Dr AE Muthunayakam, former secretary in the central government's Department of Ocean Development, has been named the chairman of the authority by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Dr KP Joy, former Syndicate member of the Mahatma Gandhi University, is a member of the authority, which has the Director of the Climate Change Department as the member-secretary. A value-assessment committee will also be formed in the state level, with Dr NGK Pilla (former scientist at the CMFRI, Kochi) as chairman and Dr K Sajan (professor of Marine Geology at the Cochin University of Science and Technology) as secretary.
The Authority would ensure that environmental clearance for all major projects would be done within the state itself. It would assess the possible positive or negative impact of a proposed project on the environment, consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects. Read the full report here.
Source: TwoCircles.net, Thiruvananthapuram.
