New Delhi: The Environment ministry has plans to bring in stiffer penalties for violation of environmental norms besides moves to ‘rationalise’ all environmental laws especially against the backdrop of the recent violations in the Vizag gas leak case and the Assam oil well fire.ET has learnt that the Union Environment Ministry has revived plans to amend the Environment Protection Act, 1986, to introduce heavy financial penalties for violation of norms. It plans to take the amended legislation to Parliament by mid-2021. While the ministry is not looking for a standard formulae to determine the quantum of fine, it will be designed to ensure that the violator/polluter is made to feel a strong enough financial pinch that serves as a deterrent and would choose to comply instead. The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards are proposed to be given more ‘teeth’ for the same. The Environment Protection Act of 1986 is the umbrella legislation for addressing all environmental issues in India. A fine only up to a lakh can be imposed on a polluting industry along with a jail sentence of five years. Even this is a tenuous process involving complaints at the district level. The green ministry, therefore, has been considering changes in the rule books since 2015 when a fine to the tune of Rs 1 crore was proposed. With 2020 bringing in worrying violations, the Environment ministry has decided to get its law revamp proposal moving but with an open view on the quantum of fine –– leaving it to be decided by a committee on the basis of the gravity of the violation and factoring in costs besides the deterrence factor.Plans are afoot to create a strong monitoring framework to ensure compliance of various green norms. Industry associations and legal experts will be involved in the architecture.
