Final touches being put to new National Environmental Act

By Ifham Nizam

The final touches are being put to the National Environment Act, which is to be strengthened with 42 new amendments to the existing regulations.

The new amendments would also propose increase in penalties by tenfold against those who destroy the environment, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

 Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment has already submitted a Cabinet Memorandum.

The Minister said that the new amendments were aimed at addressing the legal and institutional issues that had arisen today and those expected to arise in the future in relation to the environmental sector in the country.

 The National Environmental Act had been amended several times to take into account the changes that need to take place from time to time. The National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980 had been amended in 1988, 2000, 2018 and 2019.

 However, the current environmental problems were so complex that the provisions for national environmental protection as well as the fines and penalties for environmental damage caused by certain individuals were not sufficient, officials said.

Citing examples they said the production, distribution, and sale of lunch sheets that had been banned since 2018 were still being manufactured, distributed, and sold illegally. Culprits were arrested in raids and produced in court but the fines and penalties were not sufficient.

It had also been decided to strengthen the existing legal provisions regarding illegal activities in protected ecological zones as they were not sufficient, officials said.