100 pc ban on sand mining is wrong: SC
19 Oct 2013 11:16 PM GMT
Two months after the National Green Tribunal banned sand mining from river beds and beaches across the country without environmental clearance, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam on Friday said 100 per cent ban on sand removal is ‘wrong’.
‘I am sorry to say some courts, some tribunals have banned the activities (of sand removal from river banks). There is 100 per cent ban. I am saying it is wrong,’ he said.
Stressing on sustainable development, the Chief Justice said, ‘While delivering justice in environmental issues on the principle of sustainable development, the NGT should also practice the principle of proportion, based on the principle of balance.’
Emphasising upon the need to fine-tune balance between environment conservation and development in the delivery of judgments, the Chief Justice said the two aspects were intricately linked to each other and one cannot be sacrificed at the cost of the other.
Speaking at the Foundation Day of the NGT at its new premises at Faridkot House in the national capital, Justice Sathasivam said, ‘The modern generation, in its quest for change, is perpetuating development that was not in sync with the ecology. We should realise that the environment is finite.’
‘A more rational approach was needed in delivering judgments than blanket bans’, he added.
Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, who was the chief guest on the inception ceremony, said, ‘We cannot afford to ignore the threats posed by climate change, pollution, thinning of ozone layer, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Nobody is immune to these.’
‘The natural resources and raw materials like timber and water were direct inputs to the industrial production of the country. There is a need to fine balance between conservation and ecosystem to create ground for the sustainability of our development agenda,’ he said.
‘The NGT, as an adjudicator, has delivered remarkable justice in the enforcement of environment laws in the country. The tribunal has taken a giant leap towards achieving environment democracy,’ the Vice President said.
With its four benches already in operation at Delhi (Principal Bench), Chennai (Southern Bench), Bhopal (Northern Bench) and Pune (Western Bench), the fifth bench (Eastern) of NGT at Kolkata will commence from November, this year.
The tribunal, established in 2010 would also make circuit procedures for making it available in the Rajasthan high court, Shillong and Kochi, soon, after making similar sittings at Shimla in July this year.
The NGT registered 456 cases in 2012 while it received 1,277 cases this year (till September), marking a nearly 275 per cent increase in a single year. The disposal rate of the tribunal remained at over 200 per cent, from 309 matters disposed in 2012 to 636 cases disposed this year. In 2010, the tribunal started with 22 cases transferred to it from the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA).
The NGT has also begun facilities for videoconferencing of the regional benches with the Principal; bench at New Delhi, apart from staring an All India NGT Reporter and mechanism for e-filing applications.
‘I am sorry to say some courts, some tribunals have banned the activities (of sand removal from river banks). There is 100 per cent ban. I am saying it is wrong,’ he said.
Stressing on sustainable development, the Chief Justice said, ‘While delivering justice in environmental issues on the principle of sustainable development, the NGT should also practice the principle of proportion, based on the principle of balance.’
Emphasising upon the need to fine-tune balance between environment conservation and development in the delivery of judgments, the Chief Justice said the two aspects were intricately linked to each other and one cannot be sacrificed at the cost of the other.
Speaking at the Foundation Day of the NGT at its new premises at Faridkot House in the national capital, Justice Sathasivam said, ‘The modern generation, in its quest for change, is perpetuating development that was not in sync with the ecology. We should realise that the environment is finite.’
‘A more rational approach was needed in delivering judgments than blanket bans’, he added.
Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, who was the chief guest on the inception ceremony, said, ‘We cannot afford to ignore the threats posed by climate change, pollution, thinning of ozone layer, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Nobody is immune to these.’
‘The natural resources and raw materials like timber and water were direct inputs to the industrial production of the country. There is a need to fine balance between conservation and ecosystem to create ground for the sustainability of our development agenda,’ he said.
‘The NGT, as an adjudicator, has delivered remarkable justice in the enforcement of environment laws in the country. The tribunal has taken a giant leap towards achieving environment democracy,’ the Vice President said.
With its four benches already in operation at Delhi (Principal Bench), Chennai (Southern Bench), Bhopal (Northern Bench) and Pune (Western Bench), the fifth bench (Eastern) of NGT at Kolkata will commence from November, this year.
The tribunal, established in 2010 would also make circuit procedures for making it available in the Rajasthan high court, Shillong and Kochi, soon, after making similar sittings at Shimla in July this year.
The NGT registered 456 cases in 2012 while it received 1,277 cases this year (till September), marking a nearly 275 per cent increase in a single year. The disposal rate of the tribunal remained at over 200 per cent, from 309 matters disposed in 2012 to 636 cases disposed this year. In 2010, the tribunal started with 22 cases transferred to it from the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA).
The NGT has also begun facilities for videoconferencing of the regional benches with the Principal; bench at New Delhi, apart from staring an All India NGT Reporter and mechanism for e-filing applications.
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