The Environmental Statement in Form V

In one line

Every consented industry in India must file an annual account of what it consumed and what it discharged, and the rule that requires it still calls it an audit report although the word was changed to statement in 1993.

In the wording a student can write in an examination: rule 14 of the Environment (Protection) Rules 1986 requires every person carrying on an industry, operation or process requiring consent under section 25 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, or under section 21 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, or both, or authorisation under the hazardous waste rules issued under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, to submit an environmental statement for the financial year ending 31 March in Form V to the concerned State Pollution Control Board on or before the thirtieth day of September every year, beginning 1993.

Who must file

Three qualifying conditions, and any one of them is enough.

• a consent under section 25 of the Water Act 1974, which every industry discharging trade or sewage effluent needs;
• a consent under section 21 of the Air Act 1981, which every industry in an air pollution control area needs; or
• an authorisation under the hazardous waste rules made under the Act of 1986.

That is a very wide class. Almost every manufacturing establishment in India holds at least one of the three, so rule 14 reaches the whole of industry rather than a listed set of activities. It is the only annual environmental return that Indian law imposes generally.

Where it goes. To the concerned State Pollution Control Board, not to the Ministry.

By when. On or before 30 September, for the financial year ending the previous 31 March.

The defect in the printed rule, and it is worth a mark

What happened. Rule 14 was inserted by the Environment (Protection) Second Amendment Rules 1992, G.S.R. 329(E), which required an environmental audit report by the 15th day of May.

What the 1993 amendment did. The Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules 1993, G.S.R. 386(E) of 22 April 1993, made under sections 6 and 25 of the Act of 1986, provided in rule 2(a) that in rule 14 for the words "audit report" wherever they occur, the word "statement" shall be substituted, and for the figures, letters and words "15th day of May" the words "thirtieth day of September" shall be substituted. It also substituted a new Form V, headed Environmental Statement for the financial year ending the 31st March.

And the defect. The consolidated print of the Rules served by India Code carries the marginal heading as Submission of environmental Statement, with a footnote marking the substitution, and then in the body of the rule still requires the person to submit an environmental audit report for the financial year ending the 31st March in Form V. The words the 1993 amendment removed are still there in the operative sentence.