CONCEPT PAPER on TAJ PROTECTION MISSION COHCCPT Pflpcr C.\J PROTECTION MISSION
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ANNEXURE I MONUMENT CONCEPT PAPER ON TAJ PROTECTION MISSION COHCCPT PflPCR c.\J PROTECTION MISSION By PrashantTrivedi, IAS Vice-Chairman, A.D.A. & Member-Convener Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, Agra CONTENTS SL. INDEX PAGE NO. NO. i 1- PREFACE • 2- INTRODUCTION 1-2 i Chapter -I - THE PROBLEMS 2-16 i 3- ! ! 4- Chapter - II - THE INITIATIVE 17-22 ! ' t Chapter - III - THE TAJ PROTECTION MISSION 23-48 Ii 5- I 6- Chapter - IV - THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 49-56 i 7- ANNEXURES A-l LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TTZ Taj Trapezium Zone NEERI National Environmental Engineering Research Institute CPCB Central Pollution Control Board UPPCB Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board TERI Tata Energy Research Institute UNESCO United Nation Educational. Social & Cultural Organisation SPM Suspended Particulate Matter TSP Total Suspended Particulates SO2 Sulphur Dioxide NOX Oxides of Nitrogen RTO Regional Transport Officer NATPAC National Transportation Planning & Research Center DG Sets Diesel Generating Sets PCL Power Corporation Limited LPG Liquid Petroleum Gas STP Sewage Treatment Plant YAP Yamuna Action Plan APCD Air Pollution Control Device CPHEEO Central Public Heath & Environmental Engineering Organisation DPR Detailed Project Report EFC Expenditure-Finance Committee NOG No Objection Certificate MM8 Mission Management Board RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete MUD Ministry of Urban Development ,MH National Highway PV/D Public Works Department MOEF Ministry of Environment & Forests GOUP Government of Uttar Pradesh GOI Government of India CWG Central Water Commission NGO Non Governmental Organisation KV Kilo Volt MVA Mega Volt Ampere MLD Million Litres per Day CWR Clear Water Reservoir OHT Over Head Tank PLA Public Ledger Account GSB Granular Sub Base WMM Wet Mixed Macadam Lpcd Litres Per Capita Per Day PREFACE It had been desired for a very long time, that a Concept Paper on the Taj Protection Mission be prepared which would document all the relevant aspects of the efforts being undertaken to protect the Taj Mahal and other monuments in Agra. I am happy that Prashant Trivedi, the Vice-Chairman • of the Agra Development Authority, who is also the Member-Convener of the Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, has prepared such a document. The Concept Paper describes the problems of the city of Agra and the anxiety of the Hon'ble Supreme Court articulated in the various orders passed in connection with the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13381/84-M.C.Mehta Vs. Union of India & Others. The Paper also goes on to describe the various projects of the Taj Protection Mission. An attempt has also been made -to evaluate the present achievements and some suggestions have also been made as to the 'direction of the future efforts. I am sure that the reader will find the Concept Paper extremely useful. I would also like to compliment Prashant Trivedi, Vice-Chairman. Agra Development Authority and his team of officers for their commendable effort in compiling this document. Sd/- V.K. Sharrt.a. (AS Commissioner. Agra Division, Agra f INTRODUCTIO—•—•____^__M_«M«_iW^_^_N_ It is not often that the concept paper for a Mission is written when it is in progress. Normally, it precedes the action phase and partially forms the basis for project formulation. This does not mean that there was no concept behind the Taj Protection Mission. The sense of urgency that formed the backdrop of the efforts to protect the Taj Mahal resulted in the projects being implemented without any further delay. i' Originating as a result of the Writ Petition No. 13381/84-M.C.Mehta V/s the Jnion of India & Others, the Taj Protection Mission refers to a group of projects ntended to check the deterioration of the Taj Mahal on account of the environmental pollution. The basic issues were discussed in the Hon'ble Supreme ourt and most of the projept formulations were based on these discussions. Studies of specialised agencies such as the NEERI, the Vardharajan Committee, the CPCB and the UPPCB were taken note of by the Hon'ble Court. It was felt however that a concept paper should be prepared which would highlight the basic issues involved and outline the initiatives being taken by way of the projects of the Taj Protection Mission. I have, attempted to bring together all the aspects of the Taj Protection Mission into this paper, namely, the problems of the environment vis-a-vis the Taj, the concerns of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the projects being implemented and some basic suggestions. As a word of caution, I would like to submit that this concept paper is very elementary as I have gleaned information from various studies conducted by other specialised agencies and have also drawn upon the collective experience of the field agencies concerned with the project implementation. A more detailed understanding of the environmental dynamics and its interaction with the developmental process of Agra would require specialised treatment by a competent agency or a specialist such as the NEERI, TERI or the CPCB. Sd/- (Prashant Trivedi) Vice-Chairman, Agra Development Authority. Member-Convener. TTZ Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority. CHAPTER-I THE PROBLEMS \e city of Agra is well known for having been the capital of the Mughal Empire, which flourished in the period between 1526 to 1707 A.D. It houses the Taj Mahal, the world famous monument which is notified in the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. The city is beset with problems that plague just about any average city of India, except that it has attracted attention and aroused concerns in context of the environmental pressures on the Taj Mahal and other historical monuments in the region. Agra can be considered to be the focal point of the Taj Trapezium, which represents an area of 10,400 sq.km. covering portions of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It includes the twin cities of Mathura and Vrindavan and also the city of Firozabad. In Rajasthan the notable area is the town of Bharatpur in which the Keoladeo National Park is situated. The city of Agra is spread over an area of 120 sq.km. and has a population of about 1.2 million. This is projected to double by about 2031. On account of a large influx of domestic and international tourist and also on account of a daily influx of labour force from nearby areas, the city is estimated to have a floating population of about 20,000. This constitutes a tremendous pressure on the city infrastructure which has not been able to keep pace with the population growth. Consequently, the pressure has spilled on to the environment. An attempt to list the problems of city is made below but, in the final analysis, it stems from the pressure of a fast growing population which engages in economic and social activities to sustain itself often at the expense of the environment on which it is dependant for its existence. ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT INPUT OUTPUT The City • Household • Industries • Commercial • Institution • Agriculture FIG.-1 To understand better the problems that beset the city, it would help to envisage it as a dynamic system that is interacting with its environment in order to sustain its host population as is depicted in the Fig.-1. The interaction is two fold. It draws resources from it in order to carry on the various socio-economic activities and produces unavoidable wastes. The broader issue of sustainability would analyse both these input and output processes in the context of the limitation, that they should not exceed the regenerative and absorptive/assimilative capacities of the relevant environment sector. Presently, however, we are confined to the output i.e. the "waste" production. The terrri "waste" is being used with caution as the latest thoughts in environmental economics tend to classify the conventional wastes as resources, which should further be used for the production of goods and services having utility. For the purpose of this paper, however, "waste" denotes the conventional wastes having substantial resource value. The city can be thought of as comprising of the household, industrial, commercial, institutional and agriculture sectors. Each of these sectors produces "waste". The environment is conventionally classified into air. water and land, which receive the wastes as pollutants. There is lateral interaction, as pollution of any part of the environment would have a spill over effect on the other. It is now proposed to categorise the problems by grouping them into categories based on the environmental components, which bears the brunt of the pollution load. A- AIR We confine ourselves to the primary pollutants i.e. SPM, SO2 and NOX. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards are as follows :— Annual Average — Industrial Residential Sensitive SPM 360ug/m3 140 ug/m3 70 ug/m3 SO2 80 ug/m3 60 ug/m3 15 ug/m3 NOX 80 ug/m3 60 ug/m3 . 15 ug/m3 The entire TTZ has been notified as a sensitive zone irrespective of location specific space use. Thus, even an industrial area in the TTZ would be required to maintain an ambient air quality standards of a sensitive zone. With respect to the -ambient air quality standards in the city, the data relating to the lavel of primary pollutants has been obtained from the Regional Office of the UPPCB and is graphically reproduced below. The readings have been averaged on an annual basis > SPM (ug/m3) 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 FIG.-2 so, 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 FIG.-3 NOK 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 20CO FIG.-4 The annual average level of SO2 was as high as 21 ug/m3 in the year 1991, as against a prescribed normative limit of 15 ug/m3 for sensitive area.