Eco law to be made tougher -Governance Now

Eco law to be made tougher

Committee proposes waiving off cap on punishment for very serious offences

GN Bureau | August 10, 2010

The environment and forests ministry has decided to amend the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 to enhance its punitive and deterrent role and modify the procedure to decide expeditiously on penalty and punishment.

Accepting a report of a committee it set up last December, the ministry decided to put up a draft approach paper on its website to invite comments from all stakeholders. The new proposed approach envisages involvement of specialised agencies and institutions in the monitoring of compliance of the environment and CRZ (costal regulation zone) conditions.

The proposed amendments will waive off the cap on punishment for very serious offences. Also, such offences will be made cognizable before police and non-bailable, officials said releasing decisions based on the committee's presentation to environment minister Jairam Ramesh and others on July 23.

The committee pointed out that there is no effective monitoring of all conditions stipulated. While private laboratories' monitoring was found "unreliable" the self-monitoring by the industries was found "not very effective."

In the new approach proposed to be adopted after consulting all stakeholders, the environment and CRZ conditions will be classified based on the project activities in four phases: Pre-construction, during construction, operational phase and post-operational phase of decommissioning.

Comments

Other News

‘Oral cancer deaths in India cause productivity loss of 0.18% GDP’

A first-of-its-kind study on the economic loss due to premature death from oral cancer in India by the Tata Memorial Centre has found that this form of cancer has a premature mortality rate of 75.6% (34 premature events / 45 total events) resulting in productivity loss of approximately $5.6 billion in 2022

Days of Reading: Upendra Baxi recalls works that shaped his youth

Of Law and Life Upendra Baxi in Conversation with Arvind Narrain, Lawrence Liang, Sitharamam Kakarala, and Sruti Chaganti Orient BlackSwan, Rs 2,310

Voting by tribal communities blossoms as ECI’s efforts bear fruit

The efforts made by the Election Commission of India (ECI), over last two years, for inclusion of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) communities and other tribal groups in the electoral process have borne fruit with scenes of tribal groups in various states/UTs participating enthusiastically in t

GST revenue for April 2024 at a new high

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at ₹2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST

First Magahi novel presents a glimpse of Bihar bureaucracy a century ago

Fool Bahadur By Jayanath Pati (Translated by Abhay K.) Penguin Modern Classics, 112 pages, Rs 250 “Bab

Are EVs empowering India`s Green Transition?

Against the backdrop of the $3.5 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India, sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2032. It is crucial to take into account the fact that 86% of EV sales in India were under the price bracket of $2