Reducing pollution, be it air, water, or soil, while preserving the environment is the key goal of all environmental protection agencies and activists. To achieve it, measurement of the impact and implementation of environmental laws are important.
To emphasize this, the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPPCB) organized a workshop on ‘Implementation of Environmental Laws in Himachal Pradesh’ in Shimla. Dubbed “Samanvay 2021,” the event highlighted the need for effective enforcement of environmental regulations and overcoming factors that encourage non-compliance.
The one-day workshop highlighted grave environmental issues, including various forms of pollutions, waste management, and effective addressal through strict implementation of environmental laws to eradicate them.
The event also focused on biomedical waste management and how state medical bodies dealt with the waste during the coronavirus pandemic.
A record of waste generation and disposal of the COVID-19 waste through graph | Image: HPPCB
About 4.3 metric tons of biomedical waste is generated and disposed of daily in the state. However, not all districts have biomedical waste treatment plants.
Prabodh Saxena, Chairman, HPPCB said that only through collective coordination and consultative efforts, the state can achieve the compliance level of its environmental acts and rules.
A pie chart of biomedical waste generated in the state | Image: HPPCB
He also urged for the behavioral change towards environmental conservation and beseeched the authorities to be vigilant and diligent in their actions. He further added that given the level of education and responsiveness of the citizens, Himachal Pradesh could become a model state in the country in terms of ecological conservation and the effective enactment of environmental laws.
Member Secretary of the state board, Apoorv Devgan, said that ecological regulations divulge unequivocal duties to industries, urban and local bodies, health care administrations, district administration, governments and regulators. He emphasized synchronized attempts in order to fulfill the set ecological goals and strict enforcement of these laws.
Various SMEs gave presentations highlighting department’s environmental efforts and initiatives in the state. Presentations were followed by an interactive Q&A session.