The radiations from mobile towers have been a concern in India for some time and this concern seems to have grown in recent times with the growing network of mobile service providers. The interim order passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India on 30 March, 2017 in the case of Bhupesh Sehgal v Delhi Development Authority to deactivate a mobile tower as it was seen to be causing cancer has highlighted the issue.
The National Capital Region of Delhi (Delhi NCR) has witnessed numerous concerns being raised regarding the quality of air and the sources for its pollution. It is suspected that one of the contributing factors is the usage of petroleum coke ("pet coke") and furnace oil as fuel by various industries. Furnace oil is a "bottom of the barrel" product in refineries and is used to run boilers and turbines as it is much cheaper than gas. Pet coke is a by-product used as solid fuel in power generation due to its high calorific value.
If India bans usage of microbeads, which are non-biodegradable, it will severely impact the industry
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change ("MoEF&CC") issued a notification on 14 March 2017 ("Notification") to provide a one-time opportunity in the form of a six-month window to grant Terms of References and Environmental Clearance for projects which have started the work on site, expanded the production beyond the limit of environmental clearance or changed the product mix without obtaining prior environmental clearance.
The world is struggling to manage its plastic waste. Oceans are brimming with plastic, rivers are getting chocked, animals are dying due to plastic ingestion and we are falling short of land to dump our plastic waste. India, the second most populous country, is struggling with this problem as well. Most states in India have supposedly banned plastic usage. Last month Maharashtra became the 18th state in India to ban the use of plastic.
Ensuring a pollution-free environment and sustainable use of natural resources would significantly address the SDGs
Eighteen states in India have banned the use of plastic, but implementation remains the missing key
Five years ago when Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 was notified along with Schedule VII which included activities that could be included by companies within their Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) Policies, it was met with a fair bit of scepticism. Not many were sure as to how the policy would play out in a jurisdiction which has its own fiscal uncertainties and challenges. More importantly it was anticipated that many would cite information asymmetry as a reason for not spending on CSR in the initial years.
As the Narendra Modi-led NDA government begins its second stint, here are the top five environmental problems it must tackle on a priority basis.
