COLOMBO: At the weekly progress review meeting held on Monday,Aug.1 at the Ministry of Environment the Minister of Environment, Eng. Naseer Ahmed, directed the Central Environment Authority to take necessary steps to further strengthen its various environmental services offered particularly to industries and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The meeting was also attended by Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment along with other senior officials of the Ministry as well as Director General, CEA Hemantha Jayasinghe and officials of the Central Environment Authority.
The minister instructed the CEA to speed up granting of approvals for proposed development projects on sustainable development in line with the government policy, and to constantly follow up the ongoing projects are being implemented according to the environmental recommendations and standards.
The local authorities will also be advised to constantly provide technical assistance and guidance to grant relevant environmental protection licenses to “D” type small-scale industries. It was further instructed to speed up the amendment process of the National Environment Act through which, it is believed that solutions to many current environmental problems could be found. The importance of efficient use of online methodologies in providing environmental services were also emphasized.
