NGT refuses plea for implementation of Centre’s contingency plan to control Locust attack

On Monday, The National Green Tribunal (NGT) declined to entertain a petition seeking implementation of the Centre’s contingency plan to combat the looming locust attack saying there was nothing to show in the plea that no action is being taken by the concerned authorities in the matter.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that “The applicants acknowledge that there is a contingency plan. There is nothing to show that no action is being taken by the concerned authorities in the matter. On this material, we do not find any ground to pass any order on an assumption that the authorities are not taking any action".

The NGT gave liberty to the NGO, Centre for Wildlife & Environmental Litigation Foundation, to approach the concerned departments in case of a grievance.

The petition filed by the NGO, through Lawyer Gaurav Bansal, had said that despite having the contingency plan several states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh are facing the locust swarm attack since Feb & the situation is getting worse in some of the areas.

Maharashtra & Gujarat have also been impacted by the swarm of millions of insects which eat up crops in the field they attack, inflicting heavy crop damage.

On Tuesday, the Govt. of Delhi issued an advisory on preventive measures to control the looming locust attack in Delhi.

It directed the authorities to organise awareness among farmers, spraying of insecticide & not letting the swarms rest during the night.

“The worst affected are the farmers of the said area, thus the applicant NGO seeks urgent intervention of this tribunal & seeks direction to submit status report on the implementation of plan prepared by Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Union of India,” the petition said.

The contingency plan is a guidance document for Locust Field Offices, state governments & other stake holders during the attack, said the plea filed by ‘Centre For Wildlife & Environmental Litigation Foundation’

According to the plea, the plan covers assistance required from different stakeholders, their contribution & role, activities, type of strategy to be adopted, formation of teams, available resources, short falls & ways & means of obtaining additional resources, & the deployment as also the actions that need to be taken.

The plan also provides for use of aircraft with spraying kits for locust control purpose, it said.

The NGO has sought the constitution of committees to control the locust swarm attack within their respective states.

It said that “Direct the Centre to evaluate the crop damage caused due to locust swarm attack & provide compensation to poor farmers affected by it".

Source Link