NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has said, the action plan by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to deal with the menace of microplastics– which have the potential to enter blood cells and adversely impact health–should have periodic monitoring mechanisms.The tribunal comprising Judicial Member Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member Dr A. Senthil Vel, EM said the Ministry’s plan, “Though ex-facie appears to be quite detailed but there is no timeline provided for the departments to proceed the action within a prescribed time frame.””..we do not find a time-bound approach to bring out source-based and ambient standards for Microplastics and subsequently their regulation and enforcement,” the green court said, directing departments concerned to take steps for execution of the plan within six months.Secretary, MoEF&CC will monitor the progress of the Action Plan and resolve the inter-ministerial issues, if any, the tribunal said.In its report, the ministry said, the health impact of emerging contaminants and long-term studies are required to establish the cause-effect relationship of microplastics on human health.
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