Evolve uniform policy to clear projects: CJI to MoEF

Kapadia was speaking at the opening of an international seminar on Global Environment and Disaster Management: Law and Society.

Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia on Friday asked to the Ministry of Environment and Forests to simplify its notifications and suggested that it evolve a common procedure for evaluating and clearing industrial projects.

Kapadia was speaking at the opening of an international seminar on Global Environment and Disaster Management: Law and Society. Stressing that development and ecology were not opposed to each other,Kapadia said sustainable development was the answer to the importance of human life.

We are growing at the rate of 50,000 per day. The shrinking resources will not help any excellent schemes or projects and will destroy growth. The ultimate challenge for environment ethics is conservation of life on Earth. The man-land ratio is adverse. The carrying capacity of the supporting economy has to be improved. The forest and environment is national asset and we have to transfer it to our next generation, Kapadia said.

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Earlier,inaugurating the seminar,President Pratibha Patil said that economic growth must be accompanied by a responsibility towards our environment and humanity at large.

Reminding that Earth was faced with greater frequency of disasters because of environmental mismanagement,Patil said efficient policies and institutional support needed to be built up to deal with these.

We must put in place disaster warning and preparedness systems that are effective. Similarly,relief and rehabilitation work should be quick and well coordinated, she said.

Patil also stressed on the need for creating awareness. While laws and policies have an important role to play in reducing the impact of disasters and laying a framework,awareness levels and conduct of people can play an equally significant role in dealing with natural or manmade calamities, she said.