NGT and associated challenges

NGT and associated challenges

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is facing trouble due to internal issues within the NGT instead of protecting the environment.

What is National Green Tribunal?

National Green Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body established on October 18, 2010. It was established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 to handle environment-related disputes.

What is the Objective of National Green Tribunal?

The National Green Tribunal provides effective and expeditious remedy in cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources and enforcement of any legal right relating to environment.

Significance of National Green Tribunal

It draws inspiration from India's constitutional provision of (Constitution of India/Part III) Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty. The NGT handles cases related to,

• Environmental protection
• Environmental clearances for projects by the government are covered under the jurisdiction of NGT.
• Conservation of forests and other natural resources.
• Enforcement of any legal right relating to the environment.
• Relief and compensation for damages to persons and properties.

Structure of NGT

The Tribunal comprises of the Chairperson, the Judicial Members and Expert Members. They shall hold office for term of five years and are not eligible for reappointment.

The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI).

A Selection Committee shall be formed by central government to appoint the Judicial Members and Expert Members.

There are to be least 10 and maximum 20 full time Judicial members and Expert Members in the tribunal.

Challenges with the working of NGT

1. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 have been kept out of NGT’s jurisdiction. This restricts the jurisdiction area of NGT and at times hampers its functioning as crucial forest rights issue is linked directly to environment.
2. The NGT decisions are being challenged in various High Courts under Article 226 (power of High Courts to issue certain writs) with many asserting the superiority of a High Court over the NGT, claiming ‘High Court is a constitutional body while NGT is a statutory body’.” This is one of the weaknesses of the Act as there is lack of clarity about what kind of decisions can be challenged; even though according to the NGT Act, its decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court.
3. Decisions of NGT have also been criticised and challenged due to their repercussions on economic growth and development.
4. The absence of a formula based mechanism in determining the compensation has also brought criticism to the tribunal.
5. The decisions given by NGT are not fully complied by the stakeholders or the government. Sometimes its decisions are pointed out not to be feasible to implement within a given timeframe.
6. The lack of human and financial resources has led to high pendency of cases - which undermines NGT’s very objective of disposal of appeals within 6 months.
7. The justice delivery mechanism is also hindered by limited number of regional benches.

National Green Tribunal Act

The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables the creation of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.

It draws inspiration from India's constitutional provision of (Constitution of India/Part III) Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty, which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment. Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is a department to control pollution in Delhi.

During the summit of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992, India vowed the participating states to provide judicial and administrative remedies to the victims of the pollutants and other environmental damage.

The Principal Bench of the NGT is in New Delhi. It has regional benches in Pune (West), Bhopal (Central), Chennai (South) and Kolkata (East). Each Bench has a specified geographical jurisdiction in a region.