Biological Diversity Act:NGT quashes warrants agnst states,UTs

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal (NGT)today recalled its earlier order of issuing bailable warrantsagainst the resident commissioners of five states and one UTfor not appearing before it during proceedings on protectionof biodiversity. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson granted the relief tothe officials after their counsel assured that in future,there will be no absence and they will carry out thedirections of the tribunal without default. The bench said bailable warrants issued against theResident Commissioners of Karnataka, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha,Punjab and Andaman & Nicobar would not be executed. The tribunal had earlier issued bailable warrant againstthe Resident Commissioners of Gujarat, Karnataka, Manipur,Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab and Tripura for not appearing beforeit despite issuance of notice. It had also issued warrants against the officers ofChandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. When the matter was taken up during the day, the benchsaid "let all of them come here and go to Tihar jail and beguests of the state". The green panel was hearing a plea filed by Pune residentChandra Bhal Singh alleging that various states and unionterritories have "failed" to pay attention to the uniquebiodiversity of the country and sought implementation ofprovisions of Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and BiologicalDiversity Rules, 2004. It had earlier issued notices to Ministry of Environmentand Forests (MoEF), National Biodiversity Authority and StateBiodiversity Boards in the matter. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, aims at preservingbiological diversity in India and provides mechanism forequitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use oftraditional biological resources and knowledge. Singh had alleged that various states have not only"failed" to pay proper attention to the unique biodiversityprevalent in India, but also not undertaken their statutoryobligations with "seriousness and have remained oblivious indischarging the statutory provision in last couple of years." Seeking setting up of Biodiversity Management Committees(BMCs) at the local level in every state under Section 41 ofBiological Biodiversity Act 2002, the plea claimed thatseveral State Biodiversity Boards have not constituted theBMCs for "promoting conservation, sustainable use anddocumentation of biological diversity". PTI SKVARC