picture of the status of air quality in our cities. On a nationwide scale, very few criteria pollutants are monitored on a regular basis, making risk assessment difficult. The planners and the policy makers in India do not have a complete understanding of the whole range of local situations to assess the exposure levels. Therefore, poor data quality, weak institutional capacity to assess pollution sources and the absence of an effective legal framework for air quality management are the reasons for ad hoc and fragmented planning. The ambient air comprises various particulates and gaseous pollutants, such as NOx, SOX, CO, Ozone, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) and a variety of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which could be severely detrimental to health of humans, plants and animals. According to the CSE Report on ‗Managing Air Quality‘, the overriding concern for India today is the very high levels of particulate matter (PM) of different size fraction, coming from various sources. A joint report of World Health Organization‘s (WHO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) among others called Air Pollution in Megacities of Asia, 2002, shows that since 1990, there has been a consistent increase in PM10 levels across the Asian region, which shows a distinct regional pattern. The Boston-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) reports that annual mean PM10 levels tend to be higher in lower-income south Asian — mainly Indian — cities compared to middle or high-income Asian cities, including Bangkok, Busan, Hong Kong and Seoul.
The effects of inhaling particulate matter that have been widely observed in humans and animals include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, birth defects, and premature death. The size of the particle is a main determinant of where in the respiratory tract the particle will

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come to rest when inhaled. Because of their small size, particles on the order of ~10 micrometers or less (PM10) can penetrate the deepest part of the lungs such as the bronchioles or alveoli. Larger particles are generally filtered in the nose and throat via cilia and mucus, but particulate matter smaller than about 10 micrometers, referred to as PM10, can settle in the bronchi and lungs and cause other health problems. The health risk assessment of the various pollutants is an important research topic which still needs to be studied in detail. Therefore, it has become important to reinforce the air quality monitoring framework in cities to assess the risk of air pollution, to formulate appropriate policies to control it and to create awareness and sensitise people towards the health implications of this grave issue. In the past, there have been several researches to strengthen the environmental framework and address the issue of air pollution by conducting monitoring studies, source apportionment studies, emission inventories, reviewing the ambient air standards, dispersion modeling, health impact studies, pollution control strategy study, etc. However, there exists no research study which identifies all the stakeholders of air quality management in the country, provides a holistic review of these stakeholders - their initiatives and roles in the system, identifies gaps and existing inter-linkages between the various government and non- government actors and recommends future course of action for improvement of the framework on air pollution control in the country. This research paper addresses all the above stated issues to formulate a comprehensive commentary on the consolidated present day air quality management framework of the country and proposes a lean AQM framework for the country.

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2.0 OBJECTIVES
 To prepare a comprehensive inventory of stakeholder organisations , directly or indirectly involved with air quality management in India
 To study the activity domain of various organisations and identify existing overlaps and inter-linkages
 To review the present framework and provide recommendations for all the stakeholders
 To recommend a lean air quality management framework based on the review

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3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
Analysing the AQM policy framework of the country required an in depth study of all the government and non-government actor-stakeholders of the system. To gauge government‘s orientation towards the issue of air quality management, an extensive scrutiny of the 11th five year plan, planning commission‘s approach paper for 12th year plan, recommendation report on environment for 12th plan was carried out. Subsequent to which, CPCB‘s Annual Report 2011 was analysed. ‗National summary report on air quality monitoring, emission inventory and source apportionment study for Indian cities‘ produced by CPCB was studied to understand the current state of affairs of the emission inventory regime in Indian context. Further, to understand the AQM framework in the country, the CAI-ASIA‘s report on air quality in India, CAI- Asia and ADB Report on Urban Air Management were reviewed thoroughly. This report provided a bird‘s eye view of the system prevalent in the country. To understand the civil society perspective on this contentious issue, report by CSE-‗Managing Air‘ was read. Health Effect Institute‘s report on Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) project, which aims to understand the short term exposure to air pollution and daily mortality in two Indian cities, was also synthesized to gauge the health risks associated with air pollution. To better understand the policy, institutional and regulatory framework of the AQM in India various reports was analysed. Report on ‗Evaluation of CPCB by IIM Lucknow February 2010‘, critically analysed the functioning and structure of CPCB. It identified various institutional capacity as a big restraint in the functioning of the regulatory body. Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests (Rajya Sabha Committee), 192nd report on functioning of central pollution control board. The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament‘s 57th report tabled on April 27th 2012 in the Lok Sabha was also studied to understand the review of MoEF‘s functioning by the committee. Based on the above literature review and assessment - analysis, conclusions and recommendations were made for making the AQM framework more robust and a lean framework was proposed.

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4.0 METHODOLOGY
To comprehensively analyse the present-day framework of air quality management in India, various stakeholder groups were identified, on the basis of their contribution to the AQM in the country. Subsequently, organisations in these stakeholder groups were selected on the basis of the prominence of their impact on the framework of the country. The initiatives of these organisations in the domain of AQM were listed, while identifying their roles, inter- linkages and areas of overlap in the system. An exhaustive review of the organisations and stakeholder groups was carried out. The critiqued assessment provided the basis for conclusions and recommendations of the report. Various reports in relation to air quality management, produced by government and non- government actors were accessed and analysed. Information on public domain was assessed for all the stakeholders, to understand their roles, identify existing overlaps and prepare a comprehensive commentary on their initiatives, through the medium of ‗world wide web‘. Air quality experts at TERI University were also consulted personally for their expert knowledge in this domain. Based on the information collected above, feedback for a lean air quality management framework for India was formulated.

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5.0 OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Stakeholder mapping of the Air Quality Management Framework
Stakeholders were mapped in groups according to their profiles and roles played in this sector. Given below is a brief description of the categorized clusters:
1. Judiciary: Judiciary forms an all-important organ of the AQM framework. It ensures that both the executive and legislative bodies perform their roles as expected. It is empowered to provide justice in times of conflict while safeguarding the interest of the environment and the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country at large.
Judicial stakeholders in AQM in India comprise- The Supreme Court, High Courts, District Courts, National Green Tribunal, and National Environment Tribunal.
2. Ministries Involved Directly: These Ministries are the most prominent stakeholders of the AQM India framework. They are directly responsible in the decision making process for forming policy mandates in this domain. They undertake communications within themselves for formulating standards for air pollution control and thereby impact the system substantially. Ministry stakeholders directly involved comprise - MoEF, MoES, MoSRTH, MoH&FW, MoS&T, MoP and MoPNG
Ministries Involved Indirectly: These Ministries as not as significant in impacting the framework as the ones listed above. However, they supplement the work of the ministries directly involved in the decision making and impact the decision making indirectly. Ministry stakeholders indirectly involved comprise - MoUD , MoCI , MoC, MoF, MoHIP, MoM, and MNRE
3. Government Agencies Involved Directly: Prominent executive bodies performing the role of regulators/policy planners for air pollution prevention, prevalent in both the centre and the state were identified. These agencies play an active role in AQM in India. Stakeholders identified under this domain are – CPCB, SPCBs/PCCs, Planning Commission, EPCA, IMD, State Environment and Forest Departments
Government Agencies Involved Indirectly: These executive agencies assist in air pollution prevention in an indirect way. Stakeholders identified under this domain are – BEE, PPAC, TIFAC, and Municipal Corporations
4. Academic and Research Institutes: These comprise institutes which enrich the AQM framework through their specialised research knowledge in technical, health and policy related fields in relation to Air Quality/Air Pollution.
5. Non-Governmental Organisations: Various Non-Government Organisations and civil society organisations have contributed to the evolution of the air quality management

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framework of India. These NGOs have been engaged actively in policy advocacy and community engagement/outreach and campaigns development in this field. Their presence strengthens the network to a large extent.
6. Media Houses: Several media organisations have undertaken responsibility on engaging in environmental issues which impact the society at large. The communication outreach efforts by these organisations are concerted to this end.
7. Associations: The associations are representatives of a consortium of enterprises/industries/individuals working towards a common developmental cause. The voice of the associations is powerful as it speaks for a large representative sample of people. Associations play a pronounced role in the AQM framework of India. Stakeholders identified in this cluster are – IAAPC, SIAM, FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, PCIA, PALS
8. International Agencies / Bilateral Organisations: Various international organisations, bilateral agencies, etc actively engage in aiding the development of AQM framework in the country. They provide resources such as financial aid, technical expertise, etc to assist India towards sustainable development.
9. India Inclusive (India Inc.): Indian, Multinational private corporate organisations and publically owned Private Sector Undertakings (PSUs) together comprise the India Inc. These stakeholders contribute immensely to the growth of the country in terms of adding to India‘s GDP. However, being responsible corporate citizens, they do take steps to promote better air quality as a part of their environment protection mandate or as a part of their corporate social responsibility exercise. A few of these prominent stakeholders working on preventing and abating pollution have been identified as follows- 3M, Suzlon, Bayer Crop Science, Bharat Forge, HPCL NTPC, Shree Cements, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries , Escorts Group, Shell, Hira Group, SAIL, Jindal Steel, IOCL Ltd.
10. Websites: There are many websites promoting ways to reduce or monitor air pollution. However, we identified two such websites which are aiding development in AQM in India, namely - urbanemissions.info and IFMR sponsored indiapollutionmap.org.
These stakeholder groups provide a holistic understanding of the Air Quality Management framework of the country. Figure 1.2 depicts this stakeholder mapping in a diagrammatic format.

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Active Media Houses: IFEJ, national geographic, CMS – Envis, ET, BT, TOI, HT, FE, NDTV, CNN-IBN, Down to earth, India together, India carbon- outlook, India Environment Portal, etc
Ministries Involved Directly: MoEF, MoES, MoSRTH, MoH&FW, MoS&T, MoP, MoPNG
Ministries Involved Indirectly: MoUD , MoCI , MoC, MoF, MoHIP, MoM, MNRE
Research Institutes / Universities: NEERI, IITM Pune, IIT Kanpur, IIT-M, IIT- B, IIT-R, IIM Lucknow, BAARC, JNU, NPL, NIOH, ARAI, IIP, NIPFP, IIT D, IIT G, NIMH Nagpur, CSIR-IITR, IRADe, CPR, PCRI-Haridwar, CIRT, CRRI- CSIR, TERI University, etc Medical Hospitals/Research Institutes: AIIMS, ICMR, Lakeside Medical Centre & hospital, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, PHFI, Heart care foundation of India, KEM Hospital, PGIMER, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Institute – Rotary Cancer Hospital, University College of Medical Sciences Delhi, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, etc
NGOs Involved: CAI- Asia , CSE, TERI, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS), NEWS, kalpavriksha, Vatavaran, etc
Judiciary: Supreme Court of India, High Courts, District Courts, National Green Tribunal, National Environment Tribunal
International Agencies Involved: WHO, UNEP, HEI, ADB, WB, USEPA, USAID, GEF, IUAPPA, GIZ-ASEM, APSF, EMBARQ, AECEN, ICCT, JICA
India Inc.: 3M, Suzlon, Bayer Crop Science, Bharat Forge, HPCL NTPC, Shree Cements, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries , Escorts Group, Shell, Hira Group, SAIL, Jindal Steel, IOCL Ltd.
Associations Involved: IAAPC, SIAM, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, PCIA, PALS
Government Agencies (Indirectly): PPAC, BEE, TIFAC, Municipal Corporation
Government Bodies/Agencies (Directly): CPCB, SPCB, PCC, EPCA, Planning commission, PCRA, IMD, State Environment & Forest Department
Major Stakeholders - Air Quality Monitoring, Controlling and Regulation
Websites : Urban Emissions. Info, IFMR Pollution Map
Figure 2: Stakeholder Mapping of Air Quality Management in India

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5.2 Environmental Pollution Prevention Laws in India A comprehensive list of all environmental laws concerning pollution abatement and environment protection in the country, along with their short descriptions are as follows: Indian Penal Code 1860: Chapter XIV of Indian Penal Code containing Sections 268 to 290 deals with offences affecting the public health, safety, convenience, decency and morals. Its objective is to safeguard the public health, safety and convenience by causing those acts punishable which make environment polluted or threaten the life of the people. The Factories Act 1948 (Amendment in 1987): The Act was the first to express concern for the working environment of the workers. The amendment of 1987 has sharpened its environmental focus and expanded its application to hazardous processes. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974: Article 252 of the Act provided for the establishment of Pollution Control Boards in the Centre and at the State levels. Under Section 3 of the Act, Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Pollution was instituted for promoting cleanliness of streams and wells in the different areas of the States. The Water (Pollution Prevention and Control) Cess Act 1977: The Act was adopted by the parliament to provide funds for the Central & State Pollution Control Boards. The Act empowers the Central Government to impose a Cess on water consumed by industries listed in Schedule-I of the Act. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981: The Act provides for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution including noise pollution and to establish Pollution Control Boards at the state level for this purpose. It entrusts the power of enforcing this act to the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). The Environment (Protection) Act 1986: This an umbrella Act which authorizes the central government to set standards to protect and improve environmental quality, control and reduce pollution from all sources, and prohibit or restrict the setting and /or operation of any

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industrial facility on environmental grounds. It also confers enforcement agency with necessary punitive powers to restrict any activity detrimental to environment The Motor Vehicles Act 1988 (Amendment in 2000): The Act sets standards for anti- pollution control devices. It also permits the use of eco-friendly fuel including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in vehicles. The Public Liability Insurance Act 1991: The Act provides for public liability insurance for the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accident occurring while handling any hazardous substance and for matters connected therewith. The National Environmental Tribunal Act 1995: This Act has been created to award compensation for damages to persons, property, and the environment arising from any activity involving hazardous substances. The National Environment Appellate Authority Act 1997: The NEAA (National Environment Appellate Authority) has been created to hear appeals with respect to restrictions of areas in which classes of industries etc. are carried out or prescribed subject to certain safeguards under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) 2000: Under this Act, rules have been laid down for the regulation of production and consumption of ozone depleting substances. The National Green Tribunal Act 2010: Under this Act, National Green Tribunal was instituted on 18th October, 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by principles of natural justice.

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5.3 Stakeholder – Indian Judiciary
India's unitary judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court of India at the national level, for the entire country and the 21 High Courts at the State level. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories. Below the High Courts are a hierarchy of subordinate courts such as the civil courts, family courts, criminal courts and various other district courts7. The Supreme Court, High Courts, District Courts, National Green Tribunal and National Environment Tribunal, are all a part of the Judicial framework in India, for safeguarding the natural environment and protecting the human well-being associated with it. Curbing environmental pollution has been one of most compelling concerns of countries across the globe. India recognises this grave concern and seeks to protect and preserve the environment from pollution while ensuring that any such act of damage done be punishable under the law of the land. To reaffirm its commitment towards environment protection, India was party to ‗The 1972 Stockholm Declaration‘ which placed the contentious issue of environment protection, promotion and conservation on the official agenda of international policy and law. India, being one of the participants and signatories to this conference, undertook the following steps in the direction of the protection and promotion of environment in order to comply with the resolution and principles of the Stockholm Conference:
1. Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
2. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
3. Air (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1981
4. Environment Protection Act, 1986
5.3.1 The role of Judiciary in Environment Protection
The constitution of the country empowers the judiciary to resolve disputes/conflicts, affirm that the laws enacted are in conformity with the constitutional provisions and ensure satisfactory implementation and compliance to the laws enacted by the legislature by both the executive and the public at large. The role of judiciary in India has become more pronounced in the recent past in resolving environmental disputes, as there have been numerous instances
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_High_Courts_of_India

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of claims and counter-claims over the contentious issue of management of natural resources which have led to judicial interventions in the environmental domain. The incompetence of the state agencies and their rather laggard decision making process have forced the civil society and citizens at large to approach the courts for suitable remedies regarding their grievances on environmental matters. Therefore, the judiciary in the country plays a very important role in environmental governance process.
5.3.2 Supreme Court’s intervention in improving the air quality in Delhi: A case study 8 The Supreme Court‘s involvement in policies to curb air pollution in Delhi began with public interest litigation brought to the court by M.C. Mehta in the form of a petition no. 13029 filed December 17, 1985. Concerned about rising levels of air pollution and the government‘s apparent lack of interest in dealing with this growing problem, Mehta asked the court to direct various government ministries and departments to implement the Air Act of 1981 in Delhi. In 1986, in response to Mehta‘s petition, the Supreme Court directed the Delhi administration to file an affidavit specifying the steps it had taken to reduce air pollution. As a result of the court‘s involvement, the Delhi administration and the central government started to pay attention to the problem of air pollution. After Mehta‘s petition to the court, several new environmental laws were enacted, as were policies to curtail tailpipe emissions from vehicles and to move polluting industries from Delhi. However, these policies were rarely implemented, and those that were can be characterized as largely piecemeal. There was no evidence of a comprehensive plan to tackle the growing problem of air pollution. In early 1991, responding to the ever growing pollution concerns, the court asked MoEF to set up the first of what turned out to be three statutorily based authorities charged with the responsibility of devising policies to curb air pollution in Delhi. But the court was also motivated by its own recognition that the matters before it were highly technical, and therefore beyond its area of expertise. The court needed a group of experts to assess the issues and advise it.
The first of these committees was constituted in March. The court explained its purpose in an extended judgment dated March 14, 1991. This committee came to be known as the Saikia Committee, after its chairman, former Justice K.N. Saikia, who had recently retired from the
8 The case study has been developed from the Discussion Paper on ―Who changed Delhi‘s air?‖ by Urvashi Narain and Ruth Greenspan Bell (http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/10466/1/dp050048.pdf)

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Supreme Court. Other members of the committee were M.C. Mehta, N.S. Tiwana (then- chairman, CPCB), and S. Girdharlal (representative of the Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers). The court directed the committee to (i) assess technologies available for vehicular pollution control elsewhere in the world and in India; (ii) assess low-cost alternatives for operating vehicles at reduced pollution levels in Indian metropolitan areas and make specific recommendations on the administrative and legal regulations required for implementing these alternatives; and (iii) make recommendations on how vehicular pollution could be reduced in both the near term and the long run. One of the Saikia Committee‘s first recommendations was to phase out leaded petrol in Delhi by April 1, 1992 (Saikia Committee on Vehicular Pollution, 1991). The committee also recommended the use of CNG as an alternative vehicular fuel for three reasons: it polluted less, cost less, and was more widely available in the country than petrol or diesel. In September 1994, Parliament passed the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act to promote the use of alternative fuels, such as batteries, solar power, and CNG. Motorists using these alternative fuels were not required to obtain permits from the state transport authorities and, for a specified period, were allowed to determine their own freight, fares, and hours of operation. On the recommendation of the Saikia Committee, on August 12, 1994, the Supreme Court mandated the phase-out of leaded fuel in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Madras by April 1995 and for the entire country by April 2000 (court order, October 21, 1994). The deadline to supply unleaded petrol in Delhi was met on time. During this period the Supreme Court also ordered that the sulphur content in diesel supplied in Delhi be reduced from 1% to 0.5% by April 1, 1996, and to 0.25% by April 1, 1998 (Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, 2001). This was the first time that the Supreme Court issued fuel quality specifications. Starting in 1996, the Supreme Court began to act to force the government to implement its relocation policies for large and heavy polluting industries from Delhi. The city‘s air quality nevertheless continued to deteriorate, and on November 8, 1996, the Supreme Court issued a suo moto notice to the Delhi government to submit an action plan to control the city‘s air pollution (Agarwal et al., 1996). In 1996 and 1997, in response to direct orders of the Supreme Court, both the Delhi government and the central government finally developed action plans to curtail pollution in Delhi. These were the first comprehensive policies on air pollution control.
The Delhi government responded to pressure from the Supreme Court and in October 1997 developed a policy to phase out old vehicles and encourage the use of CNG. But with

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elections looming, it withdrew this policy on February 4, 1998. Once again the Supreme Court stepped in and forced the Delhi government to act on the policy it had announced. On December 3, 1997, MoEF issued the ‗White Paper on Pollution in Delhi with an Action Plan‘ (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 1997). On January 7, 1998, soon after the release of the white paper, the Supreme Court directed the central government to set up the third of the statutory committees established under Section 3(3) of the Environment Protection Act. This was called the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). According to Harish Salve, who acted as amicus curiae to advise the court in the Delhi litigation, EPCA was set up directly in response to government complaints that the Supreme Court was exceeding its authority and making policy decisions in place of the government. EPCA was asked to monitor the progress of the white paper, develop new policies to curb vehicular air pollution, and serve as a fact-finding body for the court. EPCA believed that more drastic measures were needed to reduce pollution, including the use of CNG, and that the conversion of buses, taxis, and autos could take place without significant additional cost to vehicle owners. It suggested that any additional costs could be met through state subsidies. EPCA‘s plan was converted into a mandate by the Supreme Court in its order dated July 28, 1998. As a direct result of this order, over the course of the next four years, the commercial vehicles of Delhi were gradually converted to CNG. Progress was uneven for a variety of reasons, including the availability of CNG fuelling stations, parts, and buses, and the reluctance of various key players at critical points. There were rough patches. When bus operators who had failed to order CNG buses or convert to CNG were not allowed to operate, the public expressed its concern through strikes and protests. And various high-level commissions and committees made last-minute efforts to head off the Supreme Court‘s orders. The court refused to reconsider its basic decision, however, and as a result had to referee such issues as which sectors had priority access to CNG supplies in case of shortages. Non-complying diesel buses were subject to fines, and by December 2002, all diesel city buses converted to CNG.
In hindsight, The Supreme Court proved itself to be sufficiently above the day-to-day pressure of politics that it could stand firm on the remedies recommended to it by EPCA, and at the same time it made some reasonable, short-term adjustments to adapt to various realities during the difficult transition to CNG. This combination of steadfastness and adaptability helped ease a complicated political and economic shift. Therefore, the court‘s important contribution was to push the government in two significant ways: to implement existing

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policies and to develop new policies to deal with air pollution which led to a stark positive difference in Delhi‘s air quality.
5.3.3 Review of the role of the judiciary in environment matters9
While understanding the role of judiciary in environmental governance, scholars have concentrated on judicial review power and thereby attributed judicial intervention to the failure of other organs in performing their conventional duties (Pal 1997; Thakur, 1997, Ramesh, 2002). They argue that the intervention of the judiciary in environmental governance is a part of the constitutional duties of the Court to uphold the rule of law, enforcement of individual rights and protecting the propriety of the Constitution. The interventions have been largely confined to removing structural impediments to the implementation of environmental laws, which has provided a space for judicial intervention in environment protection. In such circumstances, the Courts have assumed the affirmative executive powers of issuing directions, appointing commissions, collecting and verifying information, monitoring and supervising the running of public institutions to discharge their Constitutional obligations for the protection and improvement of environment. The relaxation of the locus standi principle and encouraging petitioners to bring environmental litigation by the apex court has been hailed as one of the most important factors for the evolution of environmental jurisprudence in India (Deshpande, 1992; Sathe, 1999; Jariwala, 2000; Desai and Muralidhar, 2001). Of late however, this process of Judicial intervention in environmental governance has been see as a violation of the principle of separation of power and against the spirit of democracy. By usurping the role of existing agencies and directing policies through its orders it has been argued that the Court risks making decisions that may not be the most efficient solutions to the cases that come before it. The most important criticism against the judicial intervention in environmental litigation has been its failure to ensure the implementation of its directions which has been viewed as a kind of challenge to the legitimacy of judicial intervention (Dembowski , 1999; Desai and Murlidhar 2001).
9 Various parts of the report on "Environmental Governance and Role of Judiciary in India" by Dr. Geetanjoy Sahu of Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) ,Bangalore have been included in this section (http://www.isec.ac.in/Environmental_%20governance_%20and_%20role_%20of_%20judiciary_%20in_%20India.pdf)

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The most important positive implication of allowing the third party (NGOs or public spirited people) to appeal before the court on behalf of the affected party due to environmental degradation. It is the Court‘s attempt to bring justice to the door step of the common man, for whom recourse is a costly exercise. In summary, the intervention of judiciary in resolving environmental disputes has led to evolution of several new principles in the environmental governance process. The innovative methods such as entertaining post cards as litigation, allowing third party to file petition, spot visit, taking suo motu action against the polluter, deciding compensation both for environment and affected party, applying international environmental principles to domestic environmental problems have widened the scope for justice and recognition of the values of the environment and awareness among people about their environmental rights and duties. However, most of these methods have neither been followed consistently nor institutionalized to make a long term impact on environmental governance process. The Court must institutionalize the methods in the form of guidelines to ensure consistency and predictability in the remediation process. Also, the court must safeguard against judicial activism turning into judicial adventurism and therefore, must be cautious of the implications of interfering in the affairs of the other organs of the state.
5.4 Stakeholder- Ministries Involved
5.4.1 Ministries involved directly in the Air Quality Management framework
5.4.1.1 Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) is the nodal agency in the administrative structure of the Central Government for the planning, promotion, co-ordination and overseeing the implementation of India's environmental and forestry policies and programmes. The primary concerns of the Ministry are implementation of policies and programmes relating to conservation of the country's natural resources including its lakes and rivers, its biodiversity, forests and wildlife, ensuring the welfare of animals, and the prevention and abatement of pollution. While implementing these policies and programmes, the Ministry is guided by the principle of sustainable development and enhancement of human well-being. Ministry formulates policies and enacts legislation at the national level.

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Apart from headquarter at New Delhi there are six regional offices at Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Shillong, Bhopal, Chandigarh and Lucknow.
The Ministry of Environment Forests (MoEF) has adopted a comprehensive National Environmental Policy (NEP) 2006, based on overarching guiding principles that include among others right to development, environmental protection as an integral part of the development process, environmental standards setting, the precautionary principle and polluter pay principle, preventive action, economic efficiency, and equity. For abatement of pollution in general and air quality management in particular, various actions have been suggested which inter-alia include an integrated approach to strengthening of monitoring and enforcement of emissions standards for both point and non point sources, preparation of action plans for cities to address air pollution, promotion of R&D, formulation of national strategy for urban transport and energy conservation.10 The Ministry co-ordinates with other key ministries to formulate regulatory framework for air pollution control under The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and The Environment (protection) Act, 1986. CPCB essentially works under the aegis of MoEF. The Ministry also serves as the nodal agency in the country for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and for the follow-up of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The Ministry is also entrusted with issues relating to multilateral bodies such as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and of regional bodies like Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) on matters pertaining to the environment. The Ministry takes responsibility for the following international treaties/declarations/conferences which deal with environmental pollution, to which India is already a signatory member:
1. Agenda 21
2. The Stockholm Declaration 1972
3. United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
10 http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp11/wg_envtal.pdf

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4. Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL) (London, 1978) 5. Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer(Vienna, 1985)
6. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal, 1987) 7. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Rio de Janeiro, 1992)
8. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
9. Helsinki Protocol to LRTAP (Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution) on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or their Transboundary Fluxes by at least 30 percent
10. Sofia Protocol to LRTAP(Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution) concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or their Transboundary Fluxes (NOx Protocol)
11. Geneva Protocol to LRTAP(Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution) concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or their Transboundary Fluxes (VOCs Protocol)
12. Male Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its likely transboundary effects for South Asia under the SASEP ( South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme)
During the XIth Plan, an outlay of Rs. 235 crore was planned for pollution abatement out of the total allocation of Rs. 10000 crore for MoEF‘s planned body of work for the duration of 2007-201211.
5.4.1.1.1 Initiatives and projects undertaken by the Ministry for Air Quality Management
The Ministry has undertaken various initiatives/projects and environment protection authorities for encouraging pollution abatement across sectors, for the country as a whole. Listed below are the most prominent initiatives undertaken by MoEF in this field:
1. Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006: The Ministry mandates environmental clearance as a mandatory obligation for various developmental activities undertaken in the country. Air pollution is one of the prominent agendas on
11 http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/enf/wg_envr.pdf

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the EIA notification; the clearance certification for which can only be obtained by the CPCB/SPCBs.
2. Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection (CREP): MoEF launched the charter on CREP in March 2003 with the purpose to go beyond the compliance of regulatory norms for prevention & control of pollution through various measures including waste minimization, in-plant process control & adoption of clean technologies
3. Capacity Building For Industrial Pollution Management: The project is also expected to build the technical capacity of select SPCBs for undertaking environmentally sound remediation of polluted sites
4. National Award for Prevention of Pollution - This award was instituted in 1992 and is given to 18 large scale industrial units and 5 small scale industrial units annually for meeting pollution prevention goals and taking substantial and consistent steps for environmental improvement. The award consists of a trophy, a citation and Rs. 100000 each. 5. Pilot Emission Trading Scheme(ETS): The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has initiated a pilot emission trading scheme in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in the hope that these states may begin to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). It is based on the cap-and-trade market mechanism.12
6. Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) for estimation of pollution load for Industrial Clusters13 : CEPI is a rational number to characterize the environmental quality at a given location which captures the various health dimensions of environment including air, water and land. Industrial Pollution Abatement through preventive strategies
7. Industrial Pollution Abatement through Promotion of Clean Technology and Preventive Strategies: This scheme is an amalgamation of the three on-going schemes viz. Environmental Audit, Adoption of Clean Technologies in Small Scale Industries and Environmental Statistics and Mapping, which have been continuing since eighth Five Year Plan.
8. Environmental Management in Heritage Pilgrimage and Tourist Centres including the Taj Protection: The objective of the scheme is to prevent environmental degradation of the area of heritage or pilgrimage importance through
12 http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/towards-an-emissions-trading-scheme-for-air-pollutants.pdf
13 http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Industrial%20Clusters_env_assessment.pdf

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proper management and to implement schemes relating to protection of Taj Mahal. In the first phase of Taj protection, 10 projects with a total cost of Rs. 221.21 crore were approved. The scheme was kept on hold pending its independent appraisal during the 11th Plan. The Ministry has accepted the post evaluation report of NEERI, Nagpur. In order to revive the scheme in 12th Plan, the U.P Government has been requested to prepare a Comprehensive Environment Management Plan (EMP) to be integrated with various sectoral projects on the lines of EMP drawn by NEERI in their post evaluation report.
9. Common Effluent Treatment Plan: The objective of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to the small scale industries in clusters to establish/upgrade Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) for enabling them to comply with environmental discharge standards.
10. National Green Tribunal (NGT): The tribunal is for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.
11. Establishment of Environment Protection Authorities:
I. Loss of Ecology (Prevention and Payment of Compensation) Authority for the State of Tamil Nadu to deal with pollution created by the tanneries and other polluting industries in Tamil Nadu;
II. Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the National Capital Region for compliance relating to environmental standards, emission or discharge of pollutants, steps to control vehicular pollution, restriction of industries etc.
12. Funding Research: The Ministry funds research in multi-disciplinary aspects of pollution environment ecosystems protection, conservation and management at various universities, institutions of higher learning, national research institutes and non-governmental organizations in identified thrust areas under its Research & Development (R&D) Programme. The objective of the scheme is to generate information required to develop strategies, technologies and methodologies for better environmental management. It also aims at attempting solutions to the practical

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problems of resource management, conservation of natural resources and eco- regeneration of degraded areas. Further, the scheme also seeks to strengthen infrastructure to facilitate research and scientific manpower development. In order to achieve these objectives, research grants are provided in the identified thrust areas to various organizations (universities, colleges recognized by UGC, institutions of CSIR, ICAR, ICMR, ICSSR and recognized non- governmental scientific organizations) all over the country.The research guidelines were revised by the Ministry in 2006, supporting research in Environment which inter-alia includes thrust areas of research and their prioritization.
13. New Initiatives: Recent new initiatives taken up by the Ministry include Institution of – National Environmental Sciences Fellows Programmes, institution of Mahatma Gandhi Chair for Ecology and Environment, collaborative Research Programme with CSIR, new Institutions - National Environment Protection Training & Research Institute (NEPTRI).
5.4.1.1.2 Review of Ministry’s Work
1. MoEF plays a pivotal role in formulating policies for environment protection and pollution abatement. It is imperative for MoEF to address the issues of strengthening the present regulatory, enforcement and institutional mechanisms for a better air quality management framework in the country.
2. MoEF can fulfil these objectives by formulating a national strategy plan for air quality improvement while insisting the state governments to prepare a more localised district level air quality management strategy which is aligned with the national level strategy. These policy level interventions must be complimented by aiding the institutional agencies with necessary resources and skilled manpower to build their capacity.
3. A separate regulatory body should also be appointed to monitor the progress of these plans which must be empowered to take disciplinary actions when required. To this effect, the recommendations in the report of the sub-group for the 12th Plan on environment do propose creation of independent National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Agency (NEAMA) to be established. According to the report, NEAMA would be empowered set up a new process for environmental appraisal of

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projects, and will monitor the observance of environmental management plans. It is conceived to be a recommendatory body, subject to final decision-making by the Environment Minister. Establishing a toothless monitoring agency will be another mistake and add more perplexity to the system. SPCBs were entitled to perform similar functions of monitoring and appraisal but with no punitive powers vested in them to ensure stricter compliance and enforcement; these regulatory agencies have been fairly incompetent from their inception.
4. MoEF shoulders immense responsibility for co-ordinating with a host of other ministries like Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways (MoSRTH), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Ministry of Power (MoP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) to undertake a comprehensive air quality management programme in the country. This requires MoEF to structure a permanent inter-ministerial task force with representation from all the ministries for implementing fast track policy intervention mechanism. 5. The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament in its 57th report tabled on April 27th 2012 in the Lok Sabha, has identified serious deficiencies and inadequacies as pointed out by the C&AG (Comptroller and Auditor General) in the implementation of environmental programmes and in the functioning of various institutions working under the Ministry of Environment & Forests14. MoEF must address the concerns raised by the committee on the poor completion rate of projects under its various schemes by institutionalising policy reforms that strengthen the institutional framework of other associated agencies and improve communication channels within MoEF.
6. In order to ensure better monitoring of clearance conditions at field level, MoEF must review its functioning internally and increase the number of regional offices of MoEF.
7. To fast-track the clearance and consent management, adoption of IT-based management system will be a step forward. To communicate the importance of environmental regulations and generate a wider acceptance of these norms, MoEF must plan a communications strategy to disseminate information and create awareness about these regulations amongst all stakeholders. 15
14 http://164.100.47.134/lsscommittee/Public%20Accounts/57%20Report.pdf
15 Report of the sub-group for the 12th Plan on environment: http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/enf/wg_envr.pdf

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8. Currently, even though we have the Air Act and the standards for air quality, there is no legal obligation on state governments / local municipal corporations to meet ambient air quality standards. This renders Air quality planning framework ineffective in India because ambient air quality standards are not legally enforceable. MoEF must ensure that NAAQS be given a legally enforceable status to empower the regulatory agencies and strengthen the framework.
9. While we are planning monitoring and control activities for abatement of air pollution in biggest cities, smaller cities are sooner than later going to grapple with the same critical pollution levels. Thus there is a greater need for MoEF to decentralize the responsibility down to the municipal / local and state levels.
10. Further, to achieve these targets all central programmes need to be re-organised under a National Air Quality Plan, the city based programmes under Clean Air Action Plan and programmes for industrial areas as Air Pollution Control and Prevention in Industrial Areas programmes.
5.4.1.2 Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is mandated to provide the nation with best possible services in forecasting the monsoons and other weather/climate parameters, ocean state, earthquakes, tsunamis and other phenomena related to earth systems through well integrated programmes.
5.4.1.2.1 Initiatives and projects taken by the ministry for Air Quality Management
The institutions under the Ministry dealing with Air Quality Management are as follows:
1. IMD (Indian Meteorological Department): It provides meteorological data, conducts and promotes research in meteorology and allied disciples. IMD provides assistance to the NAMP (National Air Quality Management Programme).
2. IITM (Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology), Pune: It is a premiere autonomous research Institute to generate scientific knowledge in the field of meteorology and atmospheric sciences that have potential application in various fields. It functions as a national centre for basic and applied research in monsoon meteorology. IITM Pune has a separate research programme on Air Pollution,

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Transport Modeling and Middle Atmospheric Climate to facilitate more research in this domain.
IITM Pune recently developed SAFAR (System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research), which is the first ever air quality forecasting system in India. SAFAR was first tested during the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi and it provides location specific information on Air Quality in near real time and its forecast 24 hours in advance. SAFAR is coupled with the weather forecasting system designed by IMD, New Delhi. The ultimate objective of developing SAFAR is to increase the awareness among general public regarding the air quality in their city well in advance so that appropriate mitigation action and systematic measures can be taken up for the betterment of air quality and related health issues.
MoES is promoting scientific research in the country in the field of air quality monitoring, air pollution source apportionment studies, air quality modeling studies and other emission characterisation studies related to various pollutants. SAFAR is a commendable initiative taken by IITM Pune, under the aegis of the MoES, to help India surge ahead in the field of air quality monitoring and forecasting research. This initiative will aid the air quality management framework in the country in a big way and is another step towards building a comprehensive air quality monitoring network throughout the country. This monitoring network when replicated to various parts of the country will guide the policy makers to formulate a suitable action plan for improving the air quality of the country. MoES must work in collaboration with MoEF and MoST to build the capacity of IITM Pune to undertake SAFAR implementation to a pan-India level in the next 5-10 years.
5.4.1.3 Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST)
Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) promotes research and development studies in the domain of air quality management through the Department of Science and Technology. In

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this endeavour, it supports various projects at scientific research institutions like CSIR, CRRI, NEERI, IITM Pune, etc.
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is a premier multidisciplinary R&D organization in India which is an autonomous body of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research under the aegis of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India. It provides scientific, industrial research and development that maximises the economic, environmental and societal benefits for the people of India. CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) is one of the constituent units of the CSIR. It is a premier national research organization for highways traffic and transport planning and all other allied aspects. It has a separate ‗Transport Planning and Environment Division‘ which deals with research and development activities related to ‗Monitoring, Measurement, Modeling and Evaluation of Air Pollution due to Road & Road Transport‘. It also provides consultancy on ‗Air Pollution & Exhaust Emission Monitoring and Dispersion Modeling‘ and has conducted a study on ‗Urban Road Traffic and Air Pollution in Major Metropolitan Cities of India (URTRAP)‘ in the year 2002. NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) is another constituent unit of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). NEERI is a prominent stakeholder in the domain of air quality management in India and performs the following key activities as a part of its mandate:
 Research and developmental studies in environmental science and engineering, environment policy, environment monitoring, etc
 Advisory services to the central government, state government, judiciary and industries in solving the problems of environmental pollution by science and technology intervention
NEERI‘S focus areas in the domain of air quality management are as follows:
 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) – VOCs, Monitoring, Health Impacts, Public Awareness and Training.

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 Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) – Urban AQ data-bank, inventorization, source apportionment analysis, analytical techniques, cost effective control, conservation of monuments.
 Health - Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis for delineation of genetic disturbances due to exposures of air pollutants.
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) monitors ambient air quality in 30 stations covering 10 major cities as a part of CPCB‘s ambitious nationwide NAMP (National Air Quality Monitoring Programme)16. In the past, NEERI has carried out a training workshop on air pollution management and has carried out ‗Source Apportionment‘ studies for various cities.
MoST promotes research in the all encompassing discipline of environmental sciences. It promotes research which facilitates greater understanding about ambient air quality and its implications on the environment, human beings, crops, animals, etc. It provides both institutional grants for capacity building and individual project funding for research that could enhance India‘s knowledge capital in this field. The Department of Science and Technology bears the onus of steering India in the direction of research and innovation in the field of air quality management.
5.4.1.4 Ministry of Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways (MoSRTH)
The Ministry is an apex organisation under the Central Government, entrusted with the task of formulating and administering, in consultation with other Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments/UT Administrations, organisations and individuals, policies for Road Transport, National Highways and Transport Research with a view to increasing the mobility and efficiency of the road transport system in the country.
16 http://www.rrcap.unep.org/male/baseline/Baseline/India/INCH2.htm

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It is the nodal agency for formulation and implementation of various provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 and CMVR (Central Motor Vehicle Rules) 1989 and. The Standing Committee on Implementation of Emission Legislation (SCOE) deliberates the following issues related to implementation of emission regulation:
 Discusses future emission norms
 Recommends norms for in-use vehicles to MoSRTH
 Finalise the test procedures and implementation strategy for emission norms
 Advises MoSRTH on any issue relating to implementation of emission regulations.
Apart from MoSRTH, Ministries like MoEF, MoPNG and Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources are also involved in formulation of regulations relating to Emissions, Fuels and Alternative Fuel vehicles. MoSRTH also organises workshop-cum-training programmes every year, two each at ARAI (Pune), and IIP (Dehradun), for officers of the State Transport Department to provide them with training regarding checking of vehicular pollution more scientifically and effectively. These are all efforts of the Ministry towards reducing air pollution.
5.4.1.4.2 Review of the Ministry’s Work
Report of working group on road transport for the twelfth year plan (2012-17) suggests the following measures on improving fuel efficiency of vehicles which will essentially reduce vehicular emissions17:
 Label individual vehicles on a kilometre per litre (kmpl) basis to enable consumers to make a rational choice. This could be accompanied by either a star rating or a mention of the worst and best fuel efficiencies in that vehicle class.
 Begin with labelling that is based on a continuous function of weight and fuel efficiency.
 Define a minimum efficiency standard for the country‘s vehicle fleet.
17 http://morth.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/Summary%20Highlights-8797112026.pdf

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The report also suggests incentivising commercial vehicle owners to modernize their fleet which is older than 15 years. This initiative will ensure that the new fleet will be more fuel efficient and the emissions from it will also be less from the current levels. Formulating tighter vehicle emission norms is the next step that the Ministry can take towards the mission to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
5.4.1.5 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ( MoH&FW)
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is the Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India.
The Department of Health Research in the Ministry undertakes various research activities on studying the impact of air pollution on human health. The department identifies both ‗Indoor Air Pollution‘ and ‗Outdoor Air Pollution‘ harmful to the public health. The ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The ICMR has a division on non-communicable diseases which looks into air pollution impact on human health. ICMR has set up a Center for Advanced Research in Environmental Health at Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai which undertakes research in this field to study the impacts of both indoor and outdoor air pollution on children and adults. The university is also the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Occupational Health. The National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) has been actively engaged in occupational and environmental research for over 40 years. Located in Ahmadabad, Gujarat in western India, NIOH is under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. NIOH is a WHO Collaborative Center on Occupational and Environmental Health, and it collaborates in research with international agencies including WHO, ILO, CDC, NIOSH and US EPA. NIOH is a regional centre/institute of the ICMR.

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NIOH has a separate ‗Air Pollution Division‘ through which they have undertaken research work on health related impacts of air pollution. A glimpse of their research work in this field is as follows:
1. Health risk assessment for rural and urban population due to ambient/indoor air pollution
2. Comparative epidemiological studies on effects of air pollutants
3. Air pollution due to vehicular traffic in designated cities / towns of the Gujarat state and evaluation of health status of school children studying nearby traffic junction in cities identified by the Hon‘ble High Court.
The Ministry must proactively engage in developing the research capabilities of its constituent institutions in carrying out health risk assessments on air pollution (indoor and outdoor). A comprehensive portfolio of the research work on health related impacts of air pollution must be developed in a planned manner. The research work is quintessential in not only determining the immediate health impacts but also to understand the future implications of constant exposure to polluted air. The Ministry must also ensure that all the research work is communicated through a comprehensive outreach programme to all the stakeholders of the system so that they can collectively engage in formulating effective strategies for the future.
5.4.1.6 Ministry of Power (MoP)
The Ministry is concerned with perspective planning, policy formulation, processing of projects for investment decision, monitoring of the implementation of power projects, training and manpower development and the administration and enactment of legislation in regard to thermal, hydro power generation, transmission and distribution.
The Ministry of Power is responsible for the Administration of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Energy Conservation Act , 2001 and to undertake such amendments to these Acts, as may be necessary from time to time, in conformity with the Government's policy objectives.

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Seized of the current and emerging pressure, both local and global, on the front of environment management for the electricity sector, the Union Ministry of Power has taken a number of new initiatives in addition to strengthening the existing ones. Special Purpose Vehicle has been set up to effect compensatory a forestation to facilitate expeditious clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) for new power projects.
The Ministry has released the NTPC18 Environment Management Report which has numerous measures on curbing air pollution to set an example in the field of power generation19. The Ministry has also released an ‗Environmental Delegation Order‘ for abatement of pollution in Thermal Power Plants to further its environment commitments and obligations20
The Ministry recognises that pollution from power generation through the use of conventional fuel in thermal power plants is one of the key areas of concern for the country. It aims to showcase NTPC‘s environment management efforts as an illustration of the kind of work power generating companies can do to reduce the harm to the environment. The Ministry must ensure that the new thermal power plants to be set up in the country must incorporate serious air pollution mitigation efforts into their environmental management plans. This must be mandated as typically the life of a thermal plant is 30-35 years; hence the damage to the environment could be multi-fold if the problem is not nipped in the bud. The Ministry can enhance the supply of clean power generation in the country by mandating conventional power generators to install a certain percentage of their power generating capacity through renewable energy. This obligation when formulated in consultation with MNRE, CERC and other stakeholders, will also enable the utilities to achieve their targets under the RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation)21, a mandate which derives its essence from The Electricity Act, 2003. This mandate will ensure greater generation of clean power in the country, thereby reducing the air pollution from coal power generation.
18 NTPC is India‘s largest power company and also a public sector undertaking 19 http://powermin.nic.in/generation/environment_management.htm 20 http://www.powermin.nic.in/acts_notification/environmental_delegation_order.htm 21 RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligations): Under these rules, distribution companies, open access consumers and captive consumers are obligated to buy a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources of energy. The percentage varies from one state to the other.

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5.4.1.7 Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is entrusted with the responsibility of exploration and production of oil and natural gas, their refining, distribution and marketing, import, export, and conservation of petroleum products and Liquefied Natural Gas.
The Ministry has launched a 10 point programme aimed at reducing air pollution for protection of Taj by introducing cleaner fuels.22 The Ministry has also embarked on an ambitious fuel conservation drive, lead & marketed by the PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association). PCRA is the research arm of MoPNG which formulate strategies and promote measures for accelerating conservation of petroleum products, creates awareness among masses about the importance, benefits and methods of conserving petroleum products, promotes R&D efforts aimed at petroleum conservation & environment protection, supports efforts for adoption and dissemination of fuel efficient technologies and substitution of petroleum products with alternate fuels/renewable energy and functions as a Think Tank to the Govt. of India for proposing policies and strategies on petroleum conservation and environment protection aimed at reducing excessive dependence on oil. In the past, PCRA has also developed community outreach programmes on the ill effects of air pollution, caused by the incomplete combustion of fuel.
The ministry is an active participant in efforts to reduce vehicular emissions from incomplete combustion and inappropriate usage of fuel. The ministry is also a participant of various inter-ministerial committees, which form policy framework for the air quality management in the country. PCRA seems to be spearheading the efforts of the Ministry by its multi-pronged approach of promoting research, performing training, policy advocacy, conducting energy audit activities and conducting outreach.
22 Detailed description on the Taj project initiatives: http://petroleum.nic.in/envtaj.htm

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5.4.2 Ministries involved indirectly in the Air Quality Management framework
5.4.2.1 Review of other Ministries working towards air pollution abatement
Listed below are a set of other ministries of the government of India, working towards the issue of air quality management indirectly. A brief review of their initiatives in this field is provided below:
1. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE): The Ministry emphasises on development of non-conventional sources of energy to complement the prevalent energy mix, thereby leading India towards 'Energy Security'. MNRE is actively working towards addressing problems related to Indoor Air pollution and Black Carbon. MNRE‘s National Biofuel Policy aims to meet 20% of India's diesel demand with fuel derived from plants, which signifies adequate policy intent. National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative of MNRE facilitates development and deployment of clean and efficient cook stoves to reduce indoor air pollution as well as abate black carbon which is another step towards clean air.
2. Ministry of Coal (MoC): The Union Minister of Coal recently indicated that industries now run the risk of even having their coal linkage cancelled if the transporters engaged by them are found flouting norms that lead to pollution due to spillage of coal particles that rise in the air.23 The Ministry has introduced the coal cess of Rs 50 per tonne on imported or domestically produced coal, to be deposited in the NCEF ( National Clean Energy Fund ), which aims to fund projects on clean energy which will lead to the ultimate goal of abatement of air pollution.
3. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA): The Ministry had mandated Corporate Social Responsibility activities for PSUs (Public Sector Undertaking) and given voluntary guidelines to corporate entities in 2009. These activities can eventually lead to air pollution control.
23 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/nagpur/29495373_1_coal-mining-coal-ministry-coal- trucks

Air Quality Management Framework for India

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