Supreme Court Strong Comment On Environment Ministry Over Diluting Green Standards

Expressing concern over the dilution of environmental standards, the Supreme Court has said that the environment ministry is continuously weakening it. The top court has advised that the ministry should function like the environment ministry.

A three-member bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud told the central government that you have to show that it is the environment ministry. The ministry is constantly diluting the standards. The bench made the remarks while hearing the appeal of the central government against an NGT order in 2019.

In fact, the NGT had found lapses in a 2017 notification of the ministry. In this, new norms were prescribed for waste disposal by Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

It was recognized that the new notification would lead to degradation of water quality and it was decided that a stricter standard would be made based on the recommendations of the expert committee. The expert committee had set a time limit of seven years for the STPs, but the NGT asked the STPs to implement the standards without any delay.

The NGT had also said that the norms prescribed for metros would be applicable in other parts of the country as well. The Central Government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on this order of the NGT.

The bench asked why it should be stopped, and want pollution
The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the central government, what kind of ban do you want? Should there be more pollution? The bench said that the order of the tribunal has ensured that the amount of pollution in the water is reduced, what can be the problem in that. We will not stop the order.

Bhati said, NGT did not accept the suggestions of its own committee
Bhati said that the NGT has not accepted the suggestions of its own expert committee and has also asked for immediate upgradation of STPs and strict norms for waste disposal. Bhati said the upgradation would take time and the ministry had issued a notification in 2017 keeping all these things in mind.

Expressing concern over the dilution of environmental standards, the Supreme Court has said that the environment ministry is continuously weakening it. The top court has advised that the ministry should function like the environment ministry.

A three-member bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud told the central government that you have to show that it is the environment ministry. The ministry is constantly diluting the standards. The bench made the remarks while hearing the appeal of the central government against an NGT order in 2019.

In fact, the NGT had found lapses in a 2017 notification of the ministry. In this, new norms were prescribed for waste disposal by Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

It was recognized that the new notification would lead to degradation of water quality and it was decided that a stricter standard would be made based on the recommendations of the expert committee. The expert committee had set a time limit of seven years for the STPs, but the NGT asked the STPs to implement the standards without any delay.

The NGT had also said that the norms prescribed for metros would be applicable in other parts of the country as well. The Central Government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on this order of the NGT.

The bench asked why it should be stopped, and want pollution

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the central government, what kind of ban do you want? Should there be more pollution? The bench said that the order of the tribunal has ensured that the amount of pollution in the water is reduced, what can be the problem in that. We will not stop the order.

Bhati said, NGT did not accept the suggestions of its own committee

Bhati said that the NGT has not accepted the suggestions of its own expert committee and has also asked for immediate upgradation of STPs and strict norms for waste disposal. Bhati said the upgradation would take time and the ministry had issued the notification in 2017 keeping all these things in mind.