MUMBAI, July 21: A Central government team is currently touring Maharashtra to study various projects awaiting environmental clearance from the Centre. Similar teams have been dispatched across the country to check out pending projects, said Union Environmental and Forest Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday.Speaking at the Thane Mayor's Marathon, the union minister said the team would assess the environmental aspects of the projects to ensure that the region is not affected by pollution. Among others the team would look into Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Nashik-Talasari highway projects.Prabhu revealed that an authority to monitor pollution in Mumbai, Thane and surrounding areas has been set up. On the lines of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) it would be first such body set up in the country without the directions of the courts, he said adding the new body would function from the premises of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).The new body would prepare a white paper onthe state of air and water pollution in all the states which would help the authority to draft an action plan. The union minister further stated that efforts are on to introduce the study of environment in the school and college curriculum and if the groundwork is completed soon it would be part of the the syllabus from the next academic year.
