India 2018

Environment 209
to the traffic or the public or drains. The service providers are required to prepare
a comprehensive waste management plan covering segregation, storage,
collection, reuse, recycling, transportation and disposal of construction and
demolition waste generated within their jurisdiction. They are also responsible
for removal of all construction and demolition waste.
Fly Ash Utilization
The fast-increasing demand of power coupled with its dependence on coal for
about 2/3rd of its energy requirement is leading to generation of large volume
of fly ash. The management of fly ash has been a matter of concern in view of
requirement of large are of land for its disposal. To address the environmental
problems of fly ash disposal, the Ministry issued notification on fly ash utilization
in 1999 prescribing the targets for the fly ash utilization for coal/lignite power
based thermal power stations with the aim to achieve 100 per cent utilization in
phased manner. The notification was amended in 2003, 2009 and recently in
2016. The utilization of fly ash has increased from 6.64 million ton in 1996-97 to
a level of 107.77 million ton in 2015-16. Fly ash earlier considered to be "hazardous
industrial waste" material, is now considered to be useful and saleable
commodity. The objectives of this notification are to protect environment,
conserve the top soil, prevent dumping of fly ash from thermal power stations
on land and to promote utilization of ash in the manufacture of building materials
and construction activity.
International Conventions
Basel Convention
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in 1989 in Basel, Switzerland.
The overarching objective of the Basel Convention is to protect human health
and the environment against the adverse effets of hazardous wastes. Its scope
of application covers a wide range of wastes defined as "hazardous wastes"
based on their origin and/or composition and their characteristics, as well as
two types of wastes defined as "other wastes" (household waste and incinerator
ash).
Rotterdam Convention
The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade came into force in
2004. India acceded to the convention a year later. The Designated National
authorities (DNAs) for India are in Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation.
The Official Contact Points (OCPs) are designated in Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change. There are 47 chemicals listed in Annex III to this
Convention, which include 33 pesticides and 14 industrial chemicals that have
been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons by two
or more parties and which the Conference of the Parties (COPs) has decided to
subject to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure.