National Green Tribunal orders green audit of all government buildings of Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 23 November 2016 ordered environment audit of all the government buildings, including offices and hospitals, in Delhi to control pollution.

The purpose behind the move is to make every government building to take necessary precautions to control pollution so that no hazardous result follows in relation to public health.

The order was issued by the NGT bench, which was conducting a hearing in the petition filed by Vardhaman Kaushik over toxic air of the National Capital. The bench included judicial members, justices UD Salvi and Raghuvendra S Rathore, and expert members Bikram Singh Sajwan and Ajay A Deshpande.

The bench directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to issue guidelines in this regard within two weeks. It asked them to issue guidelines under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, the Air (Prevention and control of pollution) Act and the Water (Prevention and control of pollution) Act.

The bench passed the directions while observing that “right to clean environment is a fundamental right and every citizen, wherever he goes, has a right to receive decent environment”.

What is green audit?

• The term ‘Green Audit’ signifies the assessment of a business in terms of its impact on the environment.

• It is also widely known as Environmental Audit.

• A green audit of a building can unfold ways in which one can reduce energy consumption.