BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa Government is in the process of submitting a set of `objections' to a World Bank-assisted report, which has raised serious concerns over State's environment management in the wake of a surge of mineral-based development in the State.

Final `reservations' are being sent by the Industry Department for incorporation in the study titled `Orissa Growth and Environment Study' that is in draft stage, according to highly placed sources. Earlier, the department submitted `an exhaustive set of objections'.

Stark points

Claimed to have been prepared through extensive consultations, the draft study says a few economies could absorb the magnitude of change in the mineral and industry sectors being envisaged for Orissa without monitorable progress with institutional reforms.

Some of the stark points made in the study include more than 95 per cent of industries and mines do not submit environmental statements, over 50 per cent of mines fall outside the consent management system and are beyond the jurisdiction of the Orissa Pollution Control Board (OPCB), and the number of industries and mines, who do not apply to OPCB for permit renewals, exceeds 30 per cent.

Further, under the current regulatory scheme, only 172 mines out of 300 legally operating mines are covered under the consent management system and more than 1000 mines are operating illegally in the State, says the study.

Faulty procedures

The study, being prepared by a New Delhi-based organisation, also found that the current enforcement mechanisms did not match the scale of diversity and changing pressure of the growth in the State.

"The absence of standardised enforcement procedures leaves scope for subjective and ad-hoc enforcement actions which cannot be successfully prosecuted in courts. As a result, less than 2 to 3 per cent of industries and mines are subject to enforcement actions for persistently failing to comply with OPCB orders and consents," it says.

The study stressed on need for capacity building of institutions that controlled significant environment externalities associated with such growth, which if unmanaged, could increase the risks for further investment through mounting citizen complaints and social tension.

It has suggested that an inventory of all mines and industries operating in the State needed to be put in place crosschecking the list of licences or registrations with the consent database.

"Once the inventory is completed, an amnesty programme should be established to encourage unregulated units to come into system and if this programme lapses, an aggressive inspection campaign should be implemented to identify recalcitrant violators," the study recommends.

The study emphasised on need to strengthen the public hearing process by providing specialised staff training on effective public participation techniques and skills and use of facilitatorsto bridge the communication gap.

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