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The stage is set for the country to have an independent regulator for the environment, removing—in theory at least—the uncertainty, ad-hocism and political interference from matters related to the environment. The Supreme Court directed the government to establish an environment regulator at the national and state levels by 31 March 2014 to oversee implementation of forest and environment policies in the country. Once the regulator is in place, the environment ministry will no longer appraise industrial projects—it will be conducted by the regulator. It will also take over the responsibility of monitoring environmental compliance and also impose penalties on polluters under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.