The Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (APSPCB) functions as a regulatory and monitoring body to ensure implementation of various acts and rules for a safer environment.
Among other things, the board looks into pollution pertaining to water and air, and other environmental pollution in Arunachal Pradesh.
However, the APSPCB has been lacking in its role. Forget about regulating, it does not even seem to be monitoring anything.
Itanagar has been reeling under dust pollution since the start of the highway construction in September 2017. So far, there has been no word of caution, advice or study from the board regarding the dust pollution. The only time they came out with a record of air quality in the capital was during Diwali last year. It was certainly not a study of the dust created by the road construction but to know the air quality post Diwali as part of a study carried out nationwide.
The latest failure of the board was its inability to respond to the destruction of aquatic life in the Panyor river after the NEEPCO authorities started maintenance of the Ranganadi hydroelectric project. The river turned so turbid after the NEEPCO started releasing water that fishes died, and animals that depend on the river are left wandering in search of fresh water.
The maintenance started on 9 February, and almost immediately the water turned turbid. But the APSPCB waited for a full week before it collected water samples for turbidity analysis.
According to APSPCB, the collected samples will be sent to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Guwahati, for analysis and measurement of water turbidity.
What constrains the APSPCB from carrying out its mandated job? That’s a question that the board needs to ask itself.
The state government has been a silent spectator to the inefficiency of the board. The time has come to restructure the board by bringing in people who know about pollution and care for the environment.