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Context: The Supreme Court has asked the Government if it will create an Indian Environmental Service (IES) as recommended by T.S.R Subramanian committee.

 

What is the T.S.R Subramanian committee report on environment?

• It was set up in August
• Aim: to review the country’s green laws and the procedures followed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• It suggested several amendments to align with the Government’s economic development agenda.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee rejected the report on the grounds that it ended up diluting key aspects of environmental legislation designed to protect the environment.
• The Centre never formally accepted this report and neither constituted a new committee as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

 

What did the T.S.R report recommend?

1) Constitution of Environmental Management Authority:

• Under ‘Environmental Laws (Management) Act’ (ELMA)—National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and State Environmental Management Authority (SEMA)—to be constituted to evaluate project clearance in a time bound manner, providing for single-window clearance.
• The existing Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards, are proposed to be integrated into NEMA and SEMA once the new bodies come into existence.

 

2) Merging of laws:

• To accelerate the environmental decision-making process, a “fast track” procedure for “linear” projects (roads, railways and transmission lines), power and mining projects and for “projects of national importance.”
• The Air Act and the Water Act is to be subsumed within the Environment Protection Act.

 

3) Appellate mechanism

• An appellate mechanism will be set up to hear against the decisions of NEMA/SEMA or MoEF&CC, in respect of project clearance, prescribing a three-month deadline to dispose appeals.

 

4) Accessing environmental reconstruction cost

• An “environmental reconstruction cost” should be assessed for each project on the basis of the damage caused by it to the environment and this should be added into the cost of the project.
• This cost has to be recovered as a cess or duty from the project proponent during the life of the project.

 

5) National Environment Research institute

• It proposed a National Environment Research institute “on the lines of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education” to bring in the application of high-end technology in environment governance.

 

6) Indian Environment Service

• It proposed an Indian Environment Service to recruit qualified and skilled human resource in the environment sector.

 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-proposal-for-indian-environmental-service/article38317316.ece?homepage=true