The Green Hour Vol. 2 Issue II | Monsoon Session 2024
The Green Hour is a periodical that traces environment-related proceedings in each parliamentary session. This is the second issue of the second volume, covering the Parliamentary Session held between 22nd July and 12th August 2024. As the General Elections were conducted between April and June of 2024, the first parliamentary session held was a Special Session where none of the usual parliamentary proceedings were taken up. The first full session held in Parliament also saw the final budget document being presented by the Finance Minister. For the purposes of this report, the full session analysed is referred to as the Monsoon Session 2024.
This report is organized into five chapters:
Chapter 1 presents the broad framework of the report. It introduces the reader to the functioning of the Parliament and lays down the scope, methodology and definitions used in the report.
Chapter 2 is divided into two sections. The first section analyses Parliamentary Questions directed at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) during the Monsoon Session 2024. This section presents a thematic analysis of such questions and the geographic distribution of the Members of Parliament (MPs) who asked them. The second section of Chapter 2 lists out other parliamentary interventions related to the environment in the form of Zero Hour speeches, Rule 377 notices and Special Mentions.
The first half of Chapter 3 (‘In Focus’) covers observations from the report of the Rajya Sabha’s Committee on Government Assurances (CGA), which tracks the implementation of assurances made by ministers on the floor of the House. The second half provides an overview of the MoEFCC’s allocation within the Union Budget and a summary of the discussion on the budget of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Chapter 4 provides an analysis of crucial amendments made to environmental rules, following the passage of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023. Chapter 5 covers Private Members’ Bill that were introduced during this session.
Responses of MoEFCC in the Parliament during Question Hour
In the Monsoon Session 2024 of the Parliament, the Government responded to 5,945 questions by MPs- 3,498 in LS and 2,447 in RS. Of these, 95 in the LS and 92 in the RS were answered by the MoEFCC. In total, 220 MPs from across States and Union Territories (UTs) in both the Houses of Parliament asked questions on environmental matters. The States from where MPs were most proactive in asking questions to the MoEFCC were Kerala (23), Andhra Pradesh (19), West Bengal (16), Bihar (14), Uttar Pradesh (14), and Maharashtra (14).
The three most popular themes covered in questions were Conservation of Ecosystems, Institutional Functioning and Environment Management (in that order) contributing to 83.4% of the questions addressed to the MoEFCC. A detailed analysis of each of these themes is provided in Chapter 2.
| Themes | Monsoon Session (July’24- Aug’24) | Monsoon Session (July’23- Aug’23) |
| Conservation of Ecosystems | 58 (31.0%) | 52 (20.9%) |
| Institutional Functioning | 53 (28.3%) | 107 (43%) |
| Environment Management | 45 (24.1%) | 89 (35.8%) |
| Climate Change | 29 (15.5%) | 64 (25.7%) |
| Species and Habitats | 27 (14.4%) | 38 (15.3%) |
| Environmental Permissions | 24 (12.8%) | 27 (10.8%) |
| Developmental Activity | 14 (7.5%) | 7 (3.8%) |
| Protected Landscapes | 9 (4.8%) | 21 (8.4%) |
| Landscapes of Special Importance | 9 (4.8%) | 16 (6.4%) |
| Forest Regulation | 2 (1.1%) | 9 (3.6%) |
Budget Analysis
The MoEFCC’s allocation of Rs. 3,330.37 accounted for 0.07% of the total amount presented in the Union Budget, similar to its share in the previous Budget 2023-24. The amount allocated to it increased by Rs. 250 crores or around 8% compared to the previous year’s Budget Estimates. The amount allocated was marginally higher than in the Interim Budget presented earlier in the year. The budget speech itself saw two major announcements related to the environment – investments in climate-resilient agricultural practices and the formulation of a Climate Finance Taxonomy.
During the discussion of the budget allocation of the MNRE in the Rajya Sabha, MPs highlighted the need for a Green Energy Corridor Grid and priority sector lending for renewable energy projects.
Interventions by MPs to Raise Environmental Matters
There were 400 and 204 Zero Hour notices in the LS and RS respectively. There were 358 notices under Rule 377 of the LS Rules tabled by the MPs, whereas the corresponding instrument in the RS, i.e., Special Mention, saw only 204 notices. A few prominent notices related to environmental issues have been detailed in chapter 2.4.
Beyond the Parliament
The draft Rules amending the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, Public Liability Insurance Rules, 1991, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1975 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1982 were released for public consultations on 19th July 2024. This report of the Green Hour includes a detailed analysis on how these amendments allow for a bureaucratisation of power by transferring the adjudication process from courts to the executive office of Adjudicating Officers. Other issues analysed include how this transfer may overlap with the jurisdiction of the NGT and issues regarding the quantum of penalty imposed through these amendments.
For a detailed analysis, download the report from the link below.
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About the Authors
Shashank is a Research Fellow at Vidhi. He works with the Climate and Ecosystem team wherein he focuses on legal and policy issues related to current government measures around climate and environment. Prior to joining Vidhi, Shashank worked as a LAMP (Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament) Fellow with a Lok Sabha MP wherein he worked on environment, disability and tech related matters. He also drafted two Private Members' Bill for the MP which were introduced in Lok Sabha. Shashank was also a Javed Abidi Fellow at NCPEDP wherein he worked on issues related to inclusivity and accessibility. His work as a Javed Abidi fellow primarily focused on the exclusion of disabled people from the political landscape. He likes to write on multiple policy related issues and his articles have regularly featured across platforms. Shashank graduated from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University with BA LLB (IP hons) in 2021
Debadityo is a Senior Resident Fellow and Lead, the Climate & Ecosystems team at Vidhi. His research interest lies in the intersection of ecology, law, and policy. He graduated with B.Sc. (Hons) in Zoology from the University of Delhi in 2009 and completed M.Sc. (Tech.) Environmental Science & Technology from Banaras Hindu University in 2012. He has also undertaken training on Tropical Forest Restoration from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2016. He has over 12 years of professional experience in issues related to the environment and wildlife protection. In the past, he has worked with organizations like Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre, Legal Initiative for Forest & Environment, WWF-India, Wildlife Trust of India and several grassroots organizations. He is founder and trustee of Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation (since 2012). He is a recipient of the Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award' (2019) and is member of IUCN-Species Survival Commission’s Bear Specialist Group and EKOenergy network, Helsinki. Debadityo has also initiated litigations in the National Green Tribunal on issues related to environmental clearance, declaration of eco-sensitive zones and compensation for environmental damage.
