Changes to National Environment Act

Disna Mudalige

The National Environment Act will undergo a complete overhaul to rectify its loopholes and strengthen its provisions, Central Environment Authority (CEA) Deputy Director (Legal) D A Ruwan Pathirana said.

Addressing a workshop on the Environmental Law organized by the National Environment Educational Institute at the CEA auditorium on Friday, he said the Attorney General’s Department has approved draft amendments and these amendments have now been sent to the Environment and Renewable Energy Ministry to obtain Parliamentary approval.

He said the existing laws pertaining to the environment would be streamlined through these amendments, while introducing rigorous punishments for law breakers. He said the fines for violating environmental laws would be increased to suit contemporary time.

The NEA was passed in 1980, and so far it had been amended twice in 1988 and 2000. The Act had not been amended for the last 13 years.

He said the amendments would come into effect after been passed in Parliament. He said the CEA has taken legal action against around 400 industries so far this year for operating without a valid Environmental Protection License (EPL) and for not maintaining required standards after obtaining the EPL.

He said the CEA conducts continual assessments on industries operating in Sri Lanka.