Standing Committee expresses anguish over ignorance of environmental matters

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Science and Technology has expressed anguish over the issue of non-transparency in environmental matters.

New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Science and Technology, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, has expressed anguish over the issue of "non-cooperative and unresponsive" behaviour of the officials dealing with environmental matters.

The Committee is also concerned about the "drastic reduction of overall budgetary allocation", especially for the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Pointing out the issue of non-transparency in environmental matters, the Committee said in its report, "Such attitude not only puts hurdles in the discharge of their constitutional obligations but also in their accountability to the people."

It expressed "deep concern" and "dismay" that the supplementary Action Taken Report (ATR) on the issue of CAMPA funds had not been submitted by the Ministry to the Committee "much beyond the promised timeline." However, it has now asked the Ministry to submit ATR within the next two weeks.

The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change must impress upon state governments as well as their own officer's to sensitize all the concerned authorities to accord due courtesy to the public representatives, attend to their grievances, respond to their communications and make available the information sought by them.

In its report of Demands for Grants 2020-21, the Committee had raised the issue of the plantation of a large number of plants and also expressed apprehensions of money being "siphoned off" in such cases.

The committee had also called for the audit of plantation activities.

"The Committee observes that a year has gone by and it is still apprehensive on the matter of misappropriation in plantation drives. The Committee comments that the ministry of environment forest and climate change should allay the concerns on this front in a transparent manner through audits that can be accessed easily by both public representatives and civil society," the report added.

On the matter of drop in funds, the Parliamentary Committee observed that the overall utilization of funds by the ministry found to be "satisfactory" as the ministry has been able to spend 83 per cent of the Revised Estimates (RE) 2020-21 allocation up to January 31, 2021.

However, the Committee expressed concerns over the budgetary allocation for 'Control of Pollution' which is being given Rs 470 crore for 2021-22.

It also suggested that apart from implementing its various schemes and programmes the ministry needs to innovate and invest in creating the infrastructure for pollution abatement measures, having sustainable and long-term impact such as installing supercharges for electric vehicles and establishing effective microorganism biodigester units.

The Committee also concerned over the "drastic reduction" in the overall budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Earth Sciences in the year 2020-21, which has been reduced by almost 37 per cent.

"The Committee notes that the ministry, under its Capital Budget, was allocated Rs 74.90 crore in RE 2020-21 against the budgetary allocation of Rs 172 crore in BE 2020-21. The Committee urges the department to complete all its programmes/projects envisaged for the year 2021-22 and fully utilise the allocation of Rs 172 crore in BE 2021-22, especially since the trend of the last several years even before the COVID-19 pandemic has been the actual expenditure being lower than the revised estimates," the report stated.

The Committee also acknowledged the strategic importance of India's presence in the Arctic, Antarctic and Southern Indian Ocean saying that it will not only strengthen the country's position but also envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world.

It noted that China has invested both resources and scientific manpower in these regions while recommending that the ministry should prepare a realistic plan for its expansion in the next 5 years.