Jairam Ramesh hopeful of early passage of National Green Tribunal

New Delhi, Mar. 16 (ANI): Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday expressed the hope that the Bill, which provides provisions for the establishment of the National Green Tribunal, would be passed by the Parliament soon.

The Government had proposed to set up a National Green Tribunal for speedy and effective disposal of cases relating to environmental issues.

The National Green Tribunal Bill 2009 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

"I am hoping that in the next three to four months, after Parliament approves today in the Lok Sabha and tomorrow hopefully in the Rajya Sabha, we will have the structure of the National Green Tribunal will be in place and we will have this extensive network of judicial mechanism in order to ensure compliance and implementation of environment rules and regulations," Ramesh said, while speaking at the International Conference on Climate Change in New Delhi.

Further, Ramesh said that steps to set up a National Environment Protection Agency modelled on the US Environment Protection Agency are underway.

"We are taking steps to establish a National Environment Protection Authority and the NEPA, the National Environment Protection Agency, would be the executive counterpoint to the National Green Tribunal, which is really a judicial organ," he said.

"The National Environment Protection Agency is broadly - I stressed the word 'broadly' because systems are different - National Environment Protection Agency is broadly modelled according to the US Environment Protection Agency, and the main mandate of NEPA would be to ensure compliance, would be to ensure that the standards and stipulation under which we grant environmental approvals and environmental clearances are actually being adhered to," Ramesh added.

The National Green Tribunal would act as a check on industrial pollution, and allow aggrieved persons to approach the tribunal to claim civil damages for non-implementation of environmental laws.

The federal government had cleared the Bill in December 2009. (ANI)