What are your views concerning the environmental protection agency? Support your

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With the advent of 21st century, we are at the helm of a new era....Era of rapid climate change!

With rise in population, the pollution also rising and that has caused a chain of events which is affecting our environment adversely. Keeping in view these facts, there is a dire need of an Environment protection agency similar as that of USA's institution to address this menace.

An agency to protect the environment and enhance human lives.

Though demand for such institution were raised previously but such step has not been taken till now.

The views concerning EPA are varied because the functions performed by it will be varied like-

Environmental licensing, environmental planning, guidance, education. Monitoring, analysing, enforcement of environmental laws. R & D, waste management, protection from harmful radiation, addressing climate change, pre and post disaster analysis and assessment.

This is an enormous amount of work right now overlapped throughout various govt agencies. For eg, environmental clearances are given by one agency but later issues are addressed by another, National green tribunals addresses the legal issues finally arising out of such projects. This causes overlapping and red tapism. Sometimes, the project owners get involved with the project clearance officers and get things done through improper channel. Ministeries that give clearances most of the times give clearances due to excessive work load without giving time needed for assessment. 100s of projects gets approval daily and hardly 5-10 minutes are spent on their assessment. The current system is not only flawed but open for bias. Environment impact assessment reports are sometimes prelared in office without assessing the field situation. NGT is also condemned EAC for conducting their role in arbitrary and careless manner. India is not losing large forests land daily to industrial projects but also environmental degradation is costing almost 6% of GDP to India now.

Article supporting argument-

www.climatechangenews.com - India to open new environmemt protection agency (2014 article)

A proper thought and dedicated institution for environment protection must become a reality now.

In my opinion, a thorough overhaul of current procedures has to be done in constituting such an institution.

- All environment related works like assessment, mapping, evaluation, clearance, reposting, research and development, etc has to be done by this institution

- It must be given the powers of quasi judicial institution that can report matters to higher judicial offices and can tackle most matters on its own. Its orders should have judicial legal powers.

- There must be atleast 3-4 channels to verify the clearances and judgements given to check corruprion and all this should be strictly done in time bound manner to check red tapism.

- Projects must not be allowed in sensitive areas like mangroves plantations, biodiversity hotspots or land that require clearance of vast forest lands or agricultural lands.

- Post monitoring and evaluation of projects must also be done to monitor the pollution caused and environment affected due to it.

- All laws concerning environment must be made involving experts from this body.

- A renewable and alternate energy wing must be attached to environment protection institution to provide necessary guidance to the industrial projects on how can they make their projects more environmental friendly (like installing solar panels, treatment of waste water, waste management, etc)

A strong political will is required to implement the aforementioned steps. As creating such an institution requires not only dedication on the part of government but also impose a challenge as to how to ensure its honest and dedicated.

And not to mention the overall overhaul of the existing mechanism of environment protection.

First a law has to be made and slowly but firmly steps has to be taken to merge the environmental protection agencies under one roof. Functions has to be reallotted and proper training has to be imparted. To eradicate any possibility of flaw, everything has to be planned and reported. The Govt in power and oppostion has to work together to make this a reality as this sector is the most corrupt and eradicating or overhauling it would mean suppressing a giant corruption agency for forever.

Non interference in the working of this agency has to be ensured and for that it has to be made a constitutional body with powers but this certainly doesnt mean that it becomes arbitrary and dictator but it must be responsible to the parliament as whole. It must lay its annual reports and its budgetary allocations has to be discussed. But the expenditures of salaries and pensions etc of the chairman of such institution must be charged on the consolidated fund of India and must not be voted against to ensure the independence of working of chairman.

The institution must be evaluated by Comptroller and Auditor general of India annually. It must be transparent and must be open to RTs.

Through a dedicated Govt will, proper laws, an independent but accountable and transparent environmental protection agency can become a reality !

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