VISIONIAS
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National Green Tribunal
Table of Content
1. Origin ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Establishment ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Structure ................................................................................................................................................................. 2
4. Powers .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
5. Some judgments and suggestions to the government from NGT .......................................................................... 3
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1. Origin
During the Rio de Janeiro summit of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June
1992, India vowed the participating states to provide judicial and administrative remedies for the victims of
the pollutants and other environmental damage.
The then government of India thought that, after India's move with Carbon credits, such tribunal may play a
vital role in ensuring the control of emissions and maintaining desired emission levels.
2. Establishment
According to the National Green Tribunal Act, The National Green Tribunal has been set up as a specialized
body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary
issues,
For effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of
forests and other natural resources.
For enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages
to persons and property.
Any connected or incidental matters.
The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by
principles of natural justice. This is the first body of its kind that is required by its parent statute to apply the
"polluter pays" principle and the principle of sustainable development. India is only the third country following
Australia and New Zealand to have such a system.
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Further, according to the act, The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide
speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts. The Tribunal is
mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the
same.
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3. Structure
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Each Bench has a specified geographical jurisdiction covering several States in a region. Also, under circuit
procedure, for example, the Southern Zone bench, which is based in Chennai, can decide to have sittings in
other places like Bangalore or Hyderabad.
The Chairperson of the NGT is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court. Other Judicial members are retired
Judges of High Courts.
Each bench of the NGT will comprise of at least one Judicial Member and one Expert Member. Expert
members should have a professional qualification and a minimum of 15 years experience in the field of
environment/forest conservation and related subjects.
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Initially, the NGT is proposed to be set up at five places of sittings and will follow circuit procedure for making
itself more accessible. New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and
Chennai shall be the other 4 place of sitting of the Tribunal.
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4. Powers
The NGT has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environmental issues and questions that are linked
to the implementation of laws listed in Schedule I of the NGT Act. These include the following:
o The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
o The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;
o The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
o The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;
o The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;
o The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
o The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
This means that any violations pertaining only to these laws, or any order / decision taken by the
Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT.
Importantly, the NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws enacted by States relating to forests,
tree preservation etc. Therefore, specific and substantial issues related to these laws cannot be raised before
the NGT.
Aggrieved person will have to approach the State High Court or the Supreme Court through a Writ Petition
(PIL) or file an Original Suit before an appropriate Civil Judge of the taluk where the project that the person
intends to challenge, is located.
One of the most significant powers of the NGT is the capacity to do merit review as opposed to only
judicial review. Under the writ jurisdiction of the High Court or Supreme Court, the courts are essentially
concerned with the decision making process and not the merits of the decision.
As a merit court, the NGT becomes the primary decision maker and therefore can undertake an in-depth
scrutiny into not just the law but also the technical basis of a particular decision.
The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental justice
and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
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5. Some judgments and suggestions to the government from NGT
April 2015: After taking into consideration Delhis increasing air pollution, NGT banned all diesel vehicles
(heavy or light) over ten years old from plying on Delhi roads. Also commercial vehicles entering Delhi will
now have to pay more, with the NGT imposing an environmental compensation charge over and above the
municipal toll tax.
May 2014: The Tribunal imposed a ban on coal mining in Meghalaya. Illegal mining has mushroomed across
the state and most mines here are of the 'rat hole' variety - small pits are dug in the ground and people
crawl into these with no safety equipment.
September 2013: Without obtaining any prior clearance from the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) or
State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, around 55 builders were carrying out construction work
around the Okhla bird sanctuary. After assessing a PIL, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued directions
to authorities in Noida and Gautam Budh Nagar, Delhi to ensure that no construction work was carried out in
49 projects around the Okhla bird sanctuary, on the ground that the sanctuary was an eco-sensitive zone.
June 2015: After hearing a petition, the Pune bench of NGT asked the state government to consider framing
a policy to restrict sound emitted by firecrackers to 10-15 decibels. The tribunal also suggested that the state
impose an environmental tax on organizers bursting crackers in public places.
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