In a testimony of Government’s absolute non-seriousness towards environment degradation, Environment Policy draft is gathering dust in the official files during the past nearly one year due to lac

Nodal Officers not appointed in majority of key deptts

Despite given enough time, MoEF, NGT directives not being complied
*Admn left with no option but to order closure of units

83,000 trees axed, 441 Ha forest land comes under road widening

Rs 162 cr to be spent on environ mgmt; Rs 72 cr for affected populace

*MoEF grants environmental clearance with recommendations

Several stringent measures kept to check impact on environ

*MoEF clearance, Mining Plan made essential

Approved over yr back, implementation of Action Plan yet to begin

Continuous soil erosion despite plantation of 16 lakh trees

*Environ degradation least priority for many MLAs

Panel recommends measures to avoid health hazards

JAMMU: Painting a gloomy picture vis-à-vis management and disposal of bio-medical and other wastes in the Government and private hospitals, a six member committee constituted by the Government has arrived at a conclusion that laid down rules are being thrown into winds in majority of the health institutions right from segregation of waste at source to its final disposal. The panel has recommended slew of measures to the Government so that situation is brought under control before it leads to grave health hazard.

Field visits indicate factories contributing to pollution

State Government is formulating comprehensive policy to check adverse impact of cement factories on the environment in both regions of the State. The policy will be based on the outcome of fields visits recently conducted by the experts. Official sources told EXCELSIOR that 7-member Committee headed by Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Shantmanu, which was constituted for in-depth and exclusive study of all the cement factories established in the State to assess the environmental pollution caused by these factories, is in the final stage of making detailed recommendations to the Committee on Environment of the State Legislature.