Parliament Question: Penalties under Polluter Pay Principle

OIH GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3689 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 Penalties under Polluter Pay Principle 3689. SHRI PATEL UMESHBHAI BABUBHAI: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) the total number of inspectors deployed in Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Control Committee and the number of surprise inspections conducted so far; (b) whether a Special Environment Task Force has been constituted in the said Union Territories and the quantum of environmental compensation recovered so far; (c) the number of pharma companies have been issued pollution control certificates without actual inspection along with the details of companies emitting harmful chemicals beyond the prescribed standards; (d) whether any action has been taken against the responsible companies, if so, the details thereof and if not, the details of the standards and parameters in this regard; (e) whether the Government proposes to impose heavy penalties on the responsible companies under the "Polluter Payment Principle'' and if so, the details thereof; and (f) whether the Government has any plan to set up an independent environment monitoring authority and if so, the time by which it is likely to be set up and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (f): Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Pollution Control Committee (DNH & DD PCC) has deployed team of 11 technical officers for enforcing environmental compliance in industries located in UT of DNH & DD. A total of 196 surprise inspections were carried out in 2024-25 in DNH region. In FY 2024-25, environmental compensation of ₹27,54,500/- has been imposed on various industries. It is mandated for all the industries to obtain Consent to Establish/Consent to Operate from the respective State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committee (SPCBs/PCCs) as per the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. SPCBs/PCCs ensure the compliance of prescribed standards notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India.MoEFCC has notified the standards for pharmaceutical industries vide G.S.R. 541(E) dated 6th August, 2021. In the UT of DNH & DD, all industries are mandatorily required to ensure adequate treatment of wastewater and to undertake reuse and/or recycling of the treated effluent within their respective premises. Discharge or release of effluent into any river is strictly prohibited. The industrial units are primarily monitored across the country through Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and SPCBs, which are responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental norms at the national and state level respectively. To strengthen enforcement and ensure compliance with environmental standards, CPCB has issued directions u/s 18(1)(b) of the Water and the Air Act to all SPCBs/PCCs to inspect Red, Orange, and Green categories of industries at a minimum inspection frequency of 6 months, 1 year and 2 years, for verification of compliance of environmental norms. In addition, common waste management/treatment facilities such as STPs, CETPs, CBMWTFs etc., and 17 categories of high pollution potential industries are to be inspected on quarterly basis by SPCBs/PCCs. CPCB also carries out surprise inspection-cum-monitoring of 17 categories industries and common waste treatment facilities, which are selected randomly based on SMS alerts, generated through OCEMS, installed in these industries. *****