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Small Is Polluting

Small Is Polluting • Confederation of Indian Industry (cii) has chalked out a cleaner production programme for export-oriented small-scale industries (ssis) to guard against India's international trade being affected by environmental issues.

• The Union ministry of environment and forests (mef) has launched a waste minimisation circles (wmc) programme for ssis.

• National Cleaner Production Centre (ncpc), New Delhi, has launched a cleaner production programme for highly polluting ssi units.

contributing half of India's industrial output and nearly 38 per cent of its exports, ssis account for an estimated 65 per cent of industrial pollution load in the country, says K P Nyati, head of environmental management division of cii. With only a fraction of the three million ssi units adhering to environmental norms, ssis continue to pose a serious pollution problem. Nyati says that when the government introduced the Environment Protection Act in 1986, policymakers failed to take note of the amount of environmental pollution that ssis could cause. Today, these units are flouting the environmental norms with impunity, he says.

Eleven years and tonnes of effluents later, government, industry experts and representatives of international agencies are upbeat about some small clean-up steps. G B Subrahmanyam, additional director, mef, says : "Our initiative would be to help ssi units cut down pollution by nearly 30 per cent." The mef programme focuses on polluting ssi units such as textiles, dye and dye intermediates and electroplating. The programme is funded by the World Bank under its industrial pollution prevention project, he says.

On its part, cii acknowledges that environmental issues are becoming a stick to beat Indian industry with in the global market. "We aim at improving environmental performances of ssi units and make them competitive in the global market. Our organisation is seeking funds from the Swedish International Development Agency and the us Asia Environmental Partnership Programme," says Nyati. cii is expected to launch its programme later this year.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (unido), the United Nations Environment Pro-gramme (unep) and National Producti-vity Council (npc), New Delhi have jointly set up ncpc. What makes the international agencies upbeat about the clean-up measures is the success of the cleaner production programmes in India and China. Wilfred Nanyakarra , country director, unido, says : " Looking at the success of the programme, we have planned to set up 20 'cleaner production centres' in developing countries. Ten such centres are already operational throughout the world."

Initial results are promising. S P Chandak, director of ncpc, says : "During demonstrations, experimental production methods have cut down pollution in ssi units by nearly 30 to 50 per cent." There are spin-off benefits as well. It could be a business proposition for private consultants, Chandak notes. The ncpc programme is focusing on textiles, dye manufacturing, food processing and metal finishing. It aims at cleaner production, using appropriate raw materials and efficient production processes, and better technologies.

ncpc is now looking forward to have strategic alliances with financial institutions (fis) and Small Industries Service Institute (sisi), New Delhi, to promote cleaner technologies. "We have set up two regional centres to boost the pollution prevention programme," Chandak says. An official in the mef says that the ministry has planned to set up 77 common effluent treatment plants (cetps) in the country. These plants are at various stages of construction. At present, 15 cetps are operational in the country. D K Biswas, chairperson, Central Pollu-tion Control Board (cpcb) , says that his organisation has provided assistance to develop a cleaner technology for stone crusher plants.

Problems galore
In past, several products from the ssi sector have been banned by foreign countries on environmental ground. Germany banned the import of Indian leather in the early 1990s as it contained pentachlorophenol (pcp), a carcinogen used as an anti-fungal agent in the finishing process. Nyati says that a uk -based company set up a committee in July 1997 to monitor the observation of environmental norms by Indian textile-exporting companies. The list is long.

At present, the good spirit of the implementation agencies are not shared by all. These steps only make the proverbial drop in the ocean of industrial pollution in India. Reducing pollution from ssi s would be tough without the support from "every corner", Chandak notes.

What raises a question mark on the effectiveness of the mef, ncpc and cii programmes is the spread of ssis like a splash of dirt on a map. The task of reaching the polluting unit is often daunting by itself, says Chandak. Limited resources make it very difficult for authorities to visit the site, draw samples, analyse them, and then take action, he points out.

Then there is the lack of data. All efforts by Down To Earth to collect data on the pollution caused by ssi units proved futile. Biswas says that it is difficult to generate data at the national level because the number of ssi units is very high. However, he says that state pollution control boards have conducted studies on the pollution caused by ssi units. The vital step to control pollution is to quantify and qualify pollution, Nyati observes. "Only then it can be established whether the pollution is being caused by bad technology, managerial inefficiency, policy or market," he opines.

Limited financial capacity of most ssi units is another major problem. Fear of reduced profit margin prevents entrepreneurs from installing pollution control facilities, says Chandak. Consequently, they end up showcasing pollution control facilities to tackle enforcement officials, as the costs of operating and maintaining these facilities are high. cii has strong views on this issue. Nyati says that the government should not encourage ssi units that heavily pollute the environment and do not have financial and technical support to control pollution. In that case, only medium- and large-scale industries should be allowed to manufacture those products, he adds.

Limited solutions
Faced with an uphill task, it is back to the books for mef. I t had stated in a 1992 policy statement that pollution control should be emphasised. "We will develop a communication strategy to effectively propagate the concept of waste minimisation among ssi units," Subrahmanyam points out. At present, ssi units, helped by npc , have formed 15 wmcs in the country. Each wmc comprises four to five industrial units of the same type for sharing information regarding waste minimisation concept. The mef expects the formation of about 100 wmcs within two years.

According to Nyati, new ssis should only be set up in industrial estates, making environmental clearance much easier. Each industrial estate could be made responsible for pollution control from member units in its notified area. "If ssi units are not meeting environmental norms in that area, there should be a provision to punish the head of that industrial estate," he recommends.

"At present, the only way out to cut pollution from ssis is to make environment a part of the business strategy of the industry, and establish a link between environment and profitability," says Chandak. It only requires awakening of the industry, and not intensive monitoring and regulatory authorities. Instead of command and control, the focus should be towards "enabling" and "motivating" ssi units, Chandak adds.

The Union government had launched some plans to reward clean industrial performance. Nearly seven years ago, the Sanjay Gandhi Pollution Prevention Award had been initiated by the mef for ssi units that had done a commendable job in preventing pollution. Government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, point out that nothing has been heard about this in the past three years. Nyati says that the government had offered various subsidies and incentives to ssi units to undertake pollution control measures. However, the impact of these incentives has been negligible as they are not economically viable for the ssi operators, he notes. In fact, the subsidies and other incentives offered for setting up new ssi units are far more attractive compared to what is on offer for installation of pollution control equipment.

According to Chandak, fis should fund the units that can improve their economic and environmental performances by additional investment. "In developed countries such as Japan, usa and Germany, fis work on the same lines," he points out.

But these showpiece measures are yet to make a dent on the mounting pollution load. The industry is yet to realise that pollution prevention pays.

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