Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660
Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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------------------------------------------------------- SC fines Goa over environment subject -------------------------------------------------------- The Supreme Court today imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 each on ten states for not responding to a court's notice on a petition alleging they failed to comply with a 12-year-old order for compulsory education on environment in schools and colleges.
Lambasting Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Jharakhand for not responding to the court's notice, a bench comprising Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice B P Singh gave them four weeks to deposit the fine amount in the registry and file their responses.
Allowing the states the additional time to file responses and deposit the money, the bench said this was being "subject to the condition that they deposit Rs 15,000 on account of their failure to file response."
"If the response was not filed or the fine amount was not deposited within the stipulated time, the respective chief secretaries would be held responsible,"the bench said while adjourning the petition filed by Mr M C Mehta for further hearing on October 28.
Taking serious view of lapses in compliance of its judgement to make environment studies a compulsory subject at all levels of education, the court had on July 21 issued notices to the states, Union Territories and apex education bodies responsible for prescribing syllabus throughout the country.
On an application filed by environmentalist lawyer, Mr M C Mehta alleging non-implementation of wide-ranging directions given in 1991, the bench had also issued notices to the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
In a far-reaching order delivered on November 22, 1991, the Supreme Court had directed University Grants Commission (UGC) to prescribe a course on environment in the graduation and post-graduation level and consider feasibility of making this a compulsory subject at every level in college education.
"So far as education upto the college level is concerned, we would require every state government and every education board connected with education upto the matriculation or even intermediate colleges to immediately take steps to enforce compulsory education on environment in a graded way," the apex court had said.
The court had directed compliance with the order by the academic year 1992-93. It had also made it mandatory for the cinema theatres to exhibit free of cost at least two slides on importance of environment protection and had directed the licencing authorities to cancel the licences of those theatres which did not comply with the order. ---------------------------------------------------- THE NAVHIND TIMES 23/9/03 page 1 --------------------------------------------------- ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
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