Lok Sabha passes Green Tribunal Bill

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Friday adopted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bill, 2009. It envisages the setting up of a national tribunal, a judicial body exclusively to deal with environmental laws and to provide citizens a right to environment.

The main Bench of the tribunal will be set up in Bhopal, “the site of humanity's one of the worst industrial tragedies.” This way the government and Parliament could show some sensitivity to the people of Bhopal, said Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, replying to a debate.

The Tribunal would have four circuit Benches. It would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act. With this effort, India would join Australia and New Zealand, which have such specialised environment tribunals.

Mr. Ramesh said a Bill to set up the National Environment Protection Authority would be introduced in the monsoon session. It would monitor the implementation of environment laws.

The Tribunal members would be chosen by a committee.

Source: The Hindu, Saturday, May 01, 2010

Circular for the temporary restrictions on new development projects in industrial clusters

The Centre has imposed temporary restrictions through a circular issued on 22nd Jan 2010 on new development projects in industrial clusters that score more than 70 points on the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Consideration of projects for environmental clearance based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index. Dated:13-01-2010 [pdf].


Consideration of projects for environmental clearance basded on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index - Implementation thereof. Dated:22-01-2010 [pdf].

Environmental Impact Assessement Notification-2009 - S.O. 3067(E), [01/12/2009]

View  Environmental Impact Assessement Notification-2009 S.O. 3067(E), [01/12/2009] - MoEF, New Delhi, l December 2009 or download from ENVIS website

Marine Act will harm fish workers: forum

T. Peter, secretary of the National Fish workers Forum (NFF), has said that The Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Act 2009, in its present form, will be strongly opposed by fish workers all over the country. He added that the Act “appears to be completely inimical to traditional fish workers.” He said that NFF was the first forum to demand a Marine Fisheries Act for India. “It was mainly to control the operation of foreign fishing vessels on Indian waters. But, paradoxically the draft Bill contains provisions that discourage traditional fish workers from deep sea fishing, which in turn would help foreign fishing vessels to take over those waters. The draft Bill even proposes docking facilities for foreign vessels,” he pointed out.The NFF wanted the traditional fishing sector to be excluded from the purview of the Act, he said.“These fishermen already have State government permits. Asking them to go for a Central government registration is like asking vehicle owners to cancel State registrations and take a Central one,” Mr. Peter said.The Act would also nullify the Kerala Marine Fisheries Regulation Act 1980 and the Kerala Monsoon Fishery (Pelagic) Protection Act 2007. Moreover, while the proposed Central Act mentions that the Coast Guard would be the enforcement agency, it did not mention which would be the registration agency.

“The draft Bill was prepared without consulting anyone from the traditional fishing sector. Though the draft Bill is in circulation, the text is in English. Traditional fishermen, who are the main stakeholders, must be given a copy of the same in their language to understand things better and make suggestions,” he said.However, Mr. Peter said, the fishermen were willing to cooperate with provisions of the Act that aimed at conservation and regeneration of fish stock and ensure fishing in an environmentally sustainable manner, apart from maintenance of law and order in the maritime zones of the country.

The Hindu, 14th October 2009

E Waste managemnt and handling rules 2008

The Central Government, in accordance with the objectives of the National Environment Policy, 2006 and to address the sustainable development concerns considers it necessary to regulate environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipments, hereinafter referred to as e-waste, which are generated from the manufacture and use of electrical and electronic equipments.
For further details click here.....

The Plastics Rules,2009- Draft Notification

Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) , Government of India, New Delhi


S.O.2400(E), [17/09/2009] - The plastics (Manufacture, Usage and Waste Management) Rules,2009- Draft Notification .

Coastal Management Zone draft will be allowed to lapse

Bringing relief to the fishing community which feared displacement,
the government on Friday announced that the draft Coastal Management
Zone (CMZ) Notification, 2008 would be allowed to lapse on July 22.
Instead, the existing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification,
1991, will be amended to take into account the challenges likely to
arise from climate change-induced sea level rise, and the growing
pressure of population on coastal resources and biodiversity. This
follows the Ministry of Environment and Forests accepting the
recommendations of a four-member expert committee, chaired by
agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, which reviewed the draft CMZ
notification. Prof. Swaminathan drafted the CMZ document in 2005 and
now recommended that it be abandoned as it had failed to address the
issues of fishermen. "The lives and livelihood of nearly 25 per cent
of our population living within 50 km of the shoreline, as well of the
nearly 10 million fisher-folk, will depend upon the decisions we take
now to develop enforceable regulations for integrated attention to
both ecological and livelihood security," Prof. Swaminathan told
journalists here after handing over the recommendations to Minister of
State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh. Setting out an agenda
for coastal areas, the committee, instituted last month, has also
recommended that the government check violations of the CRZ through
improved space technology-enabled enforcement, strengthened
institutions, and regulatory and legal reforms. It has suggested
introduction of regulations to manage the proliferation of ports along
the coasts with possible impacts on the coastline by considering the
cumulative impact of these developments and a moratorium on new ports.
Effluents disposal
Calling for tighter standards for disposal of effluents into coastal
water so that these waters do not become cheaper alternatives to
inland pollution management, the committee has suggested that issues
of development and redevelopment of Mumbai be resolved. "We have
decided to accept the report of the expert committee and will
introduce new management regimes on the Andaman and Nicobar as well as
Lakshadweep Islands as recommended," Mr. Ramesh said. The committee
wants the government to introduce any new protection regime — such as
for critically vulnerable coastal areas — after understanding the
impact of conservation policies on local communities, particularly
fisher families. "We are contemplating a law to ensure livelihood
security for the fishing community and are in the process of setting
up a National Coastal Zone Management Board and a National Institute
for Sustainable Coastal Zone Management based in Chennai," the
Minister said. Strengthening protection of mangroves, inclusion of a
seaward side to ensure protection from current and future threats and
enhancing research and regulatory capacity at all levels are some
other recommendations. The committee includes Sunita Narain of the
Centre for Science and Environment; Shailesh Nayak, Secretary,
Ministry of Earth Sciences; and J.M.Mauskar, Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The Hindu, July 18

Preliminary notification on sanctuary issued

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has issued gazette notification declaring its intention to constitute the proposed Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary will consist of 7,421.50 hectares in Chakkittapara and Chembanoda villages of Koyilandy taluk in Kozhikode district. These include the reserve forests of Pannikottoor and Kakkayam and vested forests of Karampara Mala and Olathukki Malavaram and Sankaranpuzha, Athikode and the water-spread area of the Kakkayam reservoir. Out of about 2,200 hectares of Pannikottoor forests, about 400 had been excluded from the sanctuary. Of that, about 115 hectares had been identified for the proposed Tiger Safari Park while 94 hectares had been leased out to the Indian Institute of Spices Research. The balance is fragmented areas. From the vested forests, nearly 557 hectares of ecologically fragile lands have been excluded as disputes over their takeover remain to be settled. The notification said that the richness of biodiversity and conservational significance of the proposed sanctuary area had been identified by various agencies. So, the government found it necessary to declare the area as a wildlife sanctuary for protecting the ecological, faunal, floral, geo-morphological and natural wealth and ensuring its long-term conservation. Since the rights over the said reserve forests and vested forests were yet to be settled, the government had decided to notify the proposed sanctuary under sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. (This enables the Collector to settle the claims within the area intended to be declared as a sanctuary). Preliminary ecological studies of the forests of Kakkayam by the Malabar Natural History Society have shown that the area was rich in diversity of flora and fauna. Topographically, the area is situated in a plateau rugged with steep hills of the Western Ghats, which suddenly rises from 50 metres to 1,600 metres within the reserve. It was once a good patch of wet evergreen forest, fragmented later by the construction of the Kuttiyadi hydro-electric project, plantations and human settlements. Now, it is the only evergreen patch left in Kozhikode district. Once the area was contiguous with the forests of the Brahmagiri Hills. The forests form the catchments of the Kakkayam and Peruvannamoozhi reservoirs. More than 40 species of mammals have been recorded from the reserve, including three endemic to the Western Ghats. Brown Palm Civet, one of the rarely recorded civet species of the Western Ghats, occurs in the area besides elephants, a small population of lion-tailed macaques and other animals.  The area also harbours more than 110 species of birds, including eight endemics, six restricted range species and two globally threatened species (Kerala laughing thrush and Wayanad laughing thrush). It is also the habitat of king cobra, python and many rare and endemic amphibian species. Endangered game fish Mahseer has also been reported from there. In addition 94 species of butterflies (including 14 endemics) and 24 species of dragon flies have been recorded in the region.

 

The Hindu, 14th June 2009-