Editor,
On December 22, 2016 the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed a complete ban on burning of waste in open places and announced a fine of Rs. 25,000 on each incident of bulk waste burning. The NGT ruling says, “We direct that there shall be complete prohibition on open burning of waste on lands, including at landfill sites. For each such incident, violators, including project proponent, concessionaire, any person or body responsible for such burning, shall be liable to pay environmental compensation of Rs. 5,000 in case of simple burning, while Rs. 25,000 in case of bulk waste burning,” the Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said. The NGT also directed every State and Union Territory to enforce and implement Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and asked the Environment Ministry and all States to pass appropriate directions in relation to the ban on short-life Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and chlorinated plastics within a period of six months.
The NGT directed all State governments and Union Territories to prepare an action plan in terms of the Rules of 2016 within four weeks from the date of pronouncement. The action plan would relate to the management and disposal of waste in the entire State. The steps are required to be taken in a time-bound manner.
In Meghalaya it is my experience that no one is aware of this rule and people merrily burn their agricultural waste and stubs. Young people get together and burn biomass and often start a forest fire. I don’t understand how Meghalaya can flout the NGT directive and I would like to know what action the State Department for Forest and Environment has taken in this regard. The Dorbar Shnong too don’t seem to know that they have to ensure that the NGT ban is implemented in letter and spirit in their respective localities. It is time to levy heavy fines on such violators so that others too will learn to respect the law of the land.
Yours etc.,
N Nongdhar,
Shillong- 8
Class XII MBOSE Exams!
Editor,
I wish to draw the attention of the MBOSE authorities through your newspaper about the upcoming Examination for Class XII Science. I request MBOSE to kindly reconsider and rework the routine as the computer students are not getting any gap before the Chemistry examination. This might affect their performance. Examination time tables should consider students as their greatest priority. Everything else comes later.
Yours etc.,
Debdas Bhattacharjee
Shillong – 4
The drama of devious SC judges
Editor,
When the judges become noisy plaintiffs, who will deliver the judgment? This was the kind of unprecedented situation that we witnessed last week. Yes, Supreme Court is the last resort where an estimated one hundred and twenty-five crore people repose their faith in. We the people of India have great faith in democracy. However, when the custodians of democracy themselves openly roar that our democracy in danger, where do we go? Well, the people of this country had to face this disturbing instance on Friday, the 12th of January, 2018, when four senior judges of Supreme Court went public to express their pent-up displeasure.
For whatever reasons the fact that the four judges stooped so low in airing their internal differences to the media, has led people to lose faith in the judiciary. Is it not a sort of degeneration because it shows there is an obvious rift between the protesting judges and the Chief Justice of India? One of the judges had again said that there was no constitutional lapse on the part of the Chief Justice, but the convention, practice, and procedure that he followed while awarding cases to various judges were in question. He was also categorical that they would sort out this issue among themselves and no outside intervention is required. What one does not understand is, why did they then go public with their internal issue, if they felt, they, themselves could sort it out? Whom were they trying to cheat after breaking the established principle of judicial restraint?
It is very true that some things were not going well within the four walls of our judiciary. But are all things going on, in order, in this great country of ours where political leaders and a certain brand of media fraternity are in overdrive for various devious agendas?
In this particular case, the rule of law itself has been undermined. This has clearly raised the questions of integrity and propriety. What is astonishingly outrageous again is the fact that after a short while of the press conference a CPI leader D. Raja rushed to visit Justice Chelameswar to shake hands with him. Does this not sound fishy? I guess, there are skeletons in the closet somewhere. Very soon they might frighten all of us, nay the whole nation.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Via email