The Hindu Business Line : States may have greater say in eco clearances

THE Union Minister of Environment & Forests, Mr A. Raja, has said that the Government is considering a proposal to delegate more responsibilities to the State Governments for granting environmental clearances to certain categories of the projects.

He also aims to introduce a system of accreditation for consultants and experts to prepare environmental management plans and to carry out public hearings.

Mr Raja said this while presiding over the conference of the State Environment Ministers, Environment Secretaries, and Chairpersons of State Pollution Control Boards here on Thursday.

The announcement follows Wednesday's session wherein various State Governments called for greater delegation of powers to them in the clearance process.

Observing that environmental courts or environmental tribunals may play an important role in resolving environmental disputes quickly, Mr Raja pointed out that they should not become another layer of environmental decision-making in addition to the various ad hoc bodies set up under court orders.

He further called for public-private partnership in the implementation of National River Conservation Programme and National Lake Conservation Programme, adding that an independent monitoring mechanism may be set up exclusively for the projects taken up under these programmes.

Expressing concerns over the debilitating effect on human health caused by various forms of pollution such as ground and surface water contamination, trace of insecticides and pesticides in food items and increased air and noise pollution, the Minister pointed out that 44 lakh tonnes of hazardous wastes are being generated over 373 districts of the country.

"Industrially advanced States as such Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu account for over 63 per cent of the total hazardous wastes generated," he said. Before the situation becomes explosive, it is important that common disposal facilities are created in various industrial clusters, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Environment & Forests, Mr Namo Narain Meena, disclosed that the regulatory mechanism for animal experimentation is being made transparent and more rational, in consonance with good practices of environmental regulation.

This, he said, was with a view to ensuring that the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for prevention of unnecessary pain to animals — during medical research and other experimentations — do not stifle new research in the field of science, especially medical science.