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10 states fined for not having environmental studies
Our Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 22
Concerned over the lack of awareness among people about the protection of environment, the Supreme Court today fined 10 states Rs 15,000 each for failing to respond to its notices seeking information whether they had included environmental studies in the school and college curricula as directed by it.

Taking strong exception to the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal not responding to the court’s notices, a Bench comprising Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice B.P. Singh said the fine should be deposited by them within four weeks.

The court warned that if they failed to deposit the fine within the stipulated period, the Chief Secretary of each state would be held responsible.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by Magsaysay Award winner environmentalist-lawyer M.C. Mehta highlighting the issue of non-compliance of the 1991 court order by the states in which a series of directions were given about maintaining the ecological balance and launching of a sustained campaign on protection of environment.

The court had specifically said every state was required to make the environmental studies at school and college levels compulsory and issue directions to the education boards and the universities in this regard.

The court had made it mandatory for the states to include environmental studies in the school and college courses from the 1992-93 academic session.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) was also directed by the court to prescribe the course for environmental studies at the graduation and the postgraduation level.

The court, which had issued notices to the states on July 21 seeking their replies to the PIL, posted further hearing of the matter on October 28.