New Delhi, June 5: National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel on Sunday said “water and air” are the greatest gifts to the mankind and we cannot afford to lose them.
“The World Environment Day is a reminder to all of us to protect our precious and pristine environment. The greatest gift to mankind and other life is water and air which each of us needs to conserve,” Goel said on the occasion of World Environment Day.
The day is celebrated every year on June 5 with a different theme. The theme for this year’s event is “Only One Earth.” “Let us once again commit to protect water sources, use them appropriately and maintain their cleanliness. We can’t afford to either lose or degrade them as such loss cannot be made out by any monetary cost,” the NGT chairperson said.
He had earlier said that there were huge gaps in compliance of environment rules and the higher authorities were not adequately concerned about the plight of the citizens.
The NGT was established on October 18, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
Its remit also includes enforcement of legal rights related to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property in such matters.
The NGT was proposed to be set up at five places with New Delhi as the principal place of sitting of the tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai the other four places of sitting of the tribunal.
On a similar note, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the ‘Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement’, a global initiative, and asserted that its vision is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it.
Those who live such a lifestyle are called “pro-planet people,” he said in a video address, and added that “Mission LiFE’ borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future.
Giving the slogan of “one earth, many efforts”, he said India is ready to lend its support to actions to make environment better and improve global wellness.
With the launch coinciding with World Environment Day, Modi said our planet’s challenges are well-known, and the need of the hour is human-centric, collective efforts and robust actions that further sustainable development.
“Reduce, reuse and recycle are the concepts woven in our life. Circular economy has been an integral part of our culture and lifestyle,” Modi said, noting that gods and goddesses in India have plants and animals associated with them, and nature equated with divinity.
“Mahatma Gandhi talked about a zero-carbon lifestyle. In our daily life choices, let us pick the most sustainable options. Let us follow the principle of reuse, reduce and recycle.”
“Our planet is one but our efforts have to be many. One earth, many efforts,” he said.
India has been able to do many good things for the environment, with its forest cover increasing and so is the population of lions, tigers, leopards, elephants and rhinos, he said.
India stands ready to support any effort for a better environment and to further global wellness. (PTI)
The country’s track record speaks for itself, the prime minister said.
