1. Environmental concerns in India Key issues and possible directions
Dr. Ajay Mathur
TERI

2. Key environmental issues in India
Deteriorating air quality
Deteriorating water quality
Waste management
Climate Change
Air pollution
Climate change
Waste
Water pollution
SLCP
warming
Increased O3
due to CC
Refuse burning,
landfill emissions
Methane
emissions
Acid rain
Leachate

3. Air

4. Air quality issues and concerns
About 70-80% of cities in India do not meet the nationally prescribed standards of air quality
Regional scale issue: both rural & urban regions contributing and affected by the problem
High impact on human health – million mortalities and morbidities
Impacts over agricultural productivity (about 20-30% of wheat loss)
Aerosols warm the atmosphere and cool the earth surface leading to climatic disruptions
Contributors : Biomass, industries, transport, dust– primary and secondary pollutants
Lack of scientific assessments and planning
Inadequate monitoring network
Limited enforcement of laws
Limited capacity to understand and enforce
Trans-boundary issues and awareness
PM2.5 concentrations- TERI analysis
PM2.5 contributions in Delhi-winters
TERI-ARAI study

5. PM10 concentrations in Indian cities (2015)
Indian std.
WHO guideline
The annual average of the SO2 levels during 2009 in all the cities of India are below the annual ambient air quality standard. In recent years, there has been a marked decrease in the sulphur dioxide values in various cities across the country. Amongst the cities considered here, those having relatively higher values are Jamshedpur, Ghaziabad, Chandrapur etc.
About 70-80% cities violate the standards of PM10
Source: CPCB, NAMP data

6. Key actions : air quality improvement
Launch and implement National Clean Air Programme [NCAP] for multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination
Draft conducive policies for shifting freight transport from road to rail, inland waterways, and coastal shipping
Developing policies and programmes for vehicle fleet modernization
Enhancement of public transport and electric mobility through the use fiscal instruments (congestion tax, subsidies)
Develop regulatory frameworks for penetrating gaseous fuels in the industrial clusters
Strengthen the capacities of pollution control boards for improved enforcement .
Develop policy support for sustainable business models of collection, transport, storage, and processing of agriculture residues
Develop specific policies for control of secondary pollutants- control of gaseous pollutants- ammonia from agriculture, NOx from vehicles, SO2 from industries and VOCs from solvent use
Deploy policies for recovery of methane from landfills and STPs
Regulatory mechanisms for supplying 24x7 electricity to eliminate DGs.
Enhance penetration of LPG/Electricity in rural households (more rapidly in the regions around urban hotspots)

7. Water

8. Water quality issues
Deteriorating water quality : pollution of rivers and lakes, groundwater
Number of critically polluted stretches in rivers has increased to 351 from 302 between (CPCB)
State of Maharashtra has highest number of 53 polluted river stretches followed by Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh.
Limited treatment capacity – STPs, CETPs
Limited drainage network
Ineffective operations and maintenance
Limited controls at source in residential and industrial sectors

9. Wastewater scenario
Waste
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10. Key actions : water quality improvement
Wastewater/Sewage & Pollution Management (Addressing the untreated urban wastewater/sewage discharge & tackling river pollution):
Promote pilot schemes for scalable innovative wastewater/sewage management involving wastewater treatment, recycle/reuse, nutrient recovery & energy generation for the sewage from cities/drains.
Develop dedicated policies/schemes for promoting/mandating & incentivizing wastewater treatment, reuse/recycle in the states.
Promote integrated MIS system with latest IT tools for real-time water quality monitoring & effective decision making
Promoting control at source in both residential and industrial sectors

11. Waste

12. Waste (MSW) related issues
Growing waste quantities. would require around 1250 ha per year of land if disposed
No source segregation, 40-50% of organics in waste stream
Inadequate disposal – very few sanitary landfills
Landfill gas emission and contamination of water and soil due to leachate
India reports high recycling rate of 60% though most of it happens in informal sector
High moisture content and low calorific value of organic fraction of Indian MSW makes it more amendable to biochemical conversion (composting and anaerobic digestion)

13. Municipal solid waste
Environment
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14. Key actions for waste management
Waste to Compost
No compost testing is required if it used locally e.g. at housing society level
If compost to be sold for commercial/agricultural use then every batch has to be tested for compliance to FCO
This can be expensive as it requires around Rs per sample as is evident in Goa where annual income from compost sale is Rs 8000 as very less is sold as large quantity in not certified as per FCO
This can partly be addressed by strengthening laboratories set up soil health card for regular testing of compost at reasonable cost
Harvesting landfill gas
As per the Global Methane Initiative, 10 large waste disposal sites including three in Delhi have potential of LFG extraction while closing /redeveloping
Though LFG can be used for power generation, cheapest alternative would be to use it for thermal application much like PNG
Disposal site requires capping before installing LFG capture infrastructure (65-70 crore per dumpsite)
Need to set up funds in line with superfund in US to redevelop/rehabilitate these dumpsites

15. Key actions for waste management
Landfill free cities
The ultimate aim of ULBs should be to create zero landfill cities as locating site for new landfills becoming problematic
This can be ensured by good waste segregation and processing each kind of waste separately
Recyclables for recycling, cement co-processing, road laying
Organics for composting or anaerobic digestion preferably closer to the sources
Inert and treatment rejects in construction activities

16. Climate change

17. Climate change GHG emission profile
India’s GHG emissions more than doubled between 1990 and 2015 (+147%), and that trend is expected to continue.
However, at a per capita level, India’s GHG emissions remain well below the World’s average emission level
Key mitigation policies and actions
ENERGY: India’s recently adopted National Electricity Plan to install 265 GW renewables by 2027, which would place India ahead of its NDC target (~40% non-fossil base power) by Whereas, PAT scheme for industries has already achieved a savings of 8.67 million tonne of oil equivalent under cycle 1.
TRANSPORT: Dedicated freight corridors, vehicle fuel efficiency program, emission standards and FAME scheme have been fast-tracked to curb emissions from road and rail transport systems
BUILDINGS: Key policies targeting commercial sector (including ECBC) have a 17% to 42% energy savings potential, thereby mitigating consecutive GHG missions
FORESTRY: The government is currently revising its forest policy to align it with India‘s NDC. The draft policy aims to have at least one-third of the total land area under forest and tree cover
OTHERS: India has released its draft India Cooling Action Plan, which aims to cut cooling demand by 20% to 25% by 2037, thus curbing a source of huge growth in electricity demand and high GWP refrigerants

18. Issues and solutions
India is extremely vulnerable to climate change, particularly due to the increased variability in weather patterns, increased floods, and droughts.
It is important to prioritize policies that yield greater de-carbonization without compromising the developmental imperatives of the country
India’s ambitious NDCs can be achieved by various means of implementation (technology, finance, capacity) requiring multiple policy instruments which can bring large scale transformative change
Need to percolate national policies and targets to the states and actors
Energy efficiency improvements
Regulatory policy frameworks to create demand and scale for energy efficient technologies
Energy transition
Technology for stationary electricity storage and evolved markets for low-cost storage based applications will be key drivers
Hard-to-abate sectors (heavy duty transport and industry) together represents 40% of carbon emissions from energy systems
Improved energy efficiency, greater logistics efficiency and some level of modal shift for both freight and passenger transport could reduce the size of the transition challenge.
Need to keep updating the targets and refining the pathways to achieve higher levels of efficiencies and lower carbon emissions

19. Thanks

20. Water quantities: issues
Water quantity issues
Declining per capita water availability with water stressed and scarce river basins and aquifers.
Increasing demand, inefficient use, high leakages, irrational tariffs, inequitable access
Climate change impacts
Limited trans-boundary cooperation (both National and Regional) on water management & information sharing
Urban Water Demand Management (addressing inefficient urban water distribution):
Schemes for incentivizing efficient water use & dis-incentivizing wastage: Engaging ULBs (urban local bodies) for improving water service delivery through urban water demand management involving reducing NRW(non- revenue water)/ UFW (unaccounted for water), leakage/losses, efficient metering, equitable distribution, wastewater recycle/reuse, etc.

21. Potential Interventions in Water
Policy interventions for rational pricing of water for promoting efficient use of water by consumers
Policy for promoting wastewater collection, treatment and recycle/reuse within the cities and cross sectoral (viz. treated municipal/domestic water reuse by industries. irrigation etc.)
Promoting efficient and innovative technology through demonstration and market mechanisms.
Promoting Water Conservation (Participatory rainwater harvesting & groundwater management):
Promoting & financing participatory schemes on water conservation at a wide scale (involving local communities & stakeholders) involving model interventions on groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting (rooftop and storm-water harvesting), watershed management (e.g. check dams, irrigation canal rejuvenation, farm ponds, farm bunding etc.) along with stakeholders training & capacity building.
Promoting revival & rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, ponds etc. across the cities and rural areas
Schemes & policies for mandating and incentivizing rainwater harvesting across cities

22. Potential Interventions in Water
Water efficient irrigation:
Promoting policies & schemes for models for integrated & efficient irrigation practices involving micro-irrigation systems (MIS) such as drip/sprinkler systems, solar pumps, closed pipe water conduits, ICT tools (SCADA & automation for better information management & decision making) etc. involving local farmers with participatory approach.
Promote policy, financing and market mechanisms to remove barriers to uptake of micro-irrigation systems (MIS) & other water efficient technologies and practices.
Promote awareness/sensitization amongst farming communities under PIM (Participatory Irrigation Management) with pilot demonstrations of integrated & efficient irrigation practices.

23. Waste related data in India
Municipal - 62 million tonnes/annum
Construction & Demolition – million tonnes/annum
Industrial
Hazardous – 7.90 million tonnes/annum
Non Hazardous – 200 million tonnes/annum
Biomedical – 1.5 lakh tonnes/annum
Electronic – 8 lakh tonnes/annum

24. Challenges: Waste Sector
Urbanisation
Population living in urban areas has increased from about 17.35% in 1951 to about 34% by >waste generated. India is expected to have more than 52.8% urban population by 2050.
Municipal Solid Waste
Urban India generated about million tonnes per year of MSW in Only 82.12% of this waste was collected, and only 23% of collected waste was treated.
Plastic Waste
India’s plastic consumption is estimated to be 11kg/c/yr but plastic waste generated is only about % of Municipal Solid Waste i.e. about 25,940 TPD (as of 2017).
Energy (Sector’s name i.e. Energy/Agriculture; colour should be maintained )
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25. Challenges: Waste Sector
E-Waste
The current e waste generation in India is around 2 million TPA and is expected to reach 3 million tonnes per annum by end of 2018.
Construction and Demolition Waste
The construction and demolition waste has risen to 530 million tonnes in 2016
GHG emissions from Solid Waste Disposal
GHG emissions from solid waste disposal are expected to rise from million tonnes CO2 eq in 2011 to Million tonnes CO2 eq in 2031 and million tonnes CO2 eq in 2051.
Energy (Sector’s name i.e. Energy/Agriculture; colour should be maintained )
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26. Challenges: Waste Sector
Wastewater
According to CPCB’s estimates, sewage generation in urban India is estimated to be around 62,000 million litres per day (MLD), but installed sewage treatment capacity of 816 STPs across the country is only 23,277 MLD (around 38%).
Energy (Sector’s name i.e. Energy/Agriculture; colour should be maintained )
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