Explanation:

A committee has been formed to review environment-related laws and statutes. The committee will be headed by TSR Subramanian.

A High Level Committee headed by Shri T.S.R. Subramanian was constituted to review various Acts administered by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. The Committee reviewed the following laws: (i) Indian Forests Act, 1927, (ii) Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (iii) Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, (iv) Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, (v) Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and (vi) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Some of the recommendations are:

• It has recommended for creation of a new “umbrella” law by subsuming the existing environmental laws.
• Under the proposed new Environment Law Management Act (ELMA), full-time expert bodies—National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and State Environment Management Authority (SEMA)—are to be established at the Central and state levels respectively. They should evaluate project clearance (using technology and expertise), in a time bound manner, providing for single window clearance.
• The existing Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB)are proposed to be “subsumed” under NEMA and SEMA once the new bodies come into existence. Protected areas and forests with over 70% of the tree coverage should be declared as ‘No GO’ areas.
• Compensatory afforestation in the revenue land should be modified to 2:1 from the existing 1:1 ratio. The compensatory afforestation in degraded forest land should be modified to 3:1 from the existing 2:1 ratio.
• An All India Service with name as ‘India Environment Service’ may be created.