Paper No: 13 Environmental Law and Policies

Module: 26 National Green Tribunal

Development Team
Prof. R.K. Kohli
Principal Investigator
& Prof. V.K. Garg & Prof. Ashok Dhawan
Co- Principal Investigator
Central University of Punjab, Bathinda

Dr. P.S. Jaswal,

Paper Coordinator
Rajiv Gandhi national University of Law, Punjab
Dr. Shilpa Jain
Content Writer
Rajiv Gandhi national University of Law, Punjab
Content Reviewer Dr. P.S. Jaswal,
Rajiv Gandhi national University of Law, Punjab

Anchor Institute Central University of Punjab

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 Description of Module

Subject Name Environmental Sciences

Paper Name Environmental Law and Policies

Module Name/Title National Green Tribunal

Module Id EVS/ELP-XIII/26

Pre-requisites Causes of increasing Environmental pollution and mechanisms to deal with the same.

Objectives To understand the working of the National Green Tribunal and the role it is playing in protection
and preservation of Environment
Keywords Green Tribunal, NGT, expeditious, Green Benches

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 National Green Tribunal

LEARNING OUTCOME:

1. Understanding the need to have National Green Tribunal.

2. In-depth study of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
3. An insight into the working of the Tribunal.
4. A study of the important judgments delivered by the NGT

Introduction

The judicial administration system of India has been overwhelmed by a huge backlog of cases.
Particularly, cases involving technical issues like effective protection of environment pollution have to
be dealt with in an expeditious manner which is not possible in such a scenario of backlogs. This very
problem entailed an urgent need of an alternative forum for deciding matters related to environment
without much delay. Supreme Court in the case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1997) 2 SCC 411,
for the first time, deliberated upon the issue and pointed out that “cases involving issues of
environmental pollution, ecological destruction and its conflict over natural resources involved
assessment and evolution of scientific data and, therefore, according to the court, there was an urgent
need of involvement of experts in the administration of justice.” The Court further suggested that there
is a need for ‘neutral scientific expertise’ and so, environment courts should be set up on a regional
basis with one professional judge and two experts.

This view was reiterated in the cases of Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India (1996) 5
SCC 647; Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India (1996) 3 SCC 212; and in A.P.
Pollution Control Board v. M.V. Nayudu (1999) 2 SCC 718, whereby the need for an Environmental
Court having civil and criminal jurisdiction for the purpose of speedy justice was emphasized upon.
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 The intricate environmental issues require a more stern attention and trained manpower for apt
appreciation. In certain cases, the method for scrutinizing of such issues require a lot of time. These
time constraints and distinctiveness of the nature of disputes compelled setting up of “Green Benches”
in several High Courts of India.

Later, on the request of the Court, Law Commission of India examined the question in detail and in its
186th Report (2003), recommended the setting up of environmental courts having original and
appellate jurisdiction related to environmental laws. It further noted that the National Environment
Appellate Authority (1997) and National Environmental Tribunal (1995) were non-functional statutory
bodies. Apart from the aforementioned judgments, the study was guided by the Land and Environment
Court of New South Wales, Model of Environmental Court in New Zealand, idea of a ‘multi-faceted’
Environmental Court with technical and judicial inputs formulated by Lord Woolf in England and the
Environmental Courts in Australia and other nations.

In 1989, Maneka Gandhi, the then Union Minister of Environment, had advocated the idea of
environment courts. However, it was only on 31 July 2009 that the National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009
was presented in the Lok Sabha. The Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Science and Technology, Environment and Forests for examination and reports. After holding a series
of meetings with the concerned officials, the Committee presented 203rd report on National Green
Tribunal Bill on 16th November 2009. The Parliament passed the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
[hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’] which came into effect on 18th October 2010. Justice Lokeshwar
Singh Panta, former judge of the Supreme Court, took charge as the chairman of the National Green
Tribunal.

Object and purpose of the Act

The Act provides for the establishment of a National Green Tribunal [hereinafter referred to as ‘NGT’
or ‘the tribunal’]. The objective behind establishment of NGT is the expeditious and efficient
disposal of cases involving issues of environmental protection, conservation of natural resources like

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 forests, and also the enforcement of related rights of the individuals. The object entails relief and
compensation for damages to persons and property and for other related matters.
As follows, NGT is a specialized body, with the necessary proficiency to attend and dispose of
environmental disputes involving multi-faceted issues. Furthermore, its specificity in environmental
issues caters speedy justice, reducing the burden of backlogs. Moreover, the Tribunal is sanctioned to
endeavor for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same (Section
14).

The Act further endeavors to implement the judicial pronouncements that “the right to healthy
environment is a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution” as held in case of
Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, AIR 1992 SC 4200.
Moreover, the Act is an endeavor of the Parliament under Article 253 read with Entry 14 of the Union
List under Schedule VII of the Constitution to fulfill the obligation of India towards Stockholm
Declaration, 1972 in which India participated, calling upon the States to take appropriate steps for the
protection and improvement of the human environment and Rio Declaration, 1992 in which India
participated, calling upon the States to provide effective access to judicial and administrative
proceedings, including redress and remedy and to develop national laws regarding liability and
compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage.

Features of the Tribunal

The NGT Act has certain salient features pertaining to its specificity in environmental issues and
objective deemed to be the judicial proceedings within the meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 for
the purposes of Section 196 of the Indian Penal Code and the Tribunal shall be deemed to be.
 India became the third country in the world, after Australia and New Zealand, to adopt Green
Court legislation and establish special Environment Courts.
 The Act has led to establishment of the set-up at five places of sittings, for making itself more
accessible. New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Pune, Bhopal, Chennai
and Kolkata are the other four places of sitting of the Tribunal. [Annexure 1]
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  All proceedings before the Tribunal shall be a Civil Court for the purposes of Section 195 and
Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
 The Tribunal has all the power given to a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in
respect of summoning, enforcing attendance, receiving evidence on affidavits, examining on oath,
and granting ex parte and interim orders and injunctions and others (Section 19).
 The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and
the Indian Evidence Act 1872. It is free to devise its own procedure and rules as per its
convenience. However, the tribunal is bound by the principles of natural justice (Section 19).
 The Tribunal is enjoined to follow the internationally recognized and nationally applied
environmental principles of ‘Sustainable Development’, ‘Precautionary Principle’ and ‘Polluter
Pays Principle’ while issuing any order, decision or award (Section 20).
 No fault Liability principle has been incorporated under the act and hence is enforceable by
tribunal (Section 17).

Jurisdiction of the Tribunal [Chapter III]

The Act confers upon the NGT, the jurisdiction to hear initial complaints as well as appeals from
decisions of authorities under various environmental laws. Thus, the Tribunal has been vested with
wide jurisdiction, and it can hear matters in the form of original, appellate, review and miscellaneous
petitions as enshrined under Chapter III of the Act.
Under Section 14, the Tribunal exercises jurisdiction in respect of all civil cases where a substantial
question relating to environment is involved and such question arises out of the implementation of the
enactments specified in Schedule I to the Act. Here, civil cases encompass all legal proceedings
except criminal cases, which are governed by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code,
1973. Furthermore, “substantial question of law” has been explained under Section 2(m) to include an
instance where there is a direct violation of a specific environmental obligation by a person whereby
the community at large is affected or likely to be affected by environmental consequences, or the

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 gravity of damage to the environment or property is substantial, or the damage to public health is
broadly measurable.

The legislations included in Schedule I are:

1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1947

2. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1947
3. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
4. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
5. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1991
6. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
7. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Section 14 of the Act provides a time-limit of six months within which the applications for
adjudication of dispute under this section shall be entertained by the Tribunal. It also empowers the
Tribunal to allow such applications to be filled within a further period not exceeding sixty days, if it is
satisfied that the application was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the application within the
said period.

Further, Section 16 of the Act provides the appellate power to the Tribunal against the order of various
judicial/quasi-judicial forums mentioned in the section. Moreover, according to the Act, from the date
of establishment of the Tribunal, no civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any case/appeal in
respect of any matter, which the Tribunal is empowered to determine under its appellate jurisdiction.

Composition of the Tribunal [Section 4]

The Tribunal shall consist of a full time chairperson. Along with him, there are ten to twenty full time
judicial and expert members as the Central Government may notify from time to time notify. The Act
has balanced the number of judicial and expert members with the authority to break an impasse vested
with chairperson of the Tribunal. The Tribunal is empowered to invite any one or more persons having

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 specialized knowledge and experience in a particular type of cases before the Tribunal to assist the
Tribunal in a particular case.

Qualifications of members [Section 5]

The qualifications for appointment of Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member are specified
in Section 5 of the Act. It provides that:
 a person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson or Judicial Member of the
Tribunal unless he is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India or Chief Justice of a High
Court, and
 a person who is or has been a Judge of High Court shall also be qualified to be appointed as a
Judicial Member, and
 a person shall not be qualified to be appointment as an Expert Member, unless he has a degree in
Master of Science-Physical Sciences or Life Sciences with a Doctorate degree or Master of
Engineering or Master of Technology and has an experience of fifteen years in the relevant field
including five years practical experience in the field of environment and forests (including
pollution control, hazardous substance management, environment impact assessment, climate
change management and biological diversity management and forest conservation) in a reputed
national level institution, or has administrative experience of fifteen years including practical
experience of five years in dealing with environmental matters in the Central or a State
Government or in a reputed National or State level institution.

Procedure for appointment of Members [Section 6]

The Act has authorized the Central Government to appoint the members of the Tribunal, subject to the
fulfillment of the above prescribed qualifications. The Act provides that the Chairperson of the
Tribunal may be appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
The other members shall be appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of such
Selection Committee as may be prescribed.
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 Term of Office [Section 7]

The Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member of the Tribunal shall hold office as such for a
term of five years from the date on which they enter upon their office, but shall not be eligible for re-
appointment. This is subject to the provisions which states that:
 In case a person, who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court, has been appointed as
Chairperson or Judicial Member of the Tribunal, he shall not hold office after he has attained the
age of seventy years. In all other cases the retirement age of Chairman or Judicial Members shall
be on attainment or 67 years or completion of term, whichever is earlier.
 No Expert Member shall hold office after he has attained the age of sixty-five years.

Grounds of removal of the Members [Section 10]

According to the Act, The Central Government may, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India,
remove from office of the Chairperson or Judicial Member of the Tribunal, who,-
 has been adjudged an insolvent; or
 has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral
turpitude; or
 has become physically or mentally incapable; or
 has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions; or
 has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest.

However, the Chairperson or Judicial Member shall not be removed from his office except by an order
made by the Central Government after an inquiry made by a Judge of the Supreme Court in which
such Chairperson or Judicial Member has been informed of the charges against him and given a
reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges. similarly, the Expert Member shall
not be removed unless he has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.

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 Eligibility for filing application before tribunal [Section 18]

The Act provides that without prejudice to the provisions contained in Section 16, an application for
grant of relief or compensation or settlement of dispute may be made to the Tribunal by—
a) the person, who has sustained the injury; or
b) the owner of the property to which the damage has been caused; or
c) where death has resulted from the environmental damage, by all or any of the legal representatives
of the deceased; or
d) any agent duly authorised by such person or owner of such property or all or any of the legal
representatives of the deceased, as the case may be; or
(e) any person aggrieved, including any representative body or organisation; or
(f) the Central Government or a State Government or a Union territory Administration or the Central
Pollution Control Board or a State Pollution Control Board or a Pollution Control Committee or a
local authority, or any environmental authority constituted or established under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 or any other law for the time being in force.

Procedure for filing and remedies under the Act

The Tribunal follows a very simple procedure to file an application seeking compensation for
environmental damage, or an appeal against an order or decision of the Government.
The official language of the Tribunal is English. For every application/appeal where no claim for
compensation is involved, a fee of INR 1000/- is to be paid. In case where compensation is being
claimed, the fee will be one percent of the amount of compensation subject to a minimum of INR
1000/-.

Further the detailed specific procedure has been provided under National Green Tribunal (Practice and
Procedure) Rules, 2011.

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 Remedy/relief under the Act (Section 15)

Tribunal may in its order grant the following reliefs to the applicant:
1. Relief/compensation to the victims of pollution and other environmental damage including
accidents involving hazardous substances;
2. Restitution of property damaged;
3. Restitution of the environment for such areas as determined by the NGT.
However, no application for grant of any compensation or relief or restitution of property or
environment shall be entertained unless it is made within a period of five years from the date on which
the cause for such compensation or relief first arose.

Penalty for non-compliance (Section 26)

 Whosoever, fails to comply with any order or award or decision of the Tribunal under this act,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine
which may extend to ten crore rupees or both. In case of continuation of contravention additional
fine which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or
contravention continues.
 However in case of non-compliance by company fine may be extended to twenty-five crore
rupees, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to
one lakh rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after
conviction for the first such failure or contravention. For the purpose of punishment under this act
the official responsible for the conducting the business the company shall be deemed to be guilty
unless proved otherwise. ( Section 27)

 Every offence under this Act shall be deemed to be non-cognizable within the meaning of the said
Code.

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 Important Judgments of the Tribunal

Wilfred J. v. Ministry of Environment and Forests

In this case, the NGT expressed its autonomy. It pointed out that “there is nothing in the provision of
the NGT Act that directly or even by necessary implication is indicative of any external control over
the National Green Tribunal. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is merely an administrative
ministry for the National Green Tribunal to provide for means and finances. Once the budget is
provided, the Ministry cannot have any interference in the functioning of the National Green
Tribunal.” In fact, the entire process of appointment and removal is under the effective control of the
Supreme Court of India. The administration is merely an executing agency within the framework of
the Act.
Sudiep Shrivastava v. State of Chhattisgarh, (Appeal No. 73 of 2012 dated 24-3-2014)

In this case, the Central government went against the recommendations of Forest Advisory
Committee, (FAC) which rejected the proposal of diversion of forest, and granted approval to the
project. The power of Central Government to reject the proposal/recommendations of the FAC and the
validity of order were to be scrutinized by the Tribunal. The question was whether the Government is
bound by the recommendations of FAC. The tribunal opined that ‘advice’ would not make it binding
stricto sensu on the Central Government. However, the Central Government remains under an
obligation to duly consider the advice of the FAC and pass a reasoned order either accepting with or
without condition or rejecting the same based on facts, studies and such other authoritative material, if
necessary gathered from further enquiry. The tribunal finally asked the Government to reconsider the
entire matter afresh in accordance with law.

M.P. Patil v. Union of India, (Appeal No. 12 of 2012 dated 13-3-2014)

In this case, environment clearance granted to the thermal project of NTPC was challenged by the
local citizens on the ground that proper disclosures were not made in the Environment Impact
Assessment and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan was not disclosed in advance. The Tribunal
which explaining the importance of R&R Plan opined that “the concept of sustainable development is
to drive a balance between environment on the one hand and development on the other. One of the
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 essential facets of this balancing approach is to find out the impact of development upon civilization,
particularly with reference to human beings. If as a result of establishment and operation of any
project, a large chunk of land belonging to a large number of persons is expected to be acquired and
they are likely to be displaced in one form or the other from their livelihood, R & R scheme would be
one of the most pertinent aspects to be considered by the EAC”. “An appropriate R&R scheme was
not available at the time of the public hearing. Also, the other objections raised at the public hearing
were not properly answered during the public hearing.”

Further, it was reiterated that the onus of proving that the proposed project was in compliance with
goals of sustainable development was on the party proposing the project and public participation was
emphasized by the court.

Vardhaman Kaushik v. Union of India; (Original Application No. 21 of 2014)

In this case, the Tribunal took cognizance of the growing pollution levels in Delhi. It directed a
Committee to prepare an action plan. In the interim, it directed that vehicles more than 15 years old
not be allowed to ply or be parked on the roads; that burning plastics and other like materials be
prohibited; that a web portal and a special task force be created; that sufficient space for two way
conveyance be left on all market-roads in Delhi; that cycle tracks be constructed; that overloaded
trucks and defunct buses not be allowed to ply; that air purifiers and automatic censors be installed in
appropriate locations. Further, it directed that a fine of Rs. 1000 be levied on all cars parked on
metaled roads and that multi-level parking be constructed in appropriate areas.

Manoj Misra v. Union of India; (Original Application No. 6 of 2012)

In this case, an application was filed before the tribunal against the debris and other solid waste
dumped in the Yamuna river bed and effective measures for restoring the natural water body to its
original form. Taking cognizance of the application the tribunal gave a set of twenty eight directions,
ranging from prohibition on dumping debris to restricting silviculture and floriculture activities,
preparation of Action Plan by concerned agencies, timely completion of project ‘Maily Se Nirmal
Yamuna’, setting up of Common Effluent Treatment Plants and many others in the interest of
protecting and restoring the River Yamuna.

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 Obstacles and hindrances faced by the NGT

 Regardless of the high proportion of cases being disposed of, there is also a growing backlog of cases
in NGT. Till August 31 in 2014, 2,559 cases (about 40 per cent) were pending before different Benches
of NGT. The factors responsible for delay includes lack of proper infrastructure, inadequate support
from the government, lack of proper vigilance and inadequate no of staff members. Also, where the
Principal Bench is handled by four judicial members, including the chairperson, and six expert
members, the Zonal Benches have just one judicial and one expert member.
 Denial of access to justice has been the other major roadblock in the success of NGT. Access is
denied due to the provision of limitation act mentioned in the act and also due to limited Benches
of the tribunal (only in five cities). Thus, there is a need for expansion of infrastructure and no of
benches of the tribunal.
 There exists no specific guideline or methodology to determine the amount of damages and fine to
be imposed. Thus, there is an immediate need to provide any scientific principle or criteria to
determine the fines, damages and compensation to be imposed by the tribunal in each case to
tackle ambiguity and subjectivity in decision making. Moreover, institutions and experts, who can
help it to scientifically estimate environmental damages/compensation/fines on a case-to-case
basis, should be identified in order to bring in objectivity in its judgments.
 There has been the conflict between the jurisdiction of Tribunal and the writ jurisdiction of High
Courts (including Public interest litigation). Since High Courts could also exercise the power of the
tribunal through its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 as several PIL’s, relating to environment,,
are still filed before the High Courts
 There is a need to control the “frivolous” cases being filed before the tribunal. There has been an
increase in frivolous and vested litigation as it is dealing with broader issue like environment
protection which affects every individual and thus, locus standi is easily established. NGT needs to
adopt a mechanism, to control these frivolous cases, which may involve steps like imposing heavy
fine on such litigant, setting up of body in line with the PIL cell (established by Supreme Court

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 and Various High Courts) to sort the frivolous cases and setting conditions for acceptability of
petition.
 Regardless of several proactive actions being taken by the tribunal the pollution levels have been
continuously increasing over the years. This is due to lack of effective support from government
both at the Centre as well in states. Inefficiency on the part of Central and State pollution control
Boards is another reason for it. This time and again leads to delays in executing the Tribunal's
decision.
 The Ministry of Environment and Forests (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Ministry’) has adopted a
confrontationist approach with the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Ministry has criticized the
NGT for passing unrealistic and impractical judgments, its failure to effectively address
environmental matters and thus, becoming the hurdle in the clearance of several important
developments projects.
 NGT has been blamed of overstepping its jurisdiction. In fact, in an affidavit filed before Supreme
Court, Ministry’s deputy secretary alleged that NGT is not functionally lawfully and causing
embarrassment to the government However, the affidavit drew heavy criticism from Supreme
Court, which termed it as “nonsense”.
 Subramanian Committee has been set up by the Ministry to review the laws relating to the
environment and forest protection. The Committee recommended establishment of special courts
at district level to deal with infringements of environmental law and an administrative (rather than
judicial) tribunal to review clearances. The chairman, T.S.R Subramanian, has stated that the NGT
cannot pickup cases suo motu. These recommendations, if accepted, will cause serious reductions
in the power of NGT.
 On the other hand, NGT has several times admonished the Ministry for not being present during
hearings. For a month-and-a-half, at the end of 2013, no counsel from the Ministry appeared before
NGT. The Tribunal fined a few officials from the Ministry and went to the extent of cautioning its
Secretary that he would be forced to pay heavy costs for cases adjourned without any justification.

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