NATIONAL

GREEN
TRIBUNAL
By Aadhithya Krishnan P
 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”.
• After we got our independence in 1947, the implementation of DPSPs immediately was a difficult
task for the government as there were many other problems that were given priority over the
environment like poverty, basic healthcare etc. hence environmental law wasn’t given 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.
• The need to set up special environmental courts was highlighted by the Supreme Court of India in a
series of judgments, the first one being in 1986 in the Oleum Gas Leak case, and by the Law
Commission of India in its 186th report in 2003. The Court was of the opinion that
environmental cases raised issues, which required technical knowledge and expertise, speedy
disposal, and continuous monitoring, and therefore these cases should decided by special courts
with necessary expertise and technical assistance.
• In order to satisfy the need of specialized courts to deal with environmental issues
the Parliament passed the National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995, then in
1997, The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997 was enacted under
which the National Environment Appellate Authority was set up.
• The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and The National Environment
Appellate Authority Act, 1997 functioned till October, 2010 as there were several
problems in the functioning of these authorities and were never implemented
effectively.
• Then the Government of India introduced The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009
in Lok Sabha on 31st July 2009 , which provides for the establishment of a Green
Tribunal. The bill was passed, in May 2010, and became The National Green
Tribunal Act, 2010.
• This special court would deal with cases related to environmental protection and
conservation of natural resources and forests. NGT Act provides that the tribunal
(NGT), which would function under the Supreme Court, shall have jurisdiction
over all civil cases relating to environment and have powers to order relief and
compensation to victims of pollution and other environmental damage, including
accidents occurring while handling hazardous substances etc.
 What are the main objectives of NGT?
The main objectives of the NGT are:
i. Enable faster resolution of cases pertaining to protection of
environment and conservation of forests.
ii. Disposal of the cases relating to environment protection and
conservation of forests and other natural resources. All the previous
pending cases will also be heard by the Tribunal
iii. Enforcement of all legal rights relating to the environment and
environment protection
iv. Provide compensation and relief to effected people for damage of
property.
 Composition and Structure of the NGT:
The members of the Tribunal are a mix of persons with a legal/judicial background and those with
knowledge and expertise in environmental issues or with administrative experience.
The members of the Green Tribunal include:
i. The Chairperson
ii. Full time Judicial Members (not less than 10 and maximum 20)
iii. Full time Expert Members (also not less than 10 and more than 20)

Chairperson: A person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High
Court.
Judicial Member: A person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court
Expert Member: Qualification and experience in relevant scientific and technological field or practical
experience in dealing with environmental matters.
The chairperson has been given the freedom on inviting any expert, from outside, to assist the
Tribunal in any particular case. The chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in
consultation with the Chief Justice of India. Judicial and expert members are appointed on
recommendations by the Selection Committee.
Structure of the NGT:
• There is a principal bench of the Tribunal in New Delhi and four
regional benches in Bhopal, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai. These are
‘co-equal benches’ i.e. the principal bench is not ‘higher’ in a judicial
hierarchy than the other benches.
• Each bench has a specified geographical jurisdiction. For instance,
cases arising from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Pondicherry, and Lakshadweep have to be filed in the Southern bench
in Chennai. Occasionally ‘circuit benches’ are also constituted. These
are specially constituted benches, which visit a particular city for a
few days to hear cases relating to that state.
 Jurisdiction and Powers of NGT
With the advent of NGT, Act all the civil courts are barred from entertaining the matters relating to
Environmental Issues. And only 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 are:
• 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 tribunal, being a statutory authority, exercises original jurisdiction on filing an
application and also has appellate jurisdiction through which it hears appeals as a
Court.
• 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 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.
 Penalty for non-compliance
• Whoever fails to comply with any order or award or the decision of
the tribunal under this act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may
extend to ten crore rupees in case of individuals whereas it can be upto
25 crore rupees for a company, or with both and in case of further
failure, with additional fine which may extend to twenty five thousand
rupees for every day during which such failure continues. (S. 26)
• Separate provisions for the prosecution of the Directors of a company
as well as by the govt. departments has been provided for. (S.27, 28).
Challenges faced by the NGT:
• The Wildlife Protection Act and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers Act 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.
• 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 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.
Notable Orders by NGT:
1. Ban on 10 year old Diesel Vehicles:
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) made it clear on Sep 14, 2017
that the ban it had imposed on 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-
NCR in 2015. While rejecting the Centre's request to modify its earlier
order, NGT said that emissions from diesel vehicles were
carcinogenic. One diesel vehicle causes pollution equivalent to 24
petrol vehicles or 40 CNG vehicles. The order will definitely help
clean Delhi's toxic air to some extent.
2. NGT on Ganga Conservation:
• On July 13, 2017 the National green Tribunal prohibited dumping of
waste within 500 meters of the Ganga while declaring an area of 100
meters from the edge of the Ganga between Haridwar and Unnao as
‘No Development Zone’. It also imposed an environment
compensation of Rs. 50,000 for dumping waste in the river.
3. Ban on open waste burning in Delhi:
• NGT directed authorities in NCR to impose fine on anyone caught
burning wastes i.e. garbage, leaves, plastic, rubber or other items in
open areas. The bench noted that “it is on record” that while burning of
garbage and other waste was not the only source of pollution, it
accounted for “29.4% of air pollution, with regard to PM 10”.
• It also noted that burning of waste emitted pollutants, some of which
were even carcinogenic. Waste segregation It further held that non-
biodegradable waste and non-recyclable plastic should be segregated
from the landfill sites and used for construction of roads and
embankments in all road projects. Announces a fine of Rs. 25,000 on
each incident of bulk waste burning
 CONCLUSION:
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. Hence, the setting up of
the National Green Tribunal is a very necessary step, and definitely has
helped to mitigate a rapidly deteriorating Environment in the Country.
Although, the Act is still facing a bit of criticism, yet its basic framework
is reassuring and we can say that it is a the step in the right direction