All that was discussed in the House through the day
The government has restricted the import and export of biofuels to promote their production and increase availability, Rameswar Teli, minister of state in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told the Lok Sabha.
The import of biofuels is “restricted” under three Harmonized System (HS) codes 22072000, 27102000 and 3826000. Further, the import of petroleum bitumen and other residues is ‘free’, which are covered under HS codes 27132000 and 27139000, Teli added.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) prepared a detailed report on the fire mishap that occurred in the Brahmapuram dumpsite, managed by the Kochi Municipal Corporation, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the Rajya Sabha.
CPCB inspected the site on March 10, 2023, and March 13, 2023, and found un-segregated solid waste was dumped haphazardly and unscientifically at the solid waste dump site.
Only a small quantity of waste was composted through windrow composting. It was also reported that fire and smoke choked the city and surrounding municipalities.
There is no information available for any global index or parameter by the name “Clean Environment”, Bhupender Yadav, Union minister for environment, forest and climate change, told the Rajya Sabha.
He was responding to a question raised by member of parliament (MP) Narain Dass Gupta. The MP asked, “whether it is a fact that India’s ranking in terms of clean environment is continuously decimated globally year by year and presently India is ranked last in the list of world’s180 countries in terms of clean environment”.
The minister responded to this by saying there are indices which rank the countries using environmental parameters. Some of these indices show India in a fairly good position, while others show a decline. The ministry has analysed some of these indices in-depth and identified areas of improvement where feasible.
As of June 2023, 16 proposals of various infrastructure projects in Odisha are under different stages of consideration, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha. The proposals are awaiting environmental clearance from the ministry as well as the state environment impact assessment authority, Odisha.
Diversion of forest land shall attract forest clearance as per provision of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, as amended, if applicable, Choubey added.
The Ministry of Power notified the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) on June 23, 2023, Choubey told the Rajya Sabha.
The scheme provides a framework for the functioning of India’s carbon market. CCTS facilitates the trading of carbon credits among obligated entities in the domestic market. Obligated entities are the registered entities that are notified under the compliance mechanism.
The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 has identified various feedstocks such as non-edible oilseeds, used cooking oil, animal fat and acid oil for the production of biodiesel. The policy has already outlined an indicative target of five per cent blending of bio-diesel in diesel / direct sale of bio-diesel by 2030.
Nearly 61 plants are currently registered with public sector oil marketing companies to supply bio-diesel produced from various feedstocks, Teli added.
Under Namami Gange Programme, a comprehensive set of interventions such as wastewater treatment, solid waste management, riverfront management (ghats and crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and public participation have been taken up for the rejuvenation of the Ganga river and its tributaries.
So far, a total of 442 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 37,395.51 crore, of which 254 projects have been completed and made operational, Bishweswar Tudu, minister of state for Jal Shakti (water resources), told the Lok Sabha.
Most of the projects pertain to creating sewage infrastructure, as untreated domestic/industrial wastewater is the main reason for pollution here. Nearly 193 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up at a cost of Rs 30,797.24 crore, Tudu added.
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