The National Green Tribunal directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to formulate a comprehensive policy within six months for phasing out asbestos roofs from educational institutions across the country on Friday.

A Bench comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi (Judicial Member) and Afroz Ahmad (Expert Member), while pronouncing its judgment on a plea seeking a nationwide ban on the use of asbestos roofing in schools, said that “the Tribunal cannot remain a silent spectator where the health of children is at stake.”

The Bench stated that exposure to asbestos fibres, even at low levels, poses significant risks to health and the environment, and emphasised that the precautionary principle, as outlined in Section 20 of the NGT Act, 2010, must guide governm

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