CHAPTER TWELVE:
ARTICLE 104- In order to
protect the environment and to secure sustainable exploitation of the country’s
natural resources the following tasks are to be performed:
A- Exploitation of the
country’s natural resources must be undertaken on the basis of their
potentialities. To this end, government is required to take
appropriate measures in order to preserve the balance of the environment
through implementation of certain programs such as “ Balancing Domesticated Animals
and the Pasture”, “Purging Domesticated Animals from the Forests”, “Provision
of Feed and Fuel For Foresters, the Tribal and Rural Inhabitants”, “
Preservation and Conservation of the Basic Resources, and Genetic Reserves”; “Coordinating
Integrated Management of the Basic Resources”, and “Institutionalization of Public
Participation in Planning, Decision-Making, and Plan Implementation”, while
maintaining the productive processes and providing for sustainable exploitation
of the natural resources.
The executive by-law of
this Item including pertinent environmental criteria shall be proposed jointly
by the Department of the Environment and Ministries of “Agriculture” and
“Construction Jihad”, and be approved by the Cabinet.
B- In order to
strengthen and secure “the non- public organization supporting the environment
and natural resources” the financial assistance donated by the real and legal
entities to these agents will be considered as tax deductible expenses. The donations which are to be paid to a
special account with the Treasury shall be withdrawn and granted to these
institutions according to a by-law to be proposed by the Plan and Budget
Organization and the Department of the Environment to the Cabinet for approval,
and shall include the maximum amount of the contributions and the terms of
granting.
C- To reduce the
environmental polluting agents, specially those polluting the country’s natural
and water resources, the manufacturing units are obliged to take measures to
conform their technical specifications with the environmental criteria, and to
reduce the extent of the pollution. To this end, the performance expenditure
shall be considered as tax deductible costs for these units.
The units not complying
with these provision and whose operations cause pollution and destruction of
the environment shall be charged a compensatory fine commensurate with the
extent of the inflicted damage; and the proceeds will be settled with the
general revenue account and will be spent to implement the environmental
rehabilitation programs according to the annual budget bills. The by-law of this Item including the
rate of the charges and their collection and spending procedures shall be
prepared by the Department of the Environment and approved by the Cabinet.
D- During the Third
Plan, government is required to take appropriate actions in order to reduce the
air pollution in cities of Tehran, Mashad, Tabriz, Ahwaz, Arak, Shiraz and
Isfahan, to the standards of the World Health Organization. The executive by-law of this Item is
the same by-law of the Note (82) of the Second Economic, Social and Cultural
Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran enacted on 12/1/1995.
E- In order to prevent
pollution and to improve the marine environment of the Caspian Sea shoreline,
government is required to clear the sea’s buffer zone.
F- The following
measures shall be taken in order to induce relocation of the production and
industrial units, presently located within the limits of the country’s urban
areas:
1- Change of land-use
and superstructure-use of the factories in conformity with the municipalities’
criteria. This objective shall be
attained through mutual agreement with the proprietors.
2- Ministries of
“Petroleum”, “Energy” and “Post-Telegraph and Telephone” are required to redeem
the royalty, subscription right and other concession license and permits
related to the subscription of gas, water, electricity and telephone lines of
the units which are to be relocated at just and market values and/or cede the
same right to the substituting applicant introduced by the original proprietor,
without imposing any new charges.
G- To reduce air
pollution in the Greater Tehran Area, the following measures will be taken
during the first year of the Third Plan:
1- All
ministries, agencies, the state-owned enterprises and other executive entities
that in one way or the other use the general budget are required to take
appropriate action aiming at fixing or replacing all defective parts of their
polluting vehicles.
2- The
Municipality of Tehran is required to repair and fix its defective vehicles and
buses having defective fuel-consuming components.
3- Renewal of
the driving permit for taxis and minibuses shall be permissible on the
condition that these vehicles are defect-free with regard to pollution.
4 - A sum of twenty
billion (20,000,000,000) Rials will be allocated each year to the Department of
the Environment in order to exclusively provide financial aid to the needy
vehicle and motor bike owners in order to assist them with repairing
technically defective and polluting parts of their vehicles.
5- Beginning with the
second year of the Third Plan, pollution caused by motorbikes and any other
vehicle (of any type) will be considered as an offense, and the violator (the
driver) will be convicted and charged a cash penalty of five hundred thousand
(500,000) Rials for each time of violation. The grace period between two violations by the same vehicle
will be one week.
ARTICLE 105- All the large production and service
providing projects must, in the process of the feasibility study and before
execution, be assessed from the standpoint of their impact on the environment,
on the basis of the criteria that will be proposed by the High Council of the
Environment and approved by the Cabinet.
The persons in charge of execution of the projects are required to
observe findings of the assessment. The Plan and Budget Organization is
responsible to monitor proper performance of this Article.
Note: The Department of the Environment is
required to draw up and provide practical and executive guidelines for proper
and timely execution of the development and employment-generating projects in
the conservation regions in the line with consideration of the environmental
protection criteria.