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Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024
February 18 , 2024
153 days
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- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024 proposing changes to the Act was moved and cleared in both houses of the Parliament within a span of 72 hours.
- The legislation weakens the original Act that came into force 50 years ago.
- Central and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) are based on the 1974 Act.
- The amended version of the Act will currently apply to Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Union territories.
- The original Act, passed in 1974, is applicable in 25 States.
- The most important change is that it removes the provisions of imprisonment for several violations, deemed “minor”, and replaces them with fines, to the tune of ₹10,000 extending up to ₹15 lakh.
- The amendments also give the Centre greater authority to over-ride SPCB in some instances.
- Operating or establishing an industrial unit without SPCB consent can still land you in jail for six years along with a fine.
- The Bill also adds that the Centre may issue guidelines for the grant, refusal, or cancellation of consent granted by the SPCB.
- It also penalises tampering with monitoring devices used in determining whether any industry or treatment plant can be set up.
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