THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL ACT

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL ACT, 2010

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THE
NATIONAL
GREEN
TRIBUNAL

​https://youtu.be/nN7Zvk_2Ecc?si=UxPIIgBfDikY_aLl

WEEK 4-6 WRIT REMEDY AND THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

III. THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL ACT, 2010

"India is ranked 177th out of 180 countries on the 2018 Environment Performance Index; 275 rivers in the country are polluted; 6.3 crore people in rural India do not have access to potable water; 228 out of 280 cities in India do not comply with air quality standards for particulate emissions and 180 million people in these cities are exposed to levels that are twice the prescribed standards; and 6,407 sq km of dense forests were lost in just the last two years. Environmental health across indicators in India is rapidly declining and the Indian state’s failure to regulate sources of, and causes for, environmental degradation has never been more apparent."

As per the CCPI, the country earned a 'high' rating in the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Energy Use categories, with a 'medium' for Climate Policy and Renewable Energy.

"The country is on track to meet its 2030 emissions targets (compatible with a well-below-2°C scenario). However, the renewable energy pathway is not on track for the 2030 target," it noted.

National Green Tribunal and Environmental Justice in India

• The government of India formed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) during the year 2010.

• NGT is a ‘quasi-judicial’ body that exclusively deals with environment-related civil litigations.

• Before NGT evolved, there were two previous efforts to establish green courts in India.

• Different countries have globally established separate ‘Green Courts’ or ‘Green Tribunal’ or ‘Environmental Court’ to deal with the environment-related litigations.

The National Green Tribunal

• The Tribunal comprises of equal number of judges and environmental experts to ensure efficient disposal of cases.

• The NGT has a provision of compensation to be paid by the polluter for damages caused to the affected parties.

• The NGT has jurisdiction over environment-related subjects.

• The NGT is not bound by the Civil Procedure Code of 1908.

• It works on the ‘principles of natural justice’.

• The Principal Bench of the tribunal is located in New Delhi, the capital of India.

• With 4 path-breaking judgments, the Supreme Court of India realized that for environment-related lawsuits a separate environment court was required.

The original jurisdiction of the NGT is found in sections 14 and 15 of the Act.

The Tribunal has jurisdiction over "all civil cases where a substantial question relating to the environment (including enforcement of any legal right relating to the environment), is involved and such question arises out of the implementation of the enactments specified in Schedule I".

Schedule I of the NGT Act (seven statutes).*​

Jurisdiction

Results and Discussions

• The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), states that the NGT does not have the powers to act suo moto in environmental-related cases.

• The Ministry states that the tribunal lacks a legal mandate and also sometimes government (here MoEF) disagrees with the tribunal.

• There is also controversy regarding the manpower hiring of the NGT. The number of judicial and expert members is not fulfilled.

• Chapter III Section 14 (3) of the Green Tribunal deals with the jurisdiction, powers, and proceedings of the Tribunal. However, if there are valid reasons, the Tribunal may allow another maximum 60-day extension. This time-limitation clause is very limiting and not sufficient in many times relating to health and pollution.

Crisis Phase

• On 18 December 2017, Justice Swatanter Kumar retired, and the tenure of the majority of the non-judicial members also came to an end in December 2017.

• The NGT functioned without a full-time chairperson for close to seven months.

• Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, judge of the Supreme Court, assumed charge on 6 July 2018.

• It did not take long to witness how an institution that is to be feared and respected suddenly became inactive and defensive in its approach toward environmental problems. The functioning of the NGT and its exercise of power in post-December 2017 has raised concerns concerning the admission of appeals, access to benches, selective suo motu intervention, and dominance of bureaucrats as expert members.

• Disturbingly, since its inception, there has been no woman member in the tribunal.

• Similarly, environmental experts from diverse disciplinary backgrounds are missing in the NGT.

• All present expert members belong to the civil services

1. TECHI TAGI TARA v RAJENDERA SINGH B. 

2. STATE MEGHALAYA v ALL DIMASA STUDENTS U. 

3. SRIDEVI DATLA v UNION OF INDIA 

4. NGT- COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION v STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH 

5. NGT- SAMIR MEHTA v UNION OF INDIA 

6. NGT- RAMDAS JANARDAN KOLI v SECRETARY, MoEF 

7. NGT - MANOJ MISRA v DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 

8. NGT- CENTRE FOR WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT LITIGATION v UOI 

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL