JOIN USMeanwhile, President Pratiba Patil also called for exchange of technologies between developed world and developing countries to save nature.
To tighten the noose around the industry overlooking green norms, an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) would be set up soon to ensure strict monitoring of laws and regulations, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Friday.
“We will soon set up a fully funded EPA, observations of which will be binding on the corporates,” Ramesh said in a programme to mark World Environment Day here.
A week after taking charge of the ministry, Ramesh who has been meeting heads of various institutions and departments said that he was shocked to note the absence of monitoring body to regulate the environment laws.
“I have noticed that the industry is not fulfilling its environment objectives and yet growing at the rate of 8 per cent per year.
Participating in an environment day programme, President Pratibha Patil said the international community should also collectively extend support to the efforts of developing countries through financial resources and technology transfer to save the nature.
“Eradication of poverty and the imperatives of economic and social development have been recognised as the overriding priorites,” Patil said.
She also called upon the industry to help clean India’s rivers and to focus on green research and development.