Centre forms resource panel to support sustainable development

As part of its measures towards sustainable development, the central government on Wednesday announced the formation of an expert panel that would formulate roadmap for utilising secondary resources to meet country's requirement.

"The Indian Resource Panel was an important and timely initiative which shall prepare a strategic roadmap for utilisation of secondary resources for meeting the developmental needs," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

He said developing countries like India need to address the disproportionate and steadily increasing share of natural resources required to support changing lifestyles as well as raw material for industrial production.

India is expected to have the world's third largest consumer group by the year 2020, with a consumption share of 13 percent.

The panel would have 10 members which include four former secretaries to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change. India is the first country to constitute a national resource panel, the minister informed.

Javadekar said his ministry would partner with other central ministries, private and public enterprises towards creation of a facilitative environment for recycling to promote sustainability and decouple growth from environment degradation.

He hoped that India would recover over 1.5 million tonnes of steel scrap, 180,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap and 75,000 tonnes each of recoverable plastic and rubber from scrapped automobiles by 2020.