Mumbai: The Government has proposed
establishing a National Green Tribunal for quick and effective
disposal of cases relating to environmental issues, Union
Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Saturday.
"The National Green Tribunal Bill 2009 will come up
before Parliament next week. It seeks to establish a National
Green Tribunal for quick and effective disposal of cases
relating to environmental issues," the minister said at a
meeting on Environment, Energy and Climate Change Education
and Research, at IIT Mumbai.
The Union Cabinet had cleared the bill in December 2009
after the standing committee examined it and submitted its
recommendations in November last, he said.
With Public Interest Litigations on environmental
issues flooding the courts, the proposed legislation aims to
take off the pressure by handling all civil cases relating to
forestry and environment. The Tribunal will also address all
substantial questions relating to environment.
The Ministry of Environment and Forest has also proposed
to set up the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA)
on the lines of Environmental Protection Authority of USA.
The main objective is to strengthen the regulatory
framework and to improve environmental governance in the
country. A study has been awarded to the Indian Institute of
Technology, Delhi, to work out the scope and configuration
of the proposed NEPA, he said.
Ramesh said an Indian Network on Comprehensive Climate
Change involving 250 scientists is being established to study
and come up with recommendations for protection of coastal
zones, Western Ghats, the Himalayan eco-system and the North
East.
Himself an alumnus of IIT Mumbai, Ramesh said IITs should
form a consortium of all seven institutes to step up
environment education and research in critical areas like
water resources management, clean-coal technology and solar
energy.
PTI
