Govt extends by a month tenure of panel to review environ laws

The government today extended the tenure of a high-level committee to review various environment laws by another one month to pursue all comments received from various stakeholders before finalising its report.
The tenure of the committee, which had come to an end on October 29 has been extended till November 28, a statement from Ministry of Environment and Forest said.
The committee was constituted to review various environment laws in order to bring them in line with "current requirements".
It has already visited various states and taken view from various stakeholders and state governments.
It was set up in the backdrop of government taking serious measures to fasten the environment clearance process for achieving economic growth without compromising green issues.

The four-member panel, headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian, has been asked to review five key green laws concerning protection and conservation of environment, forest, wildlife, water and air among others.

The Environment Ministry has asked the panel to submit its report in two months.
The panel would review the important green laws enacted between 1971 and 1986.
These laws include Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
According to the Terms of Reference, the committee would assess the status of implementation of each of the Acts vis-a-vis the objectives. It would also examine and take into account various court orders and judicial pronouncements relating to these Acts.

"The panel has been asked to recommend specific amendments needed so as to bring them in line with current requirements. It has also been asked to draft proposed amendments in each of the aforesaid Acts to give effect to the proposed recommendations," the order said.
The members of the committee include former Environment Ministry secretary Viswanath Anand, Justice (Retd) A K Srivastav and senior advocate of Supreme Court K N Bhat.