India for statutory body to protect environment
Avnish Jolly
http://igovernment.in/site/india-statutory-body-protect-environment-37148
The government will bring in a bill to set up an autonomous National
Environment Protection Agency to monitor compliance with green laws
Published on 03/17/2010 - 09:00:10 AM
By Sandeep Budki
New Delhi: A Bill to set up an autonomous National Environment
Protection Agency (NEPA) to monitor compliance with green laws in the
country will be tabled in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
"NEPA would be an independent and statutory agency of professionals,"
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said at a two-day conference
on 'Environment Audit: Concerns About Water Pollution', organised by
the office of the comptroller and auditor-general of India (CAG) here.
The need to set up such an agency has been necessitated as the laws
pertaining to environment pollution are not being implemented in their
true spirit, the Minister said.
"The Forest Conservation Act has been able to deliver only because of
the intervention of the Supreme Court," he said adding that setting up
NEPA would ensure public putting pressure on the executive to deliver.
NEPA will also handle the licensing work of providing no-objection
certificates to applicants seeking environmental clearance, thus
limiting the role of the Environment Ministry to being a policy-making
body only.
It would be broadly on the lines of the US Environment Protection
Agency (EPA), having a machinery to monitor compliance, with the
existing state pollution control boards becoming part of the agency,
he said.
With the National Green Tribunal and NEPA in place, the "polluter pays
policy" will be implemented, making developers pay for degrading the
environment.
Speaking on the Green Tribunal Bill, which was introduced in the Lok
Sabha yesterday, Ramesh asserted that it would ensure speedy and
effective disposal of civil cases relating to violation of forest and
other environmental laws.
Ramesh, however, said the tribunal "ensures a network of specialised
environment courts with a central bench and four other benches across
the country, which, for the first time, would give citizens civil
damages for non-implementation of environment rules and legislations."
The Central Pollution Control Board will approach the NGT on behalf of
affected persons for grant of relief or compensation or settlement of
disputes.
However, for the projects above 5 MW, the fixed upfront premium is Rs
20 lakh per MW, which is in addition to the free power provision.
"The government has collected Rs 696,29,68,724 as upfront premium from
159 projects till February 15, 2010," Dhumal said.
In the coming fiscal, the state government proposes to add more than
600 MW with the commissioning of Allain Duhangan, Malana II, Budhil,
Chamera III and some other small projects.