NEWS

• The Environment Ministry notified the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 under the Environment Protection Act.
• These rules provide a legal framework to address chemical contamination, a gap despite 103 such sites identified across India, with remedial work underway in only 7.

HIGHLIGHTS

Definition of Contaminated Sites

• As per CPCB, these are sites historically exposed to hazardous waste dumping, contaminating soil, groundwater, and surface water.
• Examples: old landfills, waste storage/treatment facilities, spill sites, and chemical waste handling locations.

Origin of the Rules – Capacity Building Program (2010)

• Initiated to create the National Program for Remediation of Polluted Sites.
• Tasks:
  1. Inventory of probable contaminated sites.
  2. Guidance for site assessment & remediation.
  3. Legal, institutional, financial framework (fulfilled now).

Key Provisions

• Reporting: District administrations to submit half-yearly reports on suspected sites.
• Assessment: State boards/reference organisations to conduct preliminary assessment (90 days) and detailed survey (90 days).
• Contaminant Check: Compare with safe limits for 189 hazardous chemicals.
• Public Notification & Access Restriction for confirmed sites.
• Remediation Plan: Prepared by experts; polluters pay, else funded by Centre/State.
• Criminal Liability: Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 if loss of life/damage proven.

Exemptions & Gaps

• Excludes radioactive waste, mining pollution, marine oil spills, and municipal solid waste dumps.
• No set timeline for restoring sites to safe levels.