Cement Energy and Environment

environmentalists and economists that cost of damage to the environment needs to be factored in to decide whether a particular economic activity is beneficial to the mankind or not. Also, natural resources are indispensable for most economic activities and their depletion would in the longer run reduce the productive capacity of an economy. Environmental accounting is expected to give a better idea of the cost benefits involved, allowing for better decision-making. How does it work? Environmental accounting is possible both at a corporate level as well as at a national– international level. Ata corporate level, it requires the estimation of the damage done to the environment by a particular industry and the investments made to minimize such environmental damage. At a national level, environmental accounting it requires treating environmental resources (forests, water bodies, etc) as a stock of natural capital like any other productive asset. Any depreciation in this stock must be accounted for and accordingly deducted from national output. This revised measure of national output is also referred to as Green GOP. What are the difficulties involved? It is hard to quantify the depletion of natural resources and even harder to put a value to it, or monetize such costs. Most environmental resources are not traded in markets. This makes it difficult to value benefits accruing from environmental goods such as fuel wood, fish/fruit collected for consumption and services such as protection from soil arosion and land submergence. Similarly, it is hard to put a value to the damage done to the environment in the process of production . It is for these problems that no country in the world has yet been able to devise a fool-proof methodology for environmental accounting . Courtesy: The Economic Times, fh June 2011, P16. VICTIMS TO PAY FOR DEMANDING COMPENSATION FROM P"'l I I ITFRS If you are seeking compensation or damages from an industry for polluting , be ready to pay up too. The environment ministry has now made it mandatory for the victims to shell out 1% of the amount they are claiming as compensation as 'fee' to the newly set up National Green Tribunal. The unprecedented rule will make the victim pay to the government to deliver justice. The culprit will not. If the Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims were filing for compensation today, under these new rules, they would have ended up paying more than Rs 10 crore to seek justice against Union Carbide. The environment ministry set up the National Green Tribunal to handle all cases relating to environmental issues. Once the court is operational, any other court will not be allowed to take up any civil cases relating to environmental legislations such as Environment Protection Act. The creation of the tribunal , which can have a few benches around the country, got flak for centralizing the process and expecting victims to run to the court , now in Delhi , from all over the country. But the rules of operationalising the NGT, quietly passed by the environment ministry, make things worse. The rules note, "An application or appeal where compensation has been claimed, shall be accompanied by a fee equivalent to 1% of the compensation claimed , subject to a minimum of Rs 1,000." The perversity of the provision would hit harder if the plaintiff loses his or her petition. The amount would still end up in the pockets of the government as 'fee'. While the complainant would have to shell the money out of his pocket, the respondent, if proven guilty, would bear no burden. The only exception made in the rules is for those holding a Below Poverty Line card. Courtesy: The Times of India, New Delhi, April21, P16. India Country Prof1le PF CONTRIBUTION MAY SOON COVER HOUSE RENT C~"'~" c:v ,.. The Madhya Pradesh high court's ruling that employee benefits, such as house rent and conveyance allowances, should be taken into account while computing the employee provident fund contributions may soon be implemented all over the country. Central provident fund commissioner Samirendra Chatterjee said the ruling was conveyed to EPF offices in the state, but he said it could be 40