The National Green Tribunal (Principal Bench, New Delhi) addressed a public health plea seeking a nationwide ban on the use of asbestos roofing sheets in schools. The application, filed by a visiting faculty member at the School of Planning and Architecture, highlighted scientific evidence linking asbestos exposure in school buildings to long-term respiratory and carcinogenic diseases in children.
After extensive submissions from the Union Ministries of Environment, Housing & Urban Affairs, and Education, as well as the Fibre Cement Products Manufacturers Association, the Tribunal held that the matter squarely fell within its jurisdiction under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981. The Bench, comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Dr. Afroz Ahmad observed that asbestos fibres qualify as ‘air pollutants’ and ‘environmental pollutants’, and noted that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure, especially for children.
While acknowledging that the Supreme Court in Kalyaneshwari v. Union of India (2011) declined to impose a blanket ban on asbestos use, the Tribunal underscored the “precautionary principle” under Section 20 of the NGT Act and emphasised that non-occupational exposure particularly in schools demands stricter preventive measures.
The Tribunal also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) to coordinate with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministries of Education and Housing & Urban Affairs to (i) frame a national policy for phased replacement of asbestos roofing in schools, (ii) conduct a comprehensive scientific study on health hazards to children from aged asbestos structures, and (iii) develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for safe dismantling and disposal of asbestos sheets.
