People play cricket as the sky is enveloped in smog on the outskirts of New Delhi. (Photo | AP)
People play cricket as the sky is enveloped in smog on the outskirts of New Delhi. (Photo | AP)

Three years on, 50 per cent states yet to set up online pollution tracking despite SC rule

An analysis by the LIFE shows that there are 35 SPCBs and PCCs in India. Only 32 of them were required to comply with the top court’s direction.

NEW DELHI:  Three years after the Supreme Court had directed all State Pollution Control Boards to install Online Continuous Emission and Monitoring System (OCEMS) within 6 months, only 50 per cent have complied and even with those, the information is not easily accessible.

An analysis by the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) shows that there are 35 SPCBs and PCCs in India. Only 32 of them were required to comply with the top court’s direction as — Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram — do not have any industries which require installation of OCEMS.

So far 16 states/UTs have complied with the judgment but only 38 per cent let the user assess historical data. The rest display current monitoring values or data from the past 24 hours to 30 days.

OCEMS involves an intricate set of equipment assembled to relay emissions and effluent discharge levels in real-time to servers of State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) as well as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Data from OCEMS helps regulators in overall surveillance of industries.

Besides government monitoring, public access to the pollution data online can be instrumental in keeping additional vigilance on pollution from industries.

“Any rise in pollution from an industrial unit has first and foremost implication on the people living in its vicinity.  Thus, the OCEMS provides a means to realise their right to clean air and water by empowering them with information on possible sources of pollution interfering with these rights,” the report said. 

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The New Indian Express
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