The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday pulled up the Ministry of Environment and Forests asking why it was not preparing the report on the mining plan in Meghalaya and instead seeking opinion of an expert body.
The bench, led by Justice Swatanter Kumar, derided the representatives of the Ministry saying, that though it is a regulatory authority by itself, it seeks reports from experts. “We do not understand why you do not do this yourself and for every small thing you need a consultant. Do not use our orders for escaping from responsibility, “said the NGT chairperson.
The bench observed this after the counsel appearing on behalf of the Ministry said that it has sought the opinion of an expert body which carries out research and development programme in environmental science and technology. It directed the Ministries of Environment and Coal, besides the Meghalaya government, to hold a meeting to finalise the mining plan and submit a report before it soon.