A Complete Overview of Timeline Extension on Draft NREP, 2019

Recognising the progress made in implementing the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP), 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change extended the deadline for receiving comments on it until September 24, 2019. The Ministry consented to this extended deadline to facilitate the seamless and orderly implementation of the draught policy while keeping the public’s best interests in mind.

Previously, on July 25, 2019, the Ministry announced the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy 2019, asking for comments and ideas from stakeholders such as public/private organisations, experts, and concerned individuals on the draught policy. Integrated resource efficiency encompasses biotic and abiotic resources and sectors and life cycle stages.

Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy

NREP envisions a sustainable and equitable future with a strong economy and reliable resources, a healthy environment (air, water, and land), biodiverse ecosystems, and healthy air, water and land.

Guidelines for the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy include: 

• Reducing primary resource usage to sustainable levels to meet the Sustainable Development Goals while remaining within the planet’s bounds.
• Utilising resource-efficient and circular approaches to create more value with less material.
• Taking measures to minimise waste.
• All of these factors contribute to the cause of environmental protection and restoration, such as material security, new job opportunities and new business models.

Furthermore, NREP, 2019, announced a government policy on resource efficiency and established the National Resource Efficiency Authority (NREA), which draws its authority from the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to provide its regulatory provisions. The NREA structure will be composed of representatives of the line ministries, state governments, public sector agencies, and other stakeholders.

Resource efficiency should be implemented across all sectors through a national resource efficiency Board (NREB). It will be the responsibility of concerned line ministries and state governments to design and implement resource efficiency strategies. NREA provides a framework to collaborate and coordinate activities among ministries and states.

Guiding Principles of the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy

Let’s discuss some of the guiding principles of the draft national resource efficiency policy.

• Utilising as few resources as possible to achieve maximum advantage. Promote resource efficiency through deliberate and effective management of resource consumption.
• It is the proportion of a given benefit or result to the number of natural resources necessary to achieve it.
• NREP is an alternative to linear economies. It is important to extract the maximum amount of value from resources by using them for the longest possible time and reclaiming and recycling them when they have run their course.
• As central principles for achieving sustainable development, the circular economy and RE are important goals.
• India has seen economic development and progress during the past two decades, resulting in lower poverty rates, urbanisation, and increased demand for goods and services.
• Natural resources have been primarily plundered indiscriminately in the pursuit of economic progress, negatively harming the environment and biodiversity.

Salient Features of NREP

Some of the salient features of NREP are:

• NREP gave preference to landless labour in all projects.
• SC/STs were given preference for employment among landless labourers.
• The main provision relating to NREP-related projects was that contractors could not be engaged.
• The wages for NREP were based on 1-2 kg of food grain per day/head. DRDA supervised the entire planning, implementing, coordinating, and monitoring of the program.
• The NREP was a centrally sponsored program in which the centre and the state shared the expenditure equally.
• To ensure the success of the program, NREP provides training to personnel.

The role of government in resource efficiency

NITI Aayog launched the Resource Efficiency Strategy, with the support of the European Union representative in India, in 2017. NITI Aayog’s goal with the Strategy is to enhance resource efficiency in India.

• Establish an internal organisation to work on and coordinate resource efficiency projects within their ministry/region.
• Implement resource efficiency strategies in their respective sectors/regions.
• In their respective sectors and regions, they develop and implement regulations and policies for resource efficiency.
• Set up recovery and recycling infrastructure, e.g. by establishing Material Recycling Zones (MRZ), which provide recycling facilities and infrastructure for end-users.
• Develop a green procurement strategy that involves procuring products made from recycled materials, such as scraps and recycled materials.
• All offices, homes, and other establishments should segregate waste at the source.
• Using fiscal incentives to correct market failures encourages the production and consumption of resource-efficient products.

Conclusion

NREP suggests that recycled materials will account for 30% of the public’s purchases of civil building materials by 2025. According to the Draft, municipalities in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities will have to gather information on construction and demolition waste by 2022. By 2030, the policy hopes to achieve a 50% recycling rate of C&D waste and 75% by 2025.

Given the current climate, the NREP 2019 seeks to stimulate cross-sectoral partnerships, develop policy instruments, action plans, and efficient implementation and monitoring mechanisms to mainstream resource efficiency across all sectors.