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Only about half of state pollution control boards (SPCB) / pollution control committees (PCC) across India shared their continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) data — that monitors air and water pollution in real time — in public domain as of October 19, 2020.
The data was analysed by Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
CEMS is a set of equipment that monitors and sends emission data to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as well as to respective SPCBs every 15 minutes. Continuous monitoring helps pollution control boards as well as the industry to keep pollution levels in check in real-time.
There are 35 SPCBs / PCCs (30 SPCBs and 5 PCCs) in India, out of which 17 SPCBs / PCCs shared their CEMS data in public domain till October 19, 2020, according to the CSE analysis. These were:
The links provided by Karnataka and West Bengal pollution control boards are password-protected and not available in public domain.
As on February 4, 2020, CPCB had analysed the CEMS data and found that 14 SPCBs / PCCs were sharing details in public domain. These were Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh , Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.
The CPCB had in February 2014 issued directions to track release of pollutants through air emissions and effluent discharge under section 18(1) b of the Water and Air Acts to the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees.
It had directed highly polluting industries, common effluent treatment plants, common bio medical waste and common hazardous waste incinerators for installation of online effluent quality and emission monitoring systems.
In 2018, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 mandated installation of CEMS for industries using boilers.
CSE analysis
According to the CPCB step-taken report, Chandigarh PCC had clarified it would displayed after upgradation of sewage treatment plants. SPCBs of Mizoram, Lakshadweep and Arunachal Pradesh had informed CPCB that no industry there required installation of CEMS.
CSE carried out the analysis as per the CEMS information available on the various SPCB websites. The analysis considered data of industries that were online, offline, where data transmission was delayed or that were closed by SPCB / CPCB.
CSE found that most industries were working in offline mode. For example, Bihar SPCB website showed that a total of 41 industries installed CEMS, out of which 29 industries (70 per cent) were marked working in offline mode. No reason was stated for the same.
In Punjab, 34 per cent industries were working in offline mode.
Poor CEMS data quality is the biggest challenge for successful implementation of CEMS in India. The data available for industries in few states also showed poor data quality.
Industries lacking technical knowledge or skilled manpower to select the suitable technology, lack of awareness on CEMS installation, calibration and maintenance practices are some of the reasons for poor data quality.
The broad information on the status of CEMS during the analysis are as below:
Status of CEMS in Bihar, Punjab and Haryana
| S No | State | Number of CEMS | ||
| Total number of CEMS installed industries | Online | Offline | ||
| 1 | Bihar state pollution control board 06/10/2020 | 41 | 12 | 29 |
| 2 | Punjab state pollution control board | 152 | 98 | 52 |
Online real-time continuous monitoring system (OCEMS) data in public domain by state boards
| S. No | Name of SPCBs/PCCs | Web link of the page | OCEMS data on SPCB/PCC/ OCMMS website, as per CSE analysis 2020 |
Remark |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands PCC | No | ||
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board | http://aprtpms.ap.gov.in/publicview.html | Yes | |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board | No industry requiring OCEMS |
||
| 4 | Assam State Pollution Control Board | http://pcba.rtdas.in/ | Yes | |
| 5 | Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) | http://bpcbcems.nic.in/login | Yes | |
| 6 | Chandigarh PCC | No | Requested for time till 30/11/2020 | |
| 7 | Chhattisgarh State Pollution Control Board | https://www.enviscecb.org/data.htm | Yes | |
| 8 | Daman & Diu PCC | No | ||
| 9 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli PCC | No | ||
| 10 | Delhi Pollution Control Committee | http://dpcccems.nic.in/login | Yes | |
| 11 | Goa State Pollution Control Board | https://gspcb.glensserver.com/GSPCB_ONLINE/index.html | Yes | |
| 12 | Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) | https://gpcb.gujarat.gov.in/webcontroller/viewpage/online-monitoring-system-dashboard | Yes | |
| 13 | Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) | http://hspcbcems.nic.in/login | Yes | |
| 14 | Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) | https://hppcb.glensserver.com/public/ | Yes | |
| 15 | J&K Pollution Control Board (J & KPCB) | http://jkspcb.glensweb.com/public/index.html | Yes | |
| 16 | Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) | No | ||
| 17 | Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KPCB) | https://kspcb.gov.in/online%20MDE.html | No | CEMS data Password protected. |
| 18 | Kerala State Pollution Control Board | https://keralapcb.glensserver.com/public/ | Yes | |
| 19 | Lakshadweep PCC | No | ||
| 20 | Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) | https://esc.mp.gov.in/v3.0/#/publicPortal/categoryList | Yes | |
| 21 | Maharashtra Pollution Control Board | https://www.mpcb.gov.in/Online_CEMS.php | No | |
| 22 | Manipur Pollution Control Board (MPCB) | No | ||
| 23 | Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board | No | ||
| 24 | Mizoram State Pollution Control Board | No | ||
| 25 | Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) | No | ||
| 26 | Odisha State Pollution Control Board | http://www.ospcbrtdas.com/ | Yes | |
| 27 | Puducherry PCC | https://ppcc.glensserver.com/PPCC_ONLINE/index.html | Yes | |
| 28 | Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) | http://ppcbcems.nic.in/public | Yes | |
| 29 | Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) | No | ||
| 30 | Sikkim State Pollution Control Board | No | ||
| 31 | Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) | http://117.232.97.121/RealTime_tnpcb_cac/index.html | Yes | |
| 32 | Telangana State pollution Control Board | http://183.82.41.227:8080/enviroconnect/aqms | Yes | |
| 33 | Tripura State Pollution Control Board | No | ||
| 34 | Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) | No | ||
| 35 | Uttara khand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) | No | ||
| 36 | West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) | http://www.wbpcb.gov.in/cmsdata.php | No | CEMS Data Password protected. |
Source: CPCB Report and CSE Analysis