NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES MOEF: The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is an Indian government ministry.

The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Jayanthi Natarajan, Union Minister of Environment and Forests, who is assisted by two Ministers of State. The ministry is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes in the country. The main activities undertaken by the ministry include conservation and survey of the flora of India and fauna of India, forests and other wilderness areas; prevention and control of pollution; afforestation, and land degradation mitigation. It is responsible for the administration of the national parks of India. The Civil Services (Indian Forest Service) is under the administration and supervision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. CPCB: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It was established in 1974 under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. CPCB, as spelt out in the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, aims to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country. Air Quality Monitoring is an important part of the air quality management. The National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP) has been established with objectives to determine the present air quality status and trends and to control and regulate pollution from industries and other source to meet the air quality standards. It also provides background air quality data needed for industrial siting and town planning. Besides this, CPCB has an automatic monitoring station at ITO Intersection in New Delhi. At this station Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) are being monitored regularly. This information on Air Quality at ITO is updated every week. Fresh water is a finite resource essential for use in agriculture, industry, propagation of wildlife & fisheries and for human existence. India is a riverine country. It has 14 major rivers, 44 medium rivers and 55 minor rivers besides numerous lakes, ponds and wells which are used as primary source of drinking water even without treatment. Most of the rivers being fed by monsoon rains, which are limited to only three months of the year, run dry throughout the rest of the year often carrying wastewater discharges from industries or cities or towns endangering the quality of our scarce water resources. The parliament of India in its wisdom enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 with a view to maintaining and restoring wholesomeness of our water bodies. One of the mandates of CPCB is to collect, collate and disseminate technical and statistical data relating to water pollution. Hence, Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) and Surveillance are of utmost importance. MPCB: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (Marathi: ) (established September 7, 1970) implements a range of environmental legislation in the state of Maharashtra, India. The MPCB functions under the administrative control of Environment Department of the Government of Maharashtra. It is mainly responsible for:

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Water (Cess) Act, 1977 Some of the provisions under Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 and the rules framed under this like:

Biomedical Waste (M&H) Rules, 1998, Hazardous Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000,

Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2000 etc.

It was established under the provisions of Maharashtra Prevention of Water Pollution Act, 1969. Some of the important functions of MPCB are;

To plan comprehensive program for the prevention, control or abatement of pollution and secure executions thereof, To collect and disseminate information relating to pollution and the prevention, control or abatement thereof, To inspect sewage or trade effluent treatment and disposal facilities, and air pollution control systems and to review plans, specification or any other data relating to the treatment plants, disposal systems and air pollution control systems in connection with the consent granted, Supporting and encouraging the developments in the fields of pollution control, waste recycle reuse, ecofriendly practices etc. To educate and guide the entrepreneurs in improving environment by suggesting appropriate pollution control technologies and techniques Creation of public awareness about the clean and healthy environment and attending the public complaints regarding pollution.

INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES: WHO: The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations. The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by all 61 countries of the United Nations by 22 July 1946, with the first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948. It incorporated the Office International d'Hygine Publique and the League of Nations Health Organization. Since its creation, WHO has been responsible for playing a leading role in the eradication of smallpox. Its current priorities include communicable, in particular, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; the mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and aging; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and drive the development of reporting, publications, and networking. WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, a leading international publication on health, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health Day (7th-April of every Year). Its links with the International Atomic Energy Agency and distribution of contraception have both proved controversial, as have guidelines on healthy eating and the 2009 flu pandemic. UNEP: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is an international institution (a programme, rather than an agency of the UN) that coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in the Gigiri neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices. Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and green economy. It has played a significant role in developing international environmental conventions, promoting environmental science and information and illustrating the way those can be implemented in conjunction with policy, working on the development and implementation of policy with national governments, regional institutions in conjunction with environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). UNEP has also been active in funding and implementing environment related development projects. UNEP has aided in the formulation of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, transboundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways. FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a

source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all. As of 8 August 2008, FAO has 191 member states along with the European Union, Faroe Islands and Tokelau which are associate members. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are legally constituted organizations created by natural or legal people that operate independently from any form of government. The term originated from the United Nations, and normally refers to organizations that are not a part of a government and are not conventional for-profit businesses. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its nongovernmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization. The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue wider social aims that have political aspects, but are not openly political organizations such as political parties. The number of NGOs operating in the United States is estimated at 1.5 million. Russia has 277,000 NGOs.[2] India is estimated to have had around 3.3 million NGOs in 2009, just over one NGO per 400 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India. A non-governmental organization (NGO) is basically a legally constituted organization which is operated by legal persons who act independently from any government. In those cases where the NGOs are funded partially or completely by governments, the NGO barred the government representatives from any membership in the organization in order to sustain its non-governmental status. The term is used for those organizations which have wider social target with political aspects. However, any NGO cannot be blatantly political organizations. The term non-governmental organization has no agreed legal definition and these are termed as civil society organizations in many jurisdictions. Across the world, the number of internationally operating NGOs is around 40,000. The number of national NGO in countries is even higher with around 1-2 million NGOs in India and 277,000 NGOs in Russia. The remodelling processes of the welfare state have led to the rapid development of the non-governmental sector in western countries. With increasing globalization, the intensity of such processes has increased further. In the 20th century, the Globalization makes the people understand the importance of NGOs. There are many problems which could not be solved effectively within a country. The international bodies at a global level including international organizations like World Trade Organization were considered to be too centred to favour the interests of capitalist firms. The growth and rise of NGO is seen as an attempt to offset this trend, where NGO emphasize the core issue related to human cause like sustainable development, developmental aid and other humanitarian issues. One such remarkable example of organization for raising the cause of people is World Social Forum. This organisation is an opponent convention to the World Economic Forum. In some cases, it represents the popular movements of the poor and other ways, it is regarded as an aristocratic form of politics. WWF: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300[4] conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation,[5] in 2010 deriving 57% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID) and 11% from corporations.[3] The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment" Helping Pandas is also a momentous desideratum for the group.[6] Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwaterecosystems, oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change.

GREEN BUILDING: Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the design team, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation[2]

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other related topics include sustainable design and green architecture. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Although some green building programs don't address the issue of the retrofitting existing homes, others do. Green construction principles can easily be applied to retrofit work as well as new construction. A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration found 12 sustainably designed buildings cost less to operate and have excellent energy performance. In addition, occupants were more satisfied with the overall building than those in typical commercial buildings. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN INDIA Environmental issues are negative aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment. Major current environmental issues includes climate change, pollution, environmental degradation and resource depletion etc. The Environmental issues in India are huge. Whether it's the rapidly dropping water, deforestation, land degradation or river contamination, India has it all and on a massive scale. Some believe economic development is causing the environmental issues. Others believe economic development is key to improving India's environmental management and preventing pollution in India. It is also suggested that India's growing population is the primary cause of India's environmental degradation The major sources of pollution in India include the rampant burning of fuel wood and biomass such as dried waste from livestock as the primary source of energy, lack of organized garbage and waste removal services, lack of sewage treatment operations, lack of flood control and monsoon water drainage system, diversion of consumer waste into rivers, cremation practices near major rivers, government mandated protection of highly polluting old public transport, and continued operation by Indian government of government owned, high emission plants built between 1950 to 1980. Water pollution India is recognised as has having major issues with water pollution, predominately due to untreated sewerage. Rivers such as the Ganga, theYamuna and Mithi Rivers, all flowing through highly populated areas, are all heavily polluted. Water supply and sanitation continue to be inadequate, despite long-standing efforts by the various levels of government and communities at improving coverage. Air pollution Air pollution in India is a serious issue with the major sources being fuelwood and biomass burning, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission and traffic congestion. India is the world's largest consumer of fuelwood, agricultural waste and biomass for energy purposes. Traditional fuel (fuelwood, crop residue and dung cake) dominates domestic energy use in rural India and accounts for about 90% of the total. In urban areas, this

traditional fuel constitutes about 24% of the total. Fuel wood, agri waste and biomass cake burning releases over 165 million tonnes of combustion products into India's indoor and outdoor air every year. Vehicle emissions are another source of air pollution. Vehicle emissions are worsened by fuel adulteration and poor fuel combustion efficiencies from traffic congestion and low density of quality, high speed road network per 1000 people. Solid waste pollution Trash and garbage is a common sight in urban and rural areas of India. It is a major source of pollution. Indian cities alone generate more than 100 million tons of solid waste a year. Street corners are piled with trash. Public places and sidewalks are despoiled with filth and litter, rivers and canals act as garbage dumps. In part, India's garbage crisis is from rising consumption. India's waste problem also points to a stunning failure of governance. In 2000, India's Supreme Court directed all Indian cities to implement a comprehensive waste-management program that would include household collection of segregated waste, recycling and composting. These directions have simply been ignored. No major city runs a comprehensive program of the kind envisioned by the Supreme Court. Noise pollution The Supreme Court of India gave a significant verdict on noise pollution in 2005.[31] Unnecessary honking of vehicles makes for a high decibel level of noise in cities. The use of loudspeakers for political purposes and for sermons by temples and mosques makes noise pollution in residential areas worse. In January 2010, Government of India published norms of permissible noise levels in urban and rural areas. Land or Soil pollution In March 2009, the issue of Uranium poisoning in Punjab came into light, caused by fly ash ponds of thermal power stations, which reportedly lead to severe birth defects in children in the Faridkot and Bhatinda districts of Punjab. Land pollution in India is due to the poisonous pesticides and fertilizers as well as corrosion during 2009, the issue of Uranium poisoning in the state of Punjab came into light, caused by fly ash ponds of thermal power stations, which reportedly lead to severe birth defects in children in the Faridkot and Bhatinda districts of the state. Other main reason of this type of pollution is poor garbage disposal services in both the rural and urban areas of India. It is very common in India to find out a heap of garbage on the Street corners. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF COAL MINING IN INDIA Coal is the most abundant fuel resource in India. It is the prime source of energy. Some important facts about coal industry in India are as follows: India is the third largest producer of coal in the world. Coal is one of the primary sources of energy. India has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world. Indian coal has high ash content (15-45%)and low calorific value. With the present rate of around 0.8Mt average daily coal extraction in the country, the reserves are likely to last over a 100 years. The energy derived from coal in India is about twice that of energy derived from oil, as against the world, where energy derived from coal is about 30% lower than energy derived from oil. Coal India Limited (CIL) is the largest company in the world in terms of coal production. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES The mining operations like drilling, blasting, extraction, transportation, crushing and other associated activities are carried out in underground and opencast mines. Mining operations damage the environment and ecology to an unacceptable degree, unless carefully planned and controlled. The various impacts of mining on environment

Impact of Mining on Air Quality Air pollution in mines is mainly due to the fugitive emissions of particulate matter and gases including methane, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Most of the mining operations produce dust. The major operations producing dust are drilling, blasting, hauling, loading, transporting and crushing. Basically, dust sources in mines can be categorized as primary sources that generate the dust and secondary sources, which disperse the dust and carry it from place to place called as fugitive dust. Opencast mining is more severe an air pollution problem in comparison to underground mining. Irrespective of the type of mining used for extracting coal, mining invariably results in enormous land disturbance- e.g. large scale excavation, removal of top soil, dumping of solid wastes, cutting of roads, creation of derelict land etc.

Impact of Mining on Land

Issues in the Process of Law Enforcement India still follows inadequate and outdated environmental laws. Further, various factors that contribute towards poor implementation of environmental laws in India, are:

Lack of appropriate skills amongst the law enforcement agencies. Inadequate infrastructural facilities. Lack of proper understanding of environmental laws. Lack of coordination among the law enforcement authorities and officers. Jurisdictional conflicts. Shortage of skilled and trained legal personnel. No initiatives are being taken to recruit law officers who possess knowledge, skills and understanding of environmental issues and laws. BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. It occurred on the night of 23 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. AFFECT ON HUMAN HEALTH Respiratory Disorders Irritation to the lungs, causing coughing and/or shortness of breathing. Higher exposure caused build up of fluids (pulmonary edema). Caused Asthama. Cancer Hazard Caused mutation (genetic changes). It caused cancer. Reproductive Hazard Association between exposure to Methyl Isocyanate and miscarriages. It may damage the growing fetus. May also affect fertility in men and women. Traces of many toxins were found in the Brest Milk of mothers and were in turn transmitted to the recepient babies. The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. The causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema.

TRIPPLE BOTTOM LINE The TBL is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental and financial. This differs from traditional reporting frameworks as it includes ecological (or environmental) and social measures that can be difficult to assign appropriate means of measurement. The TBL dimensions are also commonly called the three Ps: people, planet and profits. We will refer to these as the 3Ps. "People" pertains to fair and beneficial business practices toward labour and the community and region in which a corporation conducts its business. A TBL company conceives a reciprocal social structure in which the well-being of corporate, labour and other stakeholder interests are interdependent. A triple bottom line enterprise seeks to benefit many constituencies, not exploit or endanger any group of them. The "upstreaming" of a portion of profit from the marketing of finished goods back to the original producer of raw materials, for example, a farmer in fair trade agricultural practice, is a common feature. In concrete terms, a TBL business would not use child labour and monitor all contracted companies for child labour exploitation, would pay fair salaries to its workers, would maintain a safe work environment and tolerable working hours, and would not otherwise exploit a community or its labour force. A TBL business also typically seeks to "give back" by contributing to the strength and growth of its community with such things as health care and education. Quantifying this bottom line is relatively new, problematic and often subjective. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed guidelines to enable corporations and NGOs alike to comparably report on the social impact of a business. "Planet" (natural capital) refers to sustainable environmental practices. A TBL company endeavors to benefit the natural order as much as possible or at the least do no harm and minimise environmental impact. A TBL endeavour reduces its ecological footprint by, among other things, carefully managing its consumption of energy and nonrenewables and reducing manufacturing waste as well as rendering waste less toxic before disposing of it in a safe and legal manner. "Cradle to grave" is uppermost in the thoughts of TBL manufacturing businesses, which typically conduct a life cycle assessment of products to determine what the true environmental cost is from the growth and harvesting of raw materials to manufacture to distribution to eventual disposal by the end user. A triple bottom line company does not produce harmful or destructive products such as weapons, toxic chemicals or batteries containing dangerous heavy metals, for example. Currently, the cost of disposing of non-degradable or toxic products is borne financially by governments and environmentally by the residents near the disposal site and elsewhere. In TBL thinking, an enterprise which produces and markets a product which will create a waste problem should not be given a free ride by society. It would be more equitable for the business which manufactures and sells a problematic product to bear part of the cost of its ultimate disposal. Ecologically destructive practices, such as overfishing or other endangering depletions of resources are avoided by TBL companies. Often environmental sustainability is the more profitable course for a business in the long run. Arguments that it costs more to be environmentally sound are often specious when the course of the business is analyzed over a period of time. Generally, sustainability reporting metrics are better quantified and standardized for environmental issues than for social ones. A number of respected reporting institutes and registries exist including the Global Reporting Initiative, CERES, Institute 4 Sustainability and others. The eco bottom line is akin to the concept of Eco-capitalism "Profit" is the economic value created by the organization after deducting the cost of all inputs, including the cost of the capital tied up. It therefore differs from traditional accounting definitions of profit. In the original concept, within a sustainability framework, the "profit" aspect needs to be seen as the real economic benefit enjoyed by the host society. It is the real economic impact the organization has on its economic environment. This is often confused to be limited to the internal profit made by a company or organization (which nevertheless remains an essential starting point for the computation). Therefore, an original TBL approach cannot be interpreted as simply traditional corporate accounting profit plus social and environmental impacts unless the "profits" of other entities are included as a social benefit.