New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has rapped the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) over compliance of conditions mentioned in environmental clearances granted for projects.
The panel said the mechanism for monitoring environmental norms is inadequate and added that compliance of conditions of environmental clearance must be monitored on periodical basis, atleast once in a quarter.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said there is poor monitoring and there are huge gaps in laying down of conditions and its enforcement.
Asking the Environment Ministry to review and strengthen the mechanism for the purpose, the tribunal took note of an affidavit filed by the ministry which mentioned that there are certain proposals to strengthen the monitoring mechanism.
The NGT said that this only shows insensitivity to the vital constitutional obligation despite repeated directions.
‘Repeated plea of merely having such proposals, without effective enforcement on the ground can hardly be held to be satisfactory. Counsel for the MoEF states that there has been further meaningful steps, after filing of the affidavit but the same could not brought on record.
We cannot accept such a statement. If steps have been actually taken, we fail to understand why the same could not be produced atleast during the hearing. We record our dissatisfaction at the attitude of the MoEF on the subject,’ NGT said.