Rajasthan State Environment Policy ( SEP ), 2010 :

Objectives : The objectives and principles of the State Environment Policy are the same as those on which the National Environment Policy, 2006 is founded. Broadly, the SEP aims to:

 (i) Conserve and Enhance Environmental Resources by protecting critical ecosystems and natural and man-made heritage, ensuring equitable access to environmental resources for all sections of society, ensuring judicious use of these resources to assure inter-generational equity, and ensuring their efficient use to maximize productivity and minimize environmental degradation.

 (ii) Assure Environmental Sustainability of Key Economic Sectors by integrating environmental concerns into policies, plans, programs, and projects for economic and social development, so that these do not erode the very resource base on which they are dependent

(iii) Improve Environmental Governance and Build Capacity by assuring transparency, rationality, accountability, time and cost effectiveness, participation, and regulatory independence in the process of environmental management and regulation. The policy should also ensure higher resource flow for environmental conservation and promote beneficial multi stakeholders partnership.

Principles : The basic principles guiding these strategic interventions are the same as those documented in the National Environment Policy, 2006, that is:

 (i) Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development and are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.

(ii) The right to development must be fulfilled with equity for present and future generations across all sections of society. (iii) Environmental protection is an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.

(iv) Where there are credible threats to key environmental resources, the ‘precautionary approach’ shall be followed and lack of full scientific certainty will not be used as a reason for not taking mitigatory action.

(v) Production and consumption activities will aim for economic efficiency by assigning economic value to the cost of environmental services, ensuring that polluters pay for the cost of pollution, minimizing wasteful use and consumption of natural resources, and minimizing institutional costs and delays in environmental management.

 (vi) Entities with ‘Incomparable’ value (such as unique historical monuments, charismatic species of fauna and flora, unique landscapes) must be preserved at any cost as damage to these cannot be compensated in terms of money or conventional goods and services.

 (vii) Civil liability may be used in addition to criminal liability as a deterrent to environmentally harmful actions, and for compensation to the victims of environmental damage.

 (viii) The State is the trustee of all natural resources, and must enable their public use while protecting the legitimate interest of a large number of people

(ix) Environmental standards must reflect the economic and social development situation in which they are to be applied, and must be based on considerations of risk to human health, risks to other environmental entities, technical feasibility, costs of compliance, and other strategic considerations.

(x) It is preferable (and often cheaper) to prevent environmental damage from occurring, rather than attempting to restore after degradation

Strategies and Actions : The set of strategies and actions to redress the key environmental problems of the State are covered under three broad areas:

(i) Conserving and enhancing environmental resources  : Water, land, air, forests and biodiversity are key resources that must be conserved and enhanced. At the same time, vulnerability assessment and adaptation measures should be undertaken in the vulnerable sectors to mitigate the impacts of climate change, especially on the poor sections of society.

 (ii) Assuring Environmental Sustainability of Key Sectors  : Certain sectors such as mining and tourism are the backbone of Rajasthan’s economy. Certain others such as energy and urban sectors serve as engines of economic growth. In the rural sector, pastoral nomadism is a significant source of livelihood for a large number of people. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy of planned development coupled with improved environmental practices is critical to reduce the environmental pressure / burden on resources and assure environmental sustainability of these key sectors.

 (iii) Improving Environmental Governance and Building Capacity : Elements of environmental protection are deeply ingrained in the governance system of India. Beginning mid seventies, a number of constitutional, legislative and regulatory provisions related to environment were enacted and institutionalized within the three tiers of government – the Centre, State, and local bodies.

 In Rajasthan, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) is the key enforcement agency responsible for regulating industry and overseeing environmental issues in the State. The latter was constituted in 1975 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, with objectives to prevent and control pollution of water. Enactment of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act in 1977 provided financial autonomy to the State Board by conferring on it the powers to collect cess from industries and municipal bodies on the basis of water consumed by these entities. Later, it was also entrusted with the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution under the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The enactment of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, significantly widened the scope of the State Board’s activities to cover hazardous wastes and chemicals, municipal solid wastes, biomedical wastes, batteries and plastics, noise pollution and public hearings for conduct of environmental impact assessments of development activities.

Policy Review and Implementation :

As development imperatives in the State and their environmental implications change, new environmental priorities will emerge over time. Changes in national and global environmental regimes will also affect state level environmental issues. Therefore, the State Environmental Policy needs to be a dynamic document, which is subjected to periodic review and aligned with new knowledge and developments in the forthcoming years. The following measures shall be taken:

• Consultations shall be undertaken with diverse stakeholders once in three years to re-examine the environmental issues and the strategic themes and policy directions to reflect the current state of affairs.
• To assure implementation of this SEP, a State Environment Mission has been constituted, which will be supported by Task Forces with specific agenda and action plan, and institutional arrangements and resources for implementation of the proposed measures. Details with respect to the State Environment Mission are provided in a separate document.