It was to combat this menace at the national level that the Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI) was set up by the country's largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise, the Rs 6,900-crore Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), at Ranipur, with aid from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Located in the picturesque foothills of the Shivalik mountains near Haridwar in Ranipur, PCRI is equipped with the latest state-of-art facilities and is continuously developing technologies to control pollution in the areas of air, water, noise and solid waste. Speaking to The Financial Express on Sunday, the executive director, BHEL, Ranipur, H W Bhatnagar, said that the institute was concentrating on research and development (R&D) activities related to protection of the environment frompollution originating from industries. PCRI provides consultancy services to industries, and lays down for them practical methods to keep pollution levels within permissible limits.

Besides, PCRI has also conducted a study for the Petroleum Conservation Research Authority (PCRA) on the effects of vehicular pollution in Delhi. In the report, PCRI has dealt in detail with the growth of vehicles over the years in the Capital, the sources and composition of automobile exhaust, vehicular pollutants emitted in Delhi (which, not surprisingly, is the sum of the total vehicular pollutants emitted in Mumbai, Calcutta and Bangalore put together) and suggested a series of means and ways of combating this pollution. Introducing lead-free petrol was one of PCRI's suggestions. Bhatnagar said PCRI was emerging as a leading institute of its kind worldwide thanks to its persistent efforts. It had taken on a large number of R&D projects to achieve self-reliance. It had a highly talented team of scientists and engineers, plusaccess to the expertise of a large number of international experts from across the world.

"PCRI gives prime importance to R&D and the institute is recognised as BHEL's in-house R&D unit by the government of India's department of science and technology. The institute has undertaken a number of R&D projects to evolve industrial pollution control technologies such as the development of prediction models for forecasting air pollution and the development of acoustic barriers to control noise pollution in fabrication shops," explained Bhatnagar.

Moreover, today, with the growing concern about environment all over the country, industries are required to obtain environmental clearance whenever they set up a new plant or extend an existing one. The first step in obtaining environmental clearance is to get an environmental impact assessment (EIA) done. PCRI has undertaken a number of such environmental impact assessments, helping several projects get the necessary clearance. Among them are thermal power plants ofthe electricity boards of Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In the private sector, PCRI has also conducted EIA studies for Khaitan Fertilisers in Rampur and for DG-based power plants in Manipur, near Imphal, for the Manipur government.

As per a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1993, all industries are required to submit environmental statements for the financial year by September 30 each year, to the respective state pollution control boards. Bhatnagar said that PCRI has prepared model documents for the environment ministry for the conduct of environmental audits in the distillery and sugar industries.

As part of an assignment from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, PCRI is now actively associated in conducting regional environmental studies related to environmental quality in Dhanbad, Durgapur and Dehradun. These studies include assessment of environmental quality in the region and monitoring emissions from major pollutingsources, process effluents, ambient air quality, ground water quality and other related aspects.

PCRI has carried out environmental quality studies in the Agra region, assessing the impact of pollution from cast-iron foundries on historical monuments, besides a detailed study covering various aspects of water pollution from thermal power stations located in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi.

PCRI also provides services related to the designing of effluent treatment plants to industries. It undertakes the designing of ventilation systems and fume extraction systems for improving workplace environment. A large number of industries utilise PCRI's facilities for monitoring and analysing data related to air, water, noise and solid waste pollution on a regular basis. PCRI has its own air and water quality monitoring vans equipped with state of the art equipment for the purpose. These vans are used extensively for regular monitoring work by a number of industries.