Page 66 - Plastcs News August 2017

IN ThE NEWS

PIL filed in Madras High Court PPCB to take ragpickers'

on delineating 45 villages for help to study plastic waste

PCPIR management

PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court to quash unjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided
A various orders of the State Housing and Urban Pon engaging with rag pickers to study waste
Development Department delineating 45 villages in management. PPCB chairman Kahn Singh Pannu issued
Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts for inclusion under instructions to assistant environmental engineers
the proposed Policy Resolution for Petroleum, Chemicals
and Petrochemicals Investment regions (PCPIR) as “local
planning areas”.
As per indianexpress.com, a division bench of Justices
TS Sivagnanam and M Sundar, before which a PIL from G
Sundarrajan, managing trustee of Poovulagin Nanbargal,
an NGo, came up for hearing on Friday ordered notice
to the State and Union Ministry of Chemicals and
Petrochemicals, returnable in four weeks. According to
petitioner, the Union Petroleum Ministry had published
the Policy Resolution on PCPIRs on April 4, 2007. Pursuant
to this, the Union Ministry had approved setting up four
PCPIRs including the one in Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore-
Nagappattinam).
A sum of `1,500 crores has also been approved by the
ministry as budgetary support for Tamil Nadu. As per the
policy resolution, Tamil Nadu is required to play the lead role (AEEs) and junior environmental engineers (JEEs) to
in setting up interact with them for the purpose. In a meeting with
of the PCPIR. PPCB officials from Jalandhar, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur
It is required and Batala here on Monday, Pannu asked ground-level
to identify a officials to speak to rag pickers so that plastic waste
suitable site, was collected and recycled in an environmentally-
prepare the sound manner. According to reports the idea is to study
proposal and how the plastic waste is being managed and how its
seek approval management can be more attractive and remunerative
of the Union so that rag pickers also benefit.
Ministry. The
State is also "I have spoken to those involved in recycling but they
required to say that they get only 10%-20% of the plastic waste
notify PCPIRs and the rest piles up. Our officers would study the
area. As a first step of the implementation of the Policy ground level and then draw the roadmap. We shall
Resolution, the Housing Department delineated 45 villages also study if gap-funding is required and how that can
in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts and included be arranged," Pannu said. In the meeting, which was
them under the proposed PCPIR as “local planning area”. also attended by chief environmental engineer G S
But it was done without inviting objections/suggestions Majithia and senior environmental engineer Sandeep
from the inhabitants of the villages and the concerned Behl, PPCB chairman also asked the officials to strictly
local authorities or the institutions in the local areas. enforce environmental laws and maintain a strict vigil
It was against a Go dated June 20, 2017, petitioner on industries to ensure that they use their pollution
contended and sought to quash the Gos. control devices diligently.

Plastics News | August 2017 66