| Date | Apr-June 2017 |
| Author | Ajay Marchanda |
| Publication Name | The Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) |
Introduction:
In simple terms, ‘to pollute’ means, to contaminate the soil, air, and/ or water with substances that are harmful to health. We should care about pollution because it affects the very existence of living beings as well as inanimate objects. The gravity of the situation resulting from pollution is hardly subject to any debate. The question is – what is our approach to dealing with the issue of pollution, particularly soil pollution and if this approach requires a shift. Speaking of the approach, we have limited ourselves to largely ‘legislative approach’.
Soil is a significant part of the rural and urban environment and in both the cases; soil quality is determined by the quality of land management or the lack of it. Soil is the thin layer of organic and inorganic materials formed by the decomposition of rock and organic matter over several years that covers the rocky surface of the earth. The dark uppermost soil is organic in nature, formed as a consequence of decomposition of plants and animals. The inorganic portion at the bed is constituted of the fragments of rocks, which breakdown physically and chemically over thousands of years.
