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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Environment mitigation could soon be part of all projects
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Environment mitigation could soon be part of all projects

A HLC recommends that all the development and central sector projects must have an environmental component to undertake mitigation measures

A file photo of environment minister Prakash Javadekar. Photo: HTPremium
A file photo of environment minister Prakash Javadekar. Photo: HT

New Delhi: Environmental mitigation could soon be made part of all development and central sector projects, marking a first for India, if the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) acts upon the report of a high-level committee (HLC) formed to review green laws.

The environment ministry that received the HLC report last month has already sent copies to the chief secretaries of all state governments and secretaries of all central government ministries to seek their views.

The HLC, headed by former cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian recommended that “all the development and central sector projects must have an environmental component to undertake environmental mitigation measures on the similar lines as Special Component Plan or Tribal Sub-Plan or North-Eastern Region existing today".

It also recommended the creation of an internal environment division in every ministry of the Indian government which would be responsible for scrutinizing that ministry’s programmes and schemes from an environmental management perspective.

Activists, as well as some environment ministry officials, believe if these recommendations are acted upon, they would give the environmental sector its proper place in the country’s development and growth story.

“Committee’s recommendations about internal environment divisions in all ministries and about all developmental projects having an environment component are game-changing points. If they go through, it would surely bring in a lot of change in government department’s perspective towards environment," a senior official with the environment ministry said, requesting anonymity.

He said the ministry is “hoping to soon start getting initial views from all state governments as well as from other central ministries on the report". The official said that there is also a chance that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will introduce a bill for a national environment law—another suggestion by the committee—as early as in the budget session next year.

MoEF’s joint secretary M.K. Singh said the ministry has accepted the committee’s report and begun the process of taking action on it.

“The environment ministry has accepted the report. A matrix has been prepared for taking action as TSR report has some administrative suggestions, some legal and others. Recommendations are being examined by each concerned divisions within the ministry," Singh said.

Activists and environmentalists welcomed the move but cautioned that they would wait for the actual implementation of these suggestions.

“Any attempt to mainstream environment into the working of other ministries of government is important. But the concern area is how they will get operationalized. For instance, how will these internal divisions work, in case their ministry’s interest is in conflict with environment protection? How much their say will matter is the question…because otherwise it can be reduced to a piecemeal exercise," said Delhi-based environmental researcher Kanchi Kohli, who has been working on environmental issues for over two decades.

Manoj Misra, convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, an organization for cleaning and revitalising Yamuna river, said: “There are many faults and serious problems in the HLC report, but these recommendations definitely make sense. Creation of an environment component in all developmental projects, which have adverse environmental impacts, is a very good step. Similarly, recommendation of creation of internal environmental divisions within every ministry looks well placed. It is similar to the way most ministries have financial advisers right now."

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Published: 19 Dec 2014, 12:19 AM IST
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