New Delhi, Nov 20 Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that India needs better governance to support its progressive forest and environment laws.

Addressing a function to release a report 'Green India 2047' prepared by Tata Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) in national capital, Ramesh said: "We have the best and the most progressive laws in the world. Our Forest Conservation Act is unprecedented in the world. Our Environmental Protection Act is a very comprehensive piece of legislation,"

"Our National Ambient Air Quality standard that was announced day before yesterday surpassed the air quality standards of many, many advanced countries including the United States. So, our law and standard are world class, but our governance leaves a lot to be desired," he added.

The minister also stressed on the need to control municipal solid waste.

"I think that our cities have the dubious distinction of being the dirtiest cities in the world. There is no doubt about it. But if there is a Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India will win it hands down. There is no competition for that and we have to do something dramatic on municipal solid waste," added Ramesh.

Speaking on the occasion, R K Pachauri, a leading environmentalist and head of Nobel Prize winner Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), appealed to the society at large to help protect the environment.

"It is important for every sector and every section of the society to understands that protecting the environment is not a luxury. It's an intimate part of promoting the economic welfare of people," Pachauri said.

"We have gone on much too long for 62 and half years since independence more or less in pursuing a path that clearly ebbs the developed countries but our condition, our resource constraints are such that we have to bring about a totally different orientation in what we do with development," he added. (ANI)