People, govts need to share responsibility to keep air clean: Supriyo

Speaking at the webinar to commemorate 46th Year of Establishment of the Central Pollution Control Board, he said the CPCB has been doing a remarkable work in terms of collecting and collating data related to pollution, which is acting as a key policy input for the government and the concerned agencies to improve air quality.


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 24-09-2020 09:47 IST | Created: 23-09-2020 23:59 IST
People, govts need to share responsibility to keep air clean: Supriyo
Representative Picture. Image Credit: ANI
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Union Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo on Wednesday said people and governments need to share the responsibility and work together to keep the air clean.  Speaking at the webinar to commemorate the 46th Year of Establishment of the Central Pollution Control Board, he said the CPCB has been doing remarkable work in terms of collecting and collating data related to pollution, which is acting as a key policy input for the government and the concerned agencies to improve air quality.  He said the CPCB has been providing real-time data which is commendable.  Supriyo said the COVID-19 pandemic has given an opportunity to press the reboot button to save the environment.  The CBCB was established on September 23, 1974, under The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as a technical arm of the central government for environmental research, monitoring, regulation, and enforcement in the country. 

"Since its inception, the CPCB is working tirelessly towards environmental protection in the country. Some of the pro-active actions of the board include setting sector-specific standards (86); real-time surveillance of over 5,000 industries; river basin studies, which led to genesis of the Ganga Action Plan; multi-city source apportionment studies," the minister said during the webinar. The webinar was inaugurated by Supriyo, who also released technical reports like - A Ready Reckoner for Personnel engaged in Environment Management in Small and Medium Scale Industries, River Water Quality during Lockdown Period, Ambient Air Quality during Lockdown Period and National Ambient Air Quality Status and Trends 2019.

A Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) reporting mobile application for smooth data collection and rapid reporting from 1,641 STPs in the country was also launched by the MoS.  Ravi Shankar Prasad, Additional Secretary, environment ministry, in his address said the CPCB is on the forefront of efforts for a clean environment. "Over the years, it has done a lot of commendable works, technological upgrades and is motivated to continual improvement. Air Quality Index (AQI), National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and waste management initiatives will ensure a more healthy and conducive environment," Prasad said.

CPCB Member Secretary Prashant Gargava presented transformative goals for 2030. He presented the CPCB's vision for revisiting approach to pollution control by revamping monitoring and analysis systems, action planning guided by science, capacity-building, including strengthening research and development department, enhancing engagement of IT tools and future development areas to be focused on.  Former environment secretary C K Mishra, former CPCB Chairmen S P S Parihar and S P Gautam, present CPCB Chairman Shiv Das Meena and Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment also attended the webinar.  Other participants included Principal Secretaries (Environment) of the states, Chairmen and Member Secretaries of the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees, Board Members of the CPCB, former member secretaries of the CPCB and senior officials from the MoEFCC and the CPCB.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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