NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has strongly criticised the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for obstructing its proceedings by failing to provide a decisive response regarding the health risks posed to students by asbestos sheets in educational institutions. The tribunal called the ministry’s inaction a “serious obstruction” to its functioning.A bench comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that the MoEFCC had ignored prior directives to hold a scientific study on the potential hazards of asbestos exposure in schools. The NGT had earlier sought clarity on whether the health risks for students differed from those faced by industrial workers exposed to asbestos. Despite being asked to submit a report after forming a multi-disciplinary expert committee, the ministry failed to deliver any substantive findings.The tribunal expressed frustration over the lack of compliance, stating, “The environmental ministry’s inaction has paralysed the tribunal’s ability to proceed. This amounts to a direct impediment caused by the ministry itself.”During the proceedings, the ministry’s advocate revealed that a 12-member committee had been constituted but admitted that no study had been conducted to address the NGT’s concerns. The absence of any ministry official to explain this failure further aggravated the situation.Given the ministry’s repeated non-compliance, the tribunal has now directed a senior MoEFCC officer, not below the rank of joint secretary, to appear personally in the next hearing. The NGT said that officer must explain why the ministry failed to act on the tribunal’s September 25 order, warning that non-compliance constitutes a legal offence.The tribunal’s pointed criticism highlights the urgency of addressing the use of hazardous asbestos materials in schools, which poses severe health risks to children. The matter will be taken up further on December 17.
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