SHIMLA: The National Green Tribunal ( NGT ) has constituted an oversight committee, headed by a former judge of the Himachal Pradesh high court , to address any concern for the protection of environment.While Justice Surjit Singh, former judge of the high court, will be the chairman, the committee will have nominees from the Central Pollution Control Board and state town and country planning department.In a recent order, the tribunal said the committee would be free to take assistance of any expert and might set up its own website to receive or give information. It said common citizens too could give suggestions or offer volunteer help to the committee. The committee might also take a call on any other incidental issues.The NGT said the oversight committee might deal with the issue of unauthorized hotels including those who are party to proceedings taken up by the tribunal.“The committee will be at liberty to make any suggestions or issue advisories or recommendations to the state pollution control board in order to impose suitable conditions while granting consent to operate or consent to establish,” it added.The tribunal said the committee would be at liberty to issue such advisories and recommendations to the cantonment board and the state town and country planning department as may be found necessary in the light of the above.“This will also cover advisories and recommendations for recovering environmental compensation for any violation. Such amount must be kept in a separate account for being spent for the environment restoration in Kasauli planning area,” it said.The committee has also been given liberty to suggest any modification of the development plan in the course of its consideration.The tribunal has also suggested the Union ministry of environment forests and climate change to frame a set of guidelines with respect to carrying capacity assessment as applicable to similarly placed hill stations and eco sensitive zones (ESZ), as notified by the ministry in the country to check hazards of unregulated development threatening the fragile ecology and safety within a month.It said that the ministry shall submit the copy of guidelines to the tribunal by November 30 along with a list of such hill stations and ESZ for which carrying capacity assessment is necessary. Thereafter, such similarly placed hill stations and ESZ in the country shall undertake a carrying capacity assessment study as per the template and guidelines as finalized by the ministry within three months and submit compliance through the ministry to this tribunal, it added.

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