It is agreed by all that the mandatory environment statement in its present form has not been a success. This is evident from the fact that only 3 per cent of the companies have made the statements to their respective state pollution control boards.

In a recent statement, environment minister Suresh Prabhu had indicated that the ministry is considering revamping the rules of environmental audits in consultation with industry.

Says Surendra Kumar, member, environment cell, FICCI: "The industry welcomes such a move but it is to be seen what mechanisms are formulated to implement the rule." Says Seema Arora, environment counsellor, CII: "Environment statements are already mandatory and a minuscule are conforming to the rule.Practical mechanisms have to be evolved for the law to be really effective."As of now, companies are required to file a statement to the state pollution control boards, which lists their compliance with the various environmental norms listed in a five-page form. Industry sources point out that this has been largely a pointless exercise as there has been no feedback on the statement provided by the companies. While industry sources agree that the concept of environmental audit is ultimately beneficial for industry, they feel that the rules should be framed in such a manner that companies willingly conform to them.

Says Kumar, "While we welcome modifications on the existing rules for environmental audit, we have certain reservations on the statutory compliance. The actual purpose of such an audit is to minimise waste and make industrial processes more efficient, thus making bottomlines healthier for industry. This point needs to be driven home as companies will only comply if they realise it is profitable forthem to do so." Adds Arora, "As of now, the audits are done by the companies themselves. It would be a very significant and progressive step if the audit is carried out by a competent third party."

According to sources in the ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will conduct extensive training and awareness programmes to sensitise the industry on this issue. They also claim that CPCB will also train professional auditors for this purpose.

A section of experts in the ministry has also mooted the idea of linking ISO 14000 with the mandatory environmental audits. However, industry sources point out that ISO 14000 standards are voluntary all over the world. Says Arora, "It is difficult to see how the linkage will be achieved." Says Kumar, "The key word in environmental audits is transparency. If these are linked with ISO 14000 norms that industry finds impossible or unprofitable to comply with, then they will start hiding facts, which will defeat the very purpose of the exercise."

Kumarpoints out that environmental audits should be used as a management tool by industry to increase profitability, not as a statutory and punitive instrument by the state. He feels that if advantages are to accrue from such measures, they have to be largely voluntary, at least for a transition period.