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Recently, the Supreme Court made public the report of the Committee on Prison Reforms.

More on News:

• In September 2018, the Supreme Court established a three-member committee led by former Supreme Court Justice Amitava Roy to investigate prison conditions in India.
• Prisons in the country and ‘persons detained therein’ are a State subject.

Status in India:

• Prison: The 1,319 prisons in the country consist of 564 Sub Jails, 424 District Jails, 148 Central Jails, 88 Open Jails, 41 Special Jails, 32 Women Jails, 19 Borstal Schools and 3 Other than the above Jails. 
• Prisoners: As per the NCRB, a total of (5,54,034) prisoners were confined as on 31st December, 2021 in various jails across the country. 
• • The number of Convicts, Undertrial inmates and Detenues were reported as 1,22,852, 4,27,165 and 3,470 respectively accounting for 22.2%, 77.1% and 0.6% respectively at the end of 2021.

Key Findings of the Report:

Model Prisons Act 2023:

• About: The Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced the ‘Model Prisons Act 2023’ to replace a British-era law, the Prisons Act of 1894.
• Aim: To overhaul prison administration with a focus on the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates. 
• Key features of the Model Prisons Act 2023:
  • Punishment for Prohibited Items: The act includes provisions for punishing prisoners and jail staff for the use of prohibited items such as mobile phones within jails.
  • Establishment of High-Security Jails: It outlines the establishment and management of high-security jails, as well as open and semi-open jails.

• • Parole, Furlough, and Premature Release: The act includes provisions for granting parole, furlough, and premature release to incentivize good conduct among prisoners.
  • Modernization: It encourages the use of technology in prison management to enhance transparency and efficiency in prison administration. It also allows for video conferencing with courts and technological interventions.
  • Special Provisions: The act includes special provisions for women prisoners and transgender inmates, taking into account their unique needs.

Committee’s Recommendations: 

• Strengthening Undertrial Review Committee (UTRC) Mechanism: It assesses the release of undertrial prisoners and convicts eligible for release.
• Focus on Speedy Trials: Establishment of special fast-track courts to deal with petty offenses and long-pending cases.
• Monitoring by High Courts: High courts are urged to direct District & Sessions Judges to monitor the progress of cases involving prisoners in custody for extended periods, both in session triable and magistrate triable cases.
• Addressing Staff Shortages: Need to address staff shortages in the prison department across the country by filling existing vacancies.
  • The Prison Department has a perennial average of 30%-40% vacancies.
• Alternative Sentencing: There are legal provisions for alternative sentences, such as fines, probation, and admonition, which are underutilized by the courts. 
• Encouraging their use could help alleviate overcrowding and aid prisoner reintegration into society.
• Suicide-Proof Barracks with collapsible materials to prevent suicide in Prison.
  • Suicide comprised 6·24% of all deaths reported in Indian prisons between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2019.
• Transgender Welfare:
  • Specific rules should be outlined regarding documentation, search procedures, placement, medical facilities, and recreational, welfare, and educational activities for transgender inmates.
  • Separate bathing and toilet areas should be provided exclusively for transgender prisoners.
  • A comprehensive health check-up should be conducted for every transgender prisoner upon admission to the jail.
  • Encouraging Vocational Training and Skill Development

News Source: The Indian Express

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Recently, the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) released a zero draft to end plastic pollution.

More on News:

• The text of the draft reflects the objective and mandate of UNEA resolution 5/14.The resolution requested INC to develop the instrument that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.
• Objectives Stated under Zero Draft:
  • End plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
  • Protect human health and the environment.
  • A comprehensive approach to address the full life cycle of plastic.
  • Managing the utilization of plastics and plastic waste, while contributing to the achievement of sustainable development.
  • Elimination of particularly harmful types of plastic and chemicals, problematic, avoidable, and short-lived plastics.
  • Reduction in the production of primary plastic.

Significance:

• Global Coordination: It would facilitate global cooperation, ensuring that countries work together to address the problem of rising volume of plastic consumption collectively.
  • According to the Peak Plastics: Bending the Consumption Curve report, the volume of plastic consumed across the G20 countries will grow to 451 million tonnes by 2050.
• Uniform Standards: It establishes uniform standards and guidelines for the management, reduction, and elimination of plastic pollution.
  • For example, it provides elements for national plans which will ensure uniformity in standards for different countries.
• Resource Allocation: Facilitates financial and technological assistance to less-developed countries, helping them address the issue.

Challenges:

• Chemicals and Polymers of Concern: More than 13,000 chemicals are used in plastics, of which, around 3,200 are classified as hazardous viz. bisphenols, specific flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons etc. 
  • Only 4% of these chemicals are regulated globally.Problematic and Avoidable Plastic Products: Use of plastic products including short-lived and single-use plastic (SUP) products and intentionally added microplastics pose grave environmental concerns.
  • SUPs like plastic straws, plastic water bottles, plastic coffee pod etc. have a life cycle of more than 200 years.
• Microplastic Contamination: Tiny plastic particles are a growing concern in the environment, potentially affecting both human health and ecosystems.
  • For example: In India, microplastics have been found in rivers, soils, and even in some food items, raising concerns about their impact on the food chain.
• Informal Recycling Sector: They play a crucial role in collecting and recycling plastic waste, however, they often operate under unregulated conditions and face health hazards.
  • For example: Informal waste pickers are exposed to health risks due to poor working conditions and limited access to safety equipment.

 Initiatives to Address Plastic Pollution:

• Regulations by the MoEFCC: Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 stipulating mandatory targets on EPR, recycling of plastic packaging waste, reuse of rigid plastic packaging and use of recycled plastic content. 
• Regulations by the MoHUA: Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, efforts towards source segregation, collection, transportation, and processing of plastic waste. 
  • Other Measures: ‘Swachh Survekshan’ and ‘Star Rating Protocol’.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Clean Seas Campaign and Global Partnership on Marine Litter: This campaign encourages governments, businesses, and individuals to take action to reduce plastic waste in the oceans. 

Way Forward:

• Circular Plastics Economy: This approach offers several economic, social, and climate benefits.

• • Circular plastic economy will reduce the annual volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80% by 2040 and greenhouse gas emissions by 25%.
• Private Sector Engagements: Using various innovative and scalable approaches through grants, technical assistance, and knowledge exchange platforms to manage plastic pollution. 
  • Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) is a knowledge exchange network that brings together plastic pacts and National Plastic Action Partnerships (NPAP).
  • Extended producer responsibility: It will incentivise increased recyclability, promote higher recycling rates, and enhance the accountability of producers and importers for safe and environmentally sound management of plastic products throughout their life cycle and across international supply chains.
• Just transition: Each Party shall promote and facilitate a fair, equitable and inclusive transition for affected populations, with special consideration for women and vulnerable groups.

Conclusion:

The Government of India must bring about a comprehensive and circular economy approach to reduce plastic waste, increase plastics value recovery, and tackle plastic pollution with a goal to achieve SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

(For more about plastic pollution, refer to the hyperlink)

News Source: Down To Earth

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The Tribunal for the Rights of Nature called Mexico’s Maya train project responsible for causing “crimes of ecocide and ethnocide”. 

About Ecocide:

• The term  ‘Ecocide’ is derived from Greek and Latin, translates to ‘killing one’s home’ or ‘environment’. 
• Ecocide is the “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.” 

Global Standing on Ecocide Laws:

• Ecocide is a crime in 11 countries, with 27 other nations deliberating laws around criminalizing environmental damage.
  • The European Parliament voted unanimously this year to enshrine ecocide in law. 
  • Mexico recently proposed a Bill to criminalize any “unlawful or wanton act committed with the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment”. 

Importance of Ecocide Laws:

• Act as legal instruments to plug a lacuna in environmental protection.
• Ecocide laws could double as clarion calls for justice for low- and middle-income countries disproportionately shouldering the impact of extreme weather. 
  • For Example: Small nation-states like Vanuatu and Barbuda are lobbying for the ICC to declare crimes against the environment as violations of international law.
• Ecocide laws are a crucial aspect of the larger effort to shift public awareness, acknowledging our interdependence with the environment and the need to employ political, diplomatic, and legal tools for environmental protection.

What has been India’s stance?

• In Chandra CFS and Terminal Operators Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of Customs and Ors: The Madras High Court noted, “the prohibitory activities of ecocide have been continuing unbridledly by certain sections of people by removing the valuable and precious timbers.”
• T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union Of India & Ors case: Supreme Court called attention to an “anthropogenic bias” and argued that “environmental justice could be achieved only if we drift away from the principle of anthropocentric to ecocentric.”

News Source: The Hindu

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Banks have enabled the interoperability of Unified Payments Interface’s (UPI) Quick Response (QR) code with their central bank digital currency (CBDC).

About Interoperability:

• UPI QR code-CBDC interoperability: All UPI QR codes are compatible with CBDC apps. 
• Interoperability is the technical compatibility that enables a payment system to be used in conjunction with other payment systems.It allows system providers and participants in different systems to undertake, clear and settle payment transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems. 
• Interoperability between payment systems contributes to achieving adoption, co-existence, innovation, and efficiency for end users.
• Interoperability of the two payments can be made using a single QR code. 

Benefit of UPI QR code-CBDC Interoperability:

• Seamless Transaction: It will ensure seamless transactions between a customer and merchant without having the need to switch between multiple digital platforms..
• Ease of Payment: It will allow a digital rupee user to make payments for their daily needs, such as groceries and medicines, by scanning any UPI QR codes at any merchant outlet.
• Faster Adoption of Digital Rupee: Currently, UPI is a widely used payment method, and the interoperability between it and the CBDC will propel the adoption of the digital rupee.

News Source: The Indian Express

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Six billion tonnes of annual sand extraction from the world’s ocean floors is causing irreversible harm to marine benthic life, as revealed by a new global data platform on marine sediment extraction.

About Marine Sand

• Marine sand (or ocean sand) is a granular particle composed of silica, rock fragments and mineral particles.

Key Findings of Marine Sand Watch Platform:

• Developed by: GRID-Geneva, a Centre for Analytics within the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).Estimation of Sand Dredging: Between four and eight billion tonnes of sand are being dredeged from the ocean floor every year. 
• Sand Turbidity: The extraction of sand increases the turbidity of water. 
  • It changes nutrient availability and causes noise pollution, thus affecting marine organisms greatly.

• Impact on Living Organism: Not just benthic organisms, people living in coastal communities will also be severely affected by this magnitude of sand dredging.  Salinisation of Aquifers: Coastal or near-shore extraction can affect the salinisation of aquifers and future tourist development.
• Ban on Marine Sand Export: Some countries — including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia — have banned marine sand export in the last 20 years.

News Source: Down to Earth

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Recently, the Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, “to protect the rights and interest of the people of Mizoram”. 

Why did the Mizoram Assembly unanimously pass a resolution?

•  The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, allows the diversion of forest land for roads, railway lines or “strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security” within 100 km of India’s international borders or lines of control, without a forest clearance as envisaged under the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980.
• Most of India’s Northeast falls in this 100 km range.

Premises upon which Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution:

• Special Constitutional protection – Article 371G for Mizoram: It prohibits the application of any law enacted by Parliament that impinges on Mizo customary law and procedure, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources. 
• Such laws can be extended to these States only if their Legislative Assemblies decide thus in a resolution.

For More Details: Refer July 27, 2023 Daily Gist: Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023

News Source: The Hindu

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