Understanding the New Rules for Contaminated Sites in India

Background

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has introduced the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. These rules provide a long-awaited legal framework to address chemical contamination at sites across India — an area that previously lacked clear regulation, despite numerous contaminated locations being identified.

What Are Contaminated Sites?

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), contaminated sites are areas where hazardous or other wastes were dumped or mismanaged in the past, leading to pollution of soil, groundwater, or surface water. Such contamination poses significant risks to human health and the environment. Examples include abandoned landfills, waste treatment plants, and industrial chemical disposal sites.

Current Situation

• India has identified 103 contaminated sites across different states.
• Only 7 sites have undergone cleanup and remediation so far.

Why Were New Rules Needed?

The Industrial Pollution Management Project (2010) was launched with three key objectives:

• To identify probable contaminated sites across the country.
• To develop guidelines for environmental assessment and site remediation.
• To establish a legal and financial framework for cleanup operations.

While the first two goals were achieved, the absence of a legal structure for enforcement delayed systematic remediation. The new rules fill this gap by defining clear institutional responsibilities and accountability mechanisms.

Key Provisions of the New Rules

• A designated “reference organisation” will oversee the preparation and implementation of cleanup plans.
• The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) must identify the responsible parties within 90 days of discovering contamination.
• Entities found responsible will bear the cleanup costs; if they fail to do so, the government will step in to ensure remediation.
• If contamination results in death or serious injury, the act will be treated as a criminal offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Exemptions

The following types of contamination will not be covered under these rules and will be handled under their respective laws:

• Radioactive waste
• Mining-related contamination
• Marine pollution caused by oil spills
• Municipal dump site waste

Quotation for Future Civil Servants

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt