[Reader-list] The CPCB report on Pollution - It is not about pollution in a State (my take)
anupam chakravartty
c.anupam at gmail.com
Tue Mar 23 19:40:44 IST 2010
in context of the debate: from an 1968 article titled "The tragedy of
the commons" by Garett Hardin. some of the excerpts from
http://dieoff.org/page95.htm
Pollution
In a reverse way, the tragedy of the commons reappears in problems of
pollution. Here it is not a question of taking something out of the
commons, but of putting something in -- sewage, or chemical,
radioactive, and heat wastes into water; noxious and dangerous fumes
into the air; and distracting and unpleasant advertising signs into
the line of sight. The calculations of utility are much the same as
before. The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the
wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of
purifying his wastes before releasing them. Since this is true for
everyone, we are locked into a system of "fouling our own nest," so
long as we behave only as independent, rational, free enterprisers.
The tragedy of the commons as a food basket is averted by private
property, or something formally like it. But the air and waters
surrounding us cannot readily be fenced, and so the tragedy of the
commons as a cesspool must be prevented by different means, by
coercive laws or taxing devices that make it cheaper for the polluter
to treat his pollutants than to discharge them untreated. We have not
progressed as far with the solution of this problem as we have with
the first. Indeed, our particular concept of private property, which
deters us from exhausting the positive resources of the earth, favors
pollution. The owner of a factory on the bank of a stream -- whose
property extends to the middle of the stream -- often has difficulty
seeing why it is not his natural right to muddy the waters flowing
past his door. The law, always behind the times, requires elaborate
stitching and fitting to adapt it to this newly perceived aspect of
the commons.
The pollution problem is a consequence of population. It did not much
matter how a lonely American frontiersman disposed of his waste.
"Flowing water purifies itself every ten miles," my grandfather used
to say, and the myth was near enough to the truth when he was a boy,
for there were not too many people. But as population became denser,
the natural chemical and biological recycling processes became
overloaded, calling for a redefinition of property rights.
How to Legislate Temperance?
Analysis of the pollution problem as a function of population density
uncovers a not generally recognized principle of morality, namely: the
morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the
time it is performed. [10] Using the commons as a cesspool does not
harm the general public under frontier conditions, because there is no
public; the same behavior in a metropolis is unbearable. A hundred and
fifty years ago a plainsman could kill an American bison, cut out only
the tongue for his dinner, and discard the rest of the animal. He was
not in any important sense being wasteful. Today, with only a few
thousand bison left, we would be appalled at such behavior.
In passing, it is worth noting that the morality of an act cannot be
determined from a photograph. One does not know whether a man killing
an elephant or setting fire to the grassland is harming others until
one knows the total system in which his act appears. "One picture is
worth a thousand words," said an ancient Chinese; but it may take ten
thousand words to validate it. It is as tempting to ecologists as it
is to reformers in general to try to persuade others by way of the
photographic shortcut. But the essence of an argument cannot be
photographed: it must be presented rationally -- in words.
That morality is system-sensitive escaped the attention of most
codifiers of ethics in the past. "Thou shalt not…" is the form of
traditional ethical directives which make no allowance for particular
circumstances. The laws of our society follow the pattern of ancient
ethics, and therefore are poorly suited to governing a complex,
crowded, changeable world. Our epicyclic solution is to augment
statutory law with administrative law. Since it is practically
impossible to spell out all the conditions under which it is safe to
burn trash in the back yard or to run an automobile without
smogcontrol, by law we delegate the details to bureaus. The result is
administrative law, which is rightly feared for an ancient reason --
Quis custodies ipsos custodes? --Who shall watch the watchers
themselves? John Adams said that we must have a "government of laws
and not men." Bureau administrators, trying to evaluate the morality
of acts in the total system, are singularly liable to corruption,
producing a government by men, not laws.
Prohibition is easy to legislate (though not necessarily to enforce);
but how do we legislate temperance? Experience indicates that it can
be accomplished best through the mediation of administrative law. We
limit possibilities unnecessarily if we suppose that the sentiment of
Quis custodiet denies us the use of administrative law. We should
rather retain the phrase as a perpetual reminder of fearful dangers we
cannot avoid. The great challenge facing us now is to invent the
corrective feedbacks that are needed to keep custodians honest. We
must find ways to legitimate the needed authority of both the
custodians and the corrective feedbacks.
ends
On 3/23/10, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Dear Ravi
>
> Thank you for posting the weblink. What follows is not directed at you. It
> is a general note.
>
> MY DISCLAIMER : I am not a supporter of Modi, or of the BJP or RSS or VHP or
> BD or SS. I consider Hindutvavaad to be contemptible and Anti-India.
>
> It is sickening that I need to make such a disclaimer. The quality of
> understanding displayed by some on this List and their obvious prejudgments,
> prejudice and bias, forces me to do this.
>
> Now the CPCB Report:
>
> 1. It is not a report about pollution in States as a composite whole but
> about pollution in selected 88 Industrial Clusters spread over the country.
>
> It would highly incorrect to transpose the data into a comment on the
> whole State based on the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI)
> of selected Industrial Clusters in the State.
>
> If it is so revealed, then a better statement would be """""Out of the
> Industrial Clusters (ICs) studied by CPCB, some of the " most critically
> polluted" and "severely polluted" are in Gujarat"""". That is for those who
> are interested in focusing on Gujarat.
>
> 2. What does the report reveal:
>
> - Based on the CEPI value-markers set by CPCB, 43 of the 88 ICs are
> "critically polluted"
>
> - Based on the CEPI value-markers set by CPCB, 32 of the 88 ICs are
> "severely polluted"
>
> - Top 20 culprits in descending severity Ankleshwar (Gujarat); Vapi
> (Gujarat); Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh); Chandrapur (Maharashtra); Korba
> (Chhatisgarh); Bhiwadi (Rajasthan); Angul Talcher (Orissa); Vellore (North
> Arcot) (Tamilnadu); Singrauli (Uttar Pradesh); Ludhiana (Punjab); Nazafgarh
> drain basin (Delhi); Noida (Uttar Pradesh); Dhanbad (Jharkhand); Dombivalli
> (Maharashtra); Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh); Cuddalore (Tamilnadu); Aurangabad
> (Maharashtra); Faridabad (Haryana); Agra (Uttar Pradesh); Manali (Tamilnadu)
>
> - Statewise share of the 88 ICs studied by CPCB:
>
> * Andhra Pradesh Total= 5 Critical= 2 Severe=
> 1 Other= 2
> * Assam Total= 2 Critical= 0 Severe= 0
> Other= 2
> * Bihar Total= 2 Critical= 0
> Severe= 1 Other= 1
> * Chattisgarh Total= 3
> Critical= 1 Severe= 1 Other= 1
> * Delhi
> Total= 1 Critical= 1 Severe= 0 Other= 0
> * Gujarat
> Total= 9 Critical= 6 Severe= 2 Other= 1
> * Haryana Total= 2 Critical= 2 Severe=
> 0 Other= 0
> * Himachal Pradesh Total= 3 Critical= 0 Severe=
> 3 Other= 0
> * Jharkhand Total= 5 Critical=
> 1 Severe= 4 Other= 0
> * Karnataka Total= 5 Critical= 2 Severe= 3
> Other= 0
> * Kerala Total= 1 Critical= 1
> Severe= 0 Other= 0
> * Madhya Pradesh Total= 5 Critical= 1 Severe= 3
> Other= 1
> * Maharashtra Total= 8
> Critical= 5 Severe= 3 Other= 0
> * Orissa Total= 4 Critical= 3
> Severe= 1 Other= 0
> * Punjab Total= 4 Critical= 2
> Severe= 2 Other= 0
> * Rajasthan
> Total= 4 Critical= 3 Severe= 1 Other= 0
> * Tamilnadu Total= 7 Critical= 4 Severe= 2
> Other= 1
> * Uttar Pradesh Total= 12 Critical= 6 Severe= 3
> Other= 3
> * Uttarakhand Total= 2 Critical=
> 0 Severe= 1 Other= 1
> * West Bengal Total= 4 Critical= 3 Severe= 1
> Other= 0
> The above results can be interpreted and summarised in a variety of ways. My
> (hopefully objective) summary would be:
>
> a. 88 Industrial Clusters/Areas ICs spread over 20 States were selected by
> CPBC
>
> b. 43 of these were evaluated as being "Critically Polluted" and 32 as
> "Severely Polluted"
>
> c. Of the selected ICs, the top ranking 2 evaluated as "Most Critically
> Polluted" are from Gujarat.
>
> d. In the top 20 "Most Critically Polluted" list, 5 ICs figure from Uttar
> Pradesh, 3 each from Maharashtra and Tamilnadu and 2 from Gujarat.
>
> e. Cent percent of the selected ICs from Delhi (1), Haryana (2), Kerala (1)
> were evaluated as "Critically Polluted"
>
> f. The number of "Critically Polluted" ICs was the most in Gujarat (6 out
> of 9); Maharashtra (5 out of 8); Uttar Pradesh (6 out of 12); Tamilnadu (4
> out of 7); and then Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal placed similarly (3
> out of 4)
>
> g. The combined number of ICs that were found to be "Critically Polluted"
> and "Severely Polluted" were the most in Uttar Pradesh (9 out of 12, - 75%);
> Gujarat (8 out of 9, - 89%); Maharashtra (8 out of 8, - 100%); Tamilnadu
> (6 out of 7, - 86%); Jharkhand (5 out of 5, - 100%); Karnataka (5 out of 5,
> - 100%); Madhya Pradesh (4 out of 5, - 80%); Orissa (4 out of 4, - 100%);
> Punjab (4 out of 4, - 100%); Rajasthan (4 out of 4, - 100%); West Bengal (4
> out of 4, - 100%)
>
> Kshmendra
>
> --- On Tue, 3/23/10, Ravi Agarwal <ravig64 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: Ravi Agarwal <ravig64 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Reg: Another achievement of Gujarat - No.1 in
> pollution
> To: "Pawan Durani" <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
> Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 11:29 AM
>
>
> Dear all,
>
> For details of this analysis - "Comprehensive Environment Assessment of
> Industrial Areas" please refer to the recent (Dec 2009) Central Pollution
> Control Board Document at
>
> http://www.cpcb.nic.in/upload/NewItems/NewItem_152_Final-Book_2.pdf
>
>
> Pages 26/27/28 are state wise pollution indicies and these can be compiled
> for each state. If i am not wrong, Gujarat has 8 sites mentioned above the
> cutt- off level defining 'critical level of pollution,' (amongst the
> highest) and 1 site at the borderline. Similarly data for other sites can be
> compiled here.
>
> This is a first such report done by a premier Govt agency and verifies what
> other independent studies have been showing in the recent past.
>
> Best wishes
> ravi agarwal
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 9:32 AM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Dear Rakesh ,
>>
>> The said article had been reported by IANS. However on further
>> investigation , there seems to be some doubt in the authenticity of
>> the article itself.
>>
>> Pls find All PIB releases mentioning Gujarat http://is.gd/aSOUJ all
>> PIB releases mentioning CPCB http://is.gd/aSOXC
>>
>> Non of these releases has anything to mention on above subject.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Pawan
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 6:55 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Hi
>> >
>> > An article, specially for those who keep singing paeans about Narendra
>> Modi
>> > and his administration on this forum, without trying to see the other
>> way.
>> >
>> > Rakesh
>> >
>> > Link:
>> >
>> http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/mar/22/gujarat-most-polluted-state-in-india.htm
>> >
>> > Article:
>> >
>> > Gujarat most polluted state in India, Maharashtra 2ndThe Central
>> Pollution
>> > Control Board has declared Gujarat as the most polluted state in India [
>> > Images <http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=india> ]. The
>> > conclusion has been based on the increasing levels of pollution and
>> > toxic
>> > wastes.
>> >
>> > There are seven states in the country that account for 80 per cent of
>> > the
>> > total hazardous wastes and among these Gujarat tops the list, followed
>> > by
>> > Maharashtra [ Images<
>> http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=maharashtra>]
>> > and Andhra Pradesh.
>> >
>> > Even after being declared as the most polluted state, the Gujarat
>> government
>> > has not taken any necessary measures to prevent the problem aggravating
>> > further, environmental activists say.
>> >
>> > Criticising the state government for not taking any adequate remedial
>> > measures to tackle this problem, Mahesh Pandya, director of an NGO named
>> > Paryavaran Mitra (Friends of Environment), held the authorities and
>> > industrialists responsible for such an alarming polluted environment.
>> >
>> > "There are six toxic waste sites in Vapi, two in Ankleshwar, one in
>> Vadodara
>> > and one in Valadgaon. Even the government of Gujarat has recognised
>> > these
>> > waste sites. But till today the government has not mentioned anything to
>> > clear up these waste sites. So who are responsible ultimately," said
>> Pandya.
>> >
>> > "If we pursue the (Gujarat) state government, they ask the association
>> > of
>> > industries to clear it up. These associations say it's not their
>> > responsibility. Now the toxics are creating pollution and affecting the
>> > masses," he added.
>> >
>> > People residing near the industrial estates have developed health and
>> > breathing related problems, the forum said. People have blamed the toxic
>> > smoke and wastes discharged by the factories.
>> >
>> > "Because of the air pollution, the village environment is getting
>> affected.
>> > Villagers have been here since ages but the industries were set up after
>> a
>> > long period of time. We face so much difficulty. We cannot leave food in
>> > open or even the clothes outside for drying," said Kirit Patel, a
>> resident
>> > of Narol industrial area.
>> >
>> > "We are even becoming prone to breathing and health problems. Pollution
>> is
>> > indeed a big problem," he added.
>> >
>> > According to a recent report by the central government, Gujarat accounts
>> for
>> > 29 per cent of the 6.2 million tonnes of hazardous waste, while it is 25
>> per
>> > cent in Maharashtra.
>> >
>> > Andhra Pradesh is rated next with 9 per cent in generation of hazardous
>> > waste, followed by Rajasthan [
>> > Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=rajasthan>]
>> > with 5 per cent and West Bengal [
>> > Images <http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=west+bengal> ]
>> and
>> > Tamil Nadu reckoned at 4 per cent each.
>> > Source: ANI
>> > _________________________________________
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