Jalandhar: The Chairman of National Green Tribunal (NGT), Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar, while reiterating the firm commitment of the Tribunal to make India a clean, green and pollution free country, said that the Tribunal has set a deadline of maximum one year for disposing off every case pertaining to environmental problem.
Delivering his keynote address during a state level function organized by Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to mark the World Environment Day here today at IVY World School, Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar said that the Tribunal is making all efforts to make country free from environmental pollution by ensuring that its progress was not affected in anyway. He said that the deadline of one year has been set so as to ensure quick justice to the petitioners in such cases of immense public importance. Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar categorically said that till date 82% of cases filed in the NGT has been disposed off for the facilitation of the general public. “We never want that a grandfather should file a case and his grandson should get the justice, so we have set this deadline for delivering justice to people within an year” he added.
Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar, while recalling the immense contribution of Punjab in making country self-reliant in food production besides valiantly safeguarding its borders, said that it was the high time that Punjabis must take a lead for protecting the environment of state and country. He said that it was unfortunate that despite of having a glorious legacy the Punjabis were lagging behind in the field of protecting the environment of the country, which is a real blessing of the god to the state and country. Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar exhorted the Punjabis to take one corrective step for preserving the environment of the country and then see that how it does a wonder. He pointed out that every single step in a right direction could do miracles whereas every wrong step leads to havoc.
Citing the examples of nature’s fury in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarkhand and Nepal, Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar said that these disasters have proved that human interference in the process of nature is proving very costly to them. He said that even in national capital Delhi, the small children are facing a number of health problems due to the ever increasing pollution, which is a cause of worry for all of them. Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar said that the need of hour is that people should develop a social conscious towards preserving the environment of the country by starting small steps like segregation of the waste at their home, so that the harsh effects of nature like ‘Global Warming’ could be avoided.
Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar called upon the people to play a proactive role for preserving the environment because every individual is duty bound to pass on a healthy atmosphere to their next generation. He said that holding mega events on the World Environment Day would be meaningless if they were not coupled with the necessary actions to save the mother earth. Mr. Justice SwatanterKumar also batted for introduction of Environment Preservation as a subject in the Primary curriculum of the schools so that the spirit of protecting environment could be imbibed in the children from the inception. “It is our country, our state and our mother earth and we will have to save it otherwise no notification of the government or judgment by court or tribunal can help in it. So join hands and play a proactive role for preserving the environment and making our country clean, green and pollution free” he added.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Mr. Manpreet Singh highlighted the steps taken by the state government and the Board to make Punjab a pollution free state. He said that the state government has taken severalpath breaking initiatives to tackle the air and water pollution in the state. Mr. Manpreet Singh said that Punjab has taken a lead in the country by framing the E-Waste Rules adding he said that a massive scheme has been embarked to make the rivers of the state pollution free.
In his address Head of Zoology and Environmental Sciences Department Punjabi University Patiala, Dr. Jagbir Singh expressed concern over the large number of trees axed every year. He said that the depleting forest cover and ever increasing pollution is the major cause of worry for every individual and corrective steps for it in the form of capacity building exercise in University/ colleges and schools needs to be taken at the earliest.
Delivering his address Dean Students Affairs Thapar University Dr. Maneek Kumar underlined the need for checking the unabated pollution because it is leading to weather changes and a number of other problems.
Meanwhile, the students of IVY World School gave thought provoking performances for sensitizing the people about environment.
On the occasion Special Secretary Department of Environment Science and Technology Mr. TS Dhaliwal, Member Secretary PPCB Mr. Babu Ram, Chairman of Vasal Educational Society Mr. Sanjeev Vasal and Principal of IVY World School Mrs. S Chauhan were also present.
