Tag: West Bengal Pollution Control Board

West Bengal Pollution Control Board: Setting higher standards for a better environment

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The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is a statutory regulatory authority of the Bengal Government. It is responsible for setting standards and monitoring pollution levels and taking steps as and when required.

Among its responsibilities, functions and activities are:

  • Monitoring and control of industrial effluents and emissions
  • Management of wastes in coordination with urban local bodies
  • Installation of online effluent quality monitoring system at 42 grossly polluting industrial units
  • Control of vehicular tail pipe permission, especially in Kolkata, by working in collaboration with the State Transport Department and Kolkata Traffic Police
  • Provision of e-rickshaws in rural areas
  • Installation of rainwater harvesting structures in 32 schools and solar panels on the roofs of 200 schools
  • Creation of environmental awareness programmes on World Environment Day, organising rallies, cultural programmes and training programmes, reclamation and beautification of waterbodies and parks, distribution of non-toxic colours to idol-makers participating in various fairs, etc.
  • Effective use of the fly ash generated in thermal power plants
  • Provision of solid waste management units in rural areas

These and other measures being taken by WBPCB are resulting in the improvement of all aspects of the environment of the State.

Source: Departmental Budget

 

Environment Department: Working towards a more livable future

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The scope of work of the Environment Department is very wide, exhaustive and challenging. The wings of the department work in close coordination to fulfil the commitment of the Bengal Government towards its people for a clean and more livable environment – be it in terms of air, water, noise or several other aspects.

For effective control of pollution, a number of steps, measures and policies have been initiated by the Environment Department which include stringent regulations, development and periodical revision of environment standards, control of vehicular pollution, control of air and water pollution, abatement and prevention of noise pollution, revisiting and revision of the list of critically polluted areas and their environment improvement plans, etc.

The department has been funding research projects through grants-in-aid both to its parastatals like West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), West Bengal Biodiversity Board (WBBB), East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA) and Institute of Environmental Studies and Wetland Management (IES&WM), and also to some research institutions.

Some of the salient points regarding the working of the Environment Department:

  • WBPCB is constantly monitoring and taking suitable measures for improving air quality and reducing water body pollution.
  • An online system of WBPCB’s consent administration has been developed for transparency. All monitoring data can now be accessed from the board’s website. The consent administration has also been simplified.
  • The ‘consent to operate’ periods have been increased: from two years to five years for Red Category Industries, from three years to five years for Orange Category Industries and from five years to seven years for Green Category Industries. A new White Category has been introduced which only requires the relevant industries to give information to the WBPCB and is exempt from ‘consent’ administration.
  • The State Action Plan for climate change is being amended to strengthen the plan, introduce mitigation measures in addition to adaptation measures and bring it in line with the latest developments in various fields.
  • Actions on conservation of biodiversity, preparing a comprehensive register and promoting conservation have been accelerated.
  • A lot of work has been done for restoration and beautification of many waterbodies.
  • More emphasis has been laid on organising awareness activities to spread environment education among all sections of society and mobilising people’s participation for preservation and conservation of environment.

Source: Departmental Budget

State Government buildings to go green with solar power

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The West Bengal Government has decided to install rooftop solar panels in as many government buildings as possible across the state so that at least one fourth of the total power demand of these buildings can be met through the alternative route.

To begin with, 50KW solar panels have already been set up in two government buildings ­ Nagarayan Bhavan and Nirman Bhavan in Salt Lake.While Nagarayan Bhavan houses the State Urban Development, Nirman Bhavan, which was earlier known as Sech Bhavan, is the office of the State Irrigation Department. Solar panels have also been installed in the New Town Kolkata Development Authority building in New Town.

Focus on alternative energy

Solar energy that will be generated from the panel will be converted into electrical energy and put into the grid. The power that will be generated will be measured through a special net-meter and thereby there will be a reduction in the total electricity bill.

Installation of roof-top solar panels will make government buildings energy intelligent and the use of conventional electricity will be reduced considerably. Regulators will be fixed and the panels will be net-metered so that the tariff rate could be fixed for using solar power.

Rajarhat follows suit

In Rajarhat New Town, NKDA authorities had already made it mandatory for all commercial and residential high-rises to install solar rooftop systems to meet at least 2% of the buildings’ total electric load.

The State Environment Department and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) are jointly working to set up solar photo voltaic panels in 80 schools and 20 primary health centres across the state. The project is being executed by the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation to generate solar power from the panels and to put it on the grid.