Courts need to double pace to dispose of all environmental crime cases in a year: Report

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) While courts in India disposed of 130 environmental crime cases a day in 2021, they need to nearly double the speed to be able to clear the backlog in a year, a new report by the Centre for Science and Environment said.

Courts disposed of 47,316 cases (around 130 cases a day) in 2021, but 89,305 cases were still pending at the end of the year. To clear the backlog in a year, they need to dispose of 245 cases a day, according to the 'State of India's Environment Report' released on Thursday.

The report said there has been a 4 per cent increase in the number of environmental crimes in the country between 2020 and 2021 but courts are disposing of cases at a rate much lower than required, "leading to pile-ups and delays".