Bhubaneswar: Joining the 41st Foundation Day celebration of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) at Soochana Bhawan here, recently, Chief Secretary and chairman of SPCB Manoj Kumar Ahuja said that the vision documents are being prepared for ‘Developed India-2047’ and ‘Developed Odisha-2036’.
“More industries and businesses will develop in coming days, for which there is a need to think about the role of the pollution control board in increasing the monitoring system using technologies,” Ahuja said. Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia also attended the celebration as chief guest and called upon every officer and employee of the board to make the SPCB as one of the topmost pollution control boards in the country by demonstrating efficiency and incremental excellence.
Khuntia said that the main responsibility of SPCB is to effectively implement various notifications issued periodically under the Water Pollution Control Act, Air Pollution Control Act and Environment (Protection) Act. “It is a challenge for the pollution control board today to solve the problem of pollution as much as possible and to manage the industrial development of the state in an orderly way,” he said. “Despite the crackdown on the use of single-use plastic products from July 1, 2022, the use has not decreased as expected. It is a challenge to make alternative products available at affordable prices,” he said. “As there are several mining industries in the state, a lot of waste is generated from them. These are a challenge for smart and environment-friendly management boards. Rapid industrialisation has caused more air and water pollution. Maintaining the ambient air quality in such industrial areas and preserving the quality and quantity of water resources is another challenge for the board,” the minister quoted.