Can government be its own watchdog?
THE Union government has finally set itself free. No longer will it have to perform the dirty, stressful and thankless task of redressing environmental damage. In a sweeping move, the Union cabinet has given the nod to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to demolish all committees that have been set up by the judiciary under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA). These committees are to be replaced with a national environmental authority, and six regional authorities, making the MoEF its own, all-powerful, watchdog. Even worse, the government wishes to get rid of the seminal section 3 of this act, to stop the courts from forming such committees even in the future.
To be sure, this is a panic reaction to the growing ascendancy of these statutory bodies the courts set up from time to time to prod government into proper action. The courts form these statutory bodies so they can intervene effectively, and reach a definitive judgement, in complex environmental cases. The committees are formed under the rubric of the EPA. They provide technical back up; can act suo moto over the head of government agencies, and have quasi-judicial powers to act on the basis of complaints from civil society or any organisation and recommend a plan of action to the court.
While the very need of such statutory bodies
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