University of Lucknow

Faculty of Law

Session – 2022-2023
Subject : Environmental law
Assignment topic: National Green Tribunal
Paper : I
Submitted by : Malharika Idiguha
Semester : 6
Section : A
Roll no. : 31
University roll no. : 190013015077
Submitted to : Ashish Shahi
Faculty of Law
Lucknow University
New campus
NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

Introduction

The Constitution of India through its directive principles of state policy (DPSP) mentions that “it
is the duty of the state to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and
wildlife of the country and bestow upon the citizens the duty to protect the environment”.
In reality the implementation of DPSPs immediately after independence was a difficult task for
the government as there were many other problems that were given priority over the
environment. To overcome the basic problems of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and to
provide basic health care facilities, environment issues were not given that much importance. In
order to increase the production in the economy more and more industries were set up. This has
led to the degradation of environment at a large scale in India and the priority in the last decade
had gradually shifted to protection of the environment.

In 2010, the government enacted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act which enabled the
creation of a special green tribunal that would handle the cases concerning environmental issues.
The inspiration for this came from Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the
citizens of India a right to a clean and healthy environment.
After the enactment of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, India became the third country in
the world after New Zealand and Australia which has special fast-track courts and quasi-judicial
bodies that deal with environment-related cases.

Since its establishment, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has emerged as a powerful unit for
the enforcement or implementation of Environmental legislation made in India. Further, the
National Green Tribunal adds one more variation by providing a strict penalty for disregarding
the orders given by the tribunal. Thus, the implementation of these judgements of the tribunal
results in dealing with such cases in an effective manner as compared to other civil courts which
used to deal with environmental issues as well.
Origin of the idea of establishing environmental courts in India
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de
Janeiro, India pledged to provide administrative and judicial remedies for the victims who have
suffered problems due to different pollutants and other environmental damage.

The Supreme Court of India suggested that there should be environmental courts on regional
basis with professional judges and 2 experts keeping in mind the kind of expertise needed to deal
with such issues.[1] This was emphasized by the Supreme Court as there was a need for speedy
justice for environmental protection and to reduce the burden on the High courts which were not
able to do quick disposal of cases involving environmental issues as they were overburdened by
cases.
As a result of this dire need for speedy justice The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was founded
on 18th October, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. It is a statutory tribunal
which was enacted by the parliament specially for hearing the matters concerning to
environmental issues. It was a result of long procedure and the demand for such tribunal started
long back in the year 1984 after the Bhopal gas tragedy. Then the Supreme Court specifically
mentioned the need for such tribunals in the case where the gas leaked from Shriram food and
fertilizers limited in Delhi. The legislate Act of Parliament defines the National Green Tribunal
Act, 2010 as “An Act to provide for the establishment of a National Green Tribunal for the
effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation
of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to
environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

Composition of National Green Tribunal

The tribunal shall consist of minimum of 10 members and not more than 20 members. This will
be in accordance with the notification given by the central government. The members will be a
mix of judges and expert members on environmental issues. In case of any deadlock i.e. the tie
between number of judges against and in favor of a decision the authority will remain in the
hands of chairperson to decide the case and break the deadlock. Every bench of tribunal must
consist of at least one expert member and one judicial member

The qualification required by the person to become a chairperson is that he should have been a
Supreme Court judge or chief justice of a High Court and to become eligible for becoming a
judicial member of the tribunal the person should have been a judge of the High court. To be
qualified as an expert member of the tribunal a person shall possess a degree of master of
sciences whether physical sciences or life sciences with a doctorate degree or masters of
technology or masters of engineering having fifteen years of experience in that field with a five
year experience in fields of environment and forests.
The composition of the National Green Tribunal is given in Section 4 of Chapter II of the
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.

The tribunal shall consist of the following people:

1. A full-time Chairperson;
2. At least 10 members and not more than 20 members consisting of full-time Judicial
officials as notified by the Central Government from time to time;
3. At least 10 members and not more than 20 members consisting of Experts as notified by
the Central Government from time to time.
4. The Chairperson may, anytime, invite anyone who has specialized knowledge and
experience regarding environmental issues filed before the Tribunal for the purpose of
assistance.
5. By notification, the Central Government can anytime specify the sitting place of the
Tribunal and the territorial jurisdiction falling under all the places.
6. In consultation with the Chairperson of the Tribunal, the Central Government can make
rules regarding the procedures and practices followed by the Tribunal which includes the
following:
7. The rules regarding the persons who shall be entitled to appear before the Tribunal;
8. The rules regarding the procedure by which the Tribunal hears applications and appeals
and any other matter related to such applications or appeals.
9. The rules regarding the number of members who can hear the appeals and applications –
with respect to their class or classes. The number of experts hearing an appeal or
application should be equal to the number of Judicial members hearing the same appeal
or application.
10. The rules related to the shifting of a case from one place to another by the Chairperson.

National Green Tribunal Chairman

Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta became its first Chairman. Justice Swatanter Kumar retired on 20
December 2017. After him, the acting Chairman of the National Green Tribunal was Justice
Jawad Rahim, retired Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is the incumbent chairman of the National
Green Tribunal.

Appointment of Chairperson
According to Section 5 of the National Green Tribunal Act, the Chairperson, Judicial Members
and Expert Members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Central Government.
The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government after consulting with the Chief Justice
of India.
Qualification
For the post of Chairperson, a person should be one who is or has been a Supreme Court’s Judge
or a High Court’s Chief Justice.

Resignation
In order to resign from the office of the Chairperson, he can give a notice in writing addressing
the Central Government.

Removal and Suspension

The Chairperson can be removed from his office on the following grounds, if:

 He is an insolvent; or
 He has been convicted for anything which involves moral turpitude.
 He has become mentally or physically incapable.
 He has acquired a financial interest or any other interest which is likely to affect his
functions prejudicially.
 He has abused his position as to render his continuance to the public interest
prejudicially.

Term of office
The Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal is appointed for a period of five years.

The Chairperson, if he is or has been a Supreme Court Judge shall not hold office after 70 years
of age. In case, if he is or has been a High Court judge then he shall not hold office after 67 years
of age.

Objectives of the National Green Tribunal

There are three important objectives of the National Green Tribunal, they are:

1. The speedy and effective disposal of all the cases related to environmental protection and
other natural resources. All the previous pending cases will also be decided by the
Tribunal.
2. Its main aim is to legally enforce all the rights relating to the environment.
3. It accounts for providing compensation and justice to all the affected people in case of
any damage.

Structure of National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been established on 18th October 2010, under the
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, so that the cases associated with environmental protection
and other natural resources like forests, etc. can be settled effectively and expeditiously by giving
compensation and relief to all those who suffered damages for the matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. It has replaced the National Environment Appellate Authority.

Going by the enactment of the national green tribunal act, New Delhi has been chosen as the
principal bench of the NGT, with regional benches in Pune (Western Zone Bench), Bhopal
(Central Zone Bench), Chennai (Southern Bench) and Kolkata (Eastern Bench). Each Bench has
a specified geographical jurisdiction covering several States in a region. There is also a
mechanism for circuit benches. For example, the Central Zone bench, which is based in Bhopal,
can decide to have sittings in other places like Gwalior or Jaipur. Specifying jurisdiction of each
bench.

Jurisdiction and Powers of the National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environment that are
linked to the implementation of all the laws listed in Schedule I of the Act. These are mentioned
below:
 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;
 The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;
 The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;
  The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
 The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

This means that in case of any infringement of these laws or any order given by the Government
under these laws which is not proper can be challenged in the National Green Tribunal and will
be decided there.

Most importantly, the National Green Tribunal has not been given the powers to hear any cases
relating to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws
enacted by States relating to forests, tree preservation and various other laws.
The National Green Tribunal has jurisdiction to decide all the cases which involve substantial
questions regarding the environment and its protection and any legal rights in connection with it.
The tribunal, being a statutory authority, not only exercises original jurisdiction on filing an
application but also has appellate jurisdiction through which it hears appeals as a Court.
The tribunal is not bound by the procedure mentioned under the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and
it applies the principles of natural justice while deciding any matter.
All the principles such as sustainable development, polluter pays and precautionary principles,
are considered by the tribunal before deciding any case.
The National Green Tribunal, by an order can provide the following:
Compensation and relief to all the people who are the victims of pollution and environmental
damage and it also includes accidents which happen while handling hazardous substances.
Restitution of a damaged property
Restitution of the environment for areas which the tribunal may think fit.
An appeal against any order given by the tribunal can be made before the Supreme Court of
India within ninety days from the date of communication of the order regarding the case.

Functions of the National Green Tribunal Act

 It is a body that has expertise in handling the disputes related to the environment which
includes multi-disciplinary issues as well.
 The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, shall not bind the Tribunal as it is to be guided by
natural justice principles.
  The jurisdiction of the Tribunal shall provide speedy trials of the environment-related
matters and help in reducing the burden of cases pending in the higher courts.
 The tribunal is mandated to dispose off environment-related issues within 6 months of
filing the complaint.
 The National Green Tribunal need not follow all that is given under the Civil Procedure
Code but can regulate the procedure by itself and applies the principle of natural justice
in administering justice.
 It is required to apply principles such as sustainable development at the time of awarding
compensation or giving orders.
 It should have in mind the principle that whoever is found polluting will have to pay i.e.
the principle of ‘Polluter Pays’.
 The National Green Tribunal is not bound by the rules mentioned in the Indian Evidence
Act.
 All the proceedings before the National Green Tribunal shall be accorded to the
proceedings within the sections of the IPC.
 The tribunal is allowed to be a civil court to settle the matters.

Challenges

 The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 are out of the jurisdiction that is
exercised by the tribunal. In this way, it hampers the functioning of the NGT and forest
and wildlife are directly connected to the environment.
 One of the weaknesses of the Act is that any decision given by the tribunal can be
challenged in various High courts under Article 226 through which it issues writs. It
asserts the superiority of High Courts over the NGT and a case can be heard by the
Supreme Court as well as a challenge to the decision given by the NGT.
 Some of the decisions of the NGT have also been criticized due to their reverberations on
economic development and growth.
 There is no formula based calculation of the compensation claimed by anyone which also
creates problems.
 The decisions pronounced by the NGT, sometimes, do not fully comply by the
government and the stakeholders.
 The lack of financial resources has led to the pendency of cases within the tribunal due to
which it is not able to dispose off cases within six months.
 Limited benches are there which serves as a hindrance in the justice delivery mechanism
of the tribunal.
In Almitra H. Patel & Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors., Mrs. Amrita Patel had filed a PIL
under Article 32 of the Constitution in which the petitioner sought the urgent improvement in the
practices followed for the treatment of solid waste or garbage in India. The tribunal considered it
one of the major problems faced by India over the last few years as lakh tonnes of garbage go
without proper treatment and just dumped outside the city in the outskirts.

The tribunal noted the requirement to solve this problem and make it a source of power for the
benefit of society. After hearing the case the tribunal issued over 25 directions. The tribunal
asked all the states and UTs to strictly follow and implement the Solid Management Rules, 2016.
A complete prohibition on open burning of waste on lands was made after the case.

In Samit Mehta vs. Union of India and Ors., an environmentalist filed an application regarding
the damage caused by the sinking of a ship which was carrying coal, fuel oil and diesel. Due to
the sinking, a thick oil layer was formed on the surface of the sea which caused damage to the
marine ecosystem. The tribunal was of the view that negligence could be attributed to some of
the respondents and they had not adhered to the pre-voyage principles. In this case ‘Polluter
Pays’ principle was invoked.

Conclusion
The fast expansion of Industries and the beginning of developmental activities in the country a
large number of environmental issues have begun to come up. There are a number of instances in
which these human activities have caused damage to the environment which in some cases
cannot be recovered.

India is one of the nations in the world who give a high amount of importance to environmental
conservation and its protection. There are already a number of legislations which have been
passed by the Parliament to deal with the environment and forest conservation and their
protection. The Green Tribunal adds another feather to this by specifically dealing with
environmental issues.

There have been other such bodies like the NEAA and NETA which have failed to serve the
purpose for which they were established but it will be unfair to compare them to the Green
Tribunal. Failures committed in the past must not stop us from moving forward to new future
beginnings.

For a country that has faced one of the world’s most horrifying industrial disasters i.e. the Bhopal
Gas Tragedy, the setting up of a body like the National Green Tribunal obviously seems to be a
brilliant idea. The critics of the Tribunal fear that it is going to deliver more of the same.
Although, the Act is still facing a lot of criticism, yet its basic framework appears reassuring and
it is hard to say that it is not the step in the right direction. It would evoke the much-needed
reform within the method the courts contend with environmental problems and additionally the
method individuals understand environmental harm.

With the introduction of a system that supports and encourages environmental justice, the
inexperienced assembly shall create the Indian nation a task model for its neighbouring nations
of South-East Asia.