Ex-CJ Sanjay Kishan Kaul stresses on need to protect environment

“No one, except human, is extracting natural resources.In India, water in many rivers has become useless,” he said at the inauguration of the National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone) at the renovated Kalas Mahal.

Pointing out that Chennai faced heavy floods in 2015 mainly due to rampant encroachments, he said “The same thing happened in Mumbai now.”

Justice Swatanter Kumar, chairperson of National Green Tribunal, who presided over the function, said that since 2013 NGT has been able to settle around 82 per cent of cases pertaining to environment. “We should all take an oath to safeguard our natural resources not only for our wellbeing but also for the future generations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi lauded the State Government for renovating the 18th century Kalas Mahal to accommodate the NGT. He also spoke about the Tamil culture and its rich heritage. He said the government’s move to renovate an old building without losing out on its architectural essence was an indication as to how it is keen on protecting its rich heritage.

Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee spoke about how noise pollution is turning out to be a grave health hazard for the public and urged the NGT (South Zone) to resolve the issue.

While Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated the new premises, State Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam, State Environment Minister, K C Kaurupannan, Judicial Members Justice P Jyothimani and Justice M Sasidharan Nambiar and Expert Member P S Rao were also present at the event.