JAMMU: Chairman, Pollution Control Board, J&K Suresh Chugh, today addressed the IFS probationers of 2019-2021 batch, undergoing training at Dehradun, through Video Conferencing.
The chairman delivered a detailed lecture on Environment Governance– Issues, Challenges in India.
Giving the details of environmental laws, the Chairman said that despite so many regulations, there are problems of law adherence by citizens and their effective implementation. He added that although some teeth have been given to PCBs, but still lot needs to be done to make citizens of country and stakeholders to comply with the legal provisions under these rules for conservation and protection of environment. He deliberated at length on various Environmental Laws including Air (P&CP) Act, 1974, Water (P&CP) Act 1981, Wildlife (Protection Act), 1972, Forest Act, provisions of Public Interest Litigations, Biological Diversity Act, 2004, Environmental Protection Act,1986 and issues of Vehicular Pollution, Solid Waste Management, Bio Medical Waste Management, Hazardous Waste Management and National Green Tribunal through a power point presentation.
He informed that PCBs have to make sincere efforts in implementation of environmental laws and enabling citizens to follow these norms. He expressed satisfaction that directions from National Green Tribunal (NGT) have strengthened the hands of implementing agencies for proper delivery and Polluter Pays’ Principle is a land mark step in this direction.
The Chairman also deliberated on the working of PCBs and said that their independent/autonomous working coupled with use of updated technology for transparency will go a long way in improving the environment of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
“With the transformation of J&K State to Union Territory, certain laws that were applicable earlier only to J&K State, have been repealed and now Central Laws are being implemented in the Union Territory of J&K,” he added.
The meeting was attended by Dr. R.S.Pawar, Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and Director, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun, Course Director, Dr. S. Senthil Kumar and Dr. B.Balaji, Additional Professor, IGNFA along with 73 IFS Probationers including 02 foreign trainees from Royal Government of Bhutan.
