MLAs, MLCs skip environment seminar

Peering into the vacant seats, former MP and industrialist Viren Shah lamented the lack of dedication among people who matter 8212; members of parliament, members of the Legislative Assembly, and others.8217; quot;What do we find? We find this crass indifference,quot; he said.

According to Kirit Parikh, co-coordinator of the report, the symposium was designed primarily for members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly. The IGIDR may now hold a special session for the legislators in the Vidhan Sabha sometime in August, Parikh said.

An embarrassed Minister of State for Housing and the BJP8217;s chief whip in the state, Raj Purohit attributed the mass abstention to indifference due to the upcoming elections. 8220;When your house is on fire, why would you want to set someone else8217;s house in order?8221; he joked in Hindi.

The report on environmental governance forms part of an overall scheme called the Capacity 21 Project, which was initiated by the United Nations Development Programme UNDP in 1995. The project was designed to bring scientific and economic experts together with members of the private sector and the Ministry of Environment and Forest MoEF to recommend legislation for sustainable, eco-friendly development.

quot;The reports were written in consultation with the MoEF, so we are hoping that they will form the basis for future action,quot; Parikh told Express Newsline.

Minister of Environment Suresh Prabhu kicked off the symposium with a statement on India8217;s environmental problems. quot;Our bountiful environmental heritage has been destroyed in the pursuit of so-called development,quot; he said adding, quot;Now we need to reverse that process.quot;

Prabhu called for strict emission standards for each sector of industry, increased public awareness of environmental issues and market-based solutions to curbing polluters. quot;We must inscribe economic thinking into environmental decision-making,quot; he said.

The IGIDR report itself is comprised of strategy briefs in five areas: clean water, sustainable wetlands, land and forests, air polution and health, and the environment in economic decision-making.

The report8217;s recommendations include: implementing economic incentives, streamlining existing environmental legislation, strengthening pollution control boards and municipal cooperations, generating technology-based solutions to environmental problems, and promoting public involvement and ministerial cooperation.