Indian Environment Service (IES)

• 24 Jan 2022

For Prelims: TSR Subramanian in 2014, Indian Environment Service (IES).

For Mains: TSR Subramanian in 2014, Indian Environment Service (IES), Environmental degradation.

Why in News

Recently, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to establish a dedicated Indian Environment Service (IES) at the all-India level.

• The creation of IES was recommended by a committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian in 2014.

Note

• The high-level committee was constituted in August 2014 under the chairmanship of Subramanian by the Ministry of Environment, Forests And Climate Change (MoEF & CC).
• The committee was established to review environmental laws in the country and to bring them in line with the then required needs.

Key Points

• About: It will act as an expert group in the public and quasi-governmental sectors over the next decades, regarding environmental matters.
• Need: The constant environmental degradation, ecological imbalance, climate change, water scarcity, etc. are a great concern for India.
  • The citizens are facing many environmental issues such as air pollution, water pollution, non-eradication of solid waste and garbage and pollution of the natural environment.
  • One of the major causes of environmental degradation is the flaw of the existing system that lies in the enforcement capabilities of environmental institutions at various levels.
• Observations of TSR Subramanian Committee: Looking at the current administrative set-up, it can be inferred that the government servants might not be able to spare special time for environmental causes.
  • Lack of Specailised Cadre: There is a lack of trained personnel involved in the administration, policy formulation, and supervising the implementation of policies of the state and central governments.
  • India had a strong environmental policy and legislative framework but weak implementation has resulted in environmental governance being criticised by conservation experts and the judiciary.
  • It pointed out that there was no effective coordination amongst various Ministries/institutions regarding the integration of environmental concerns.
• Associated Challenges: IES will overlap with the already existing one All India Service (Indian Forest Service).
  • Apart from this, IES will also pose the challenge to federal structure.

Way Forward

• The creation of new All India Services emanates from the fact that AIS officers have a generalist approach whereas contemporary challenges require a more specialized approach.
• In order to maintain a balance between the two, an Indian Environmental Service Academy can be set up, in order to train officers for enforcing environmental laws.

Source: TH