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THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL ACT, 2010

Term Paper
Environment and Climate: Law and Policy

Submitted By:
Niyati Naudiyal
M.Sc. Environment Studies
Semester I
TERI University

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Contents
Section I
Introduction

Section II
The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009

 Highlights of the Bill

 Major Criticism

 Proposed Amendments

 Amendments to the Bill

Section III
The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 - Main Objectives

Section IV
The National Green Tribunal

 Composition

 Qualifications for Appointment

 Term of Office

 Original Jurisdiction

 Appellate Jurisdiction

 Award for Relief, Compensation and Restitution of damage to the


Environment

 Applications to the Tribunal

 Power and Procedure of the NGT

 Bar of Jurisdiction

 Repeal

Section V
Conclusion

References

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Abbreviations

NEAA - National Environment Appellate Authority

NETA - National Environment Tribunal Act

NGT - National Green Tribunal

NGTB - National Green Tribunal Bill

CPC - Civil Procedure Code

CrPC - Criminal Procedure Code

SPCB - State Pollution and Control Board

CPCB - Centre Pollution Control Board

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SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
The Law Commission of India in its 186th Report recommended that the government
needs to constitute special Environmental Courts, to deal with multidisciplinary issues
relating to protection of environment, which would have members with judicial or legal
experience assisted by members with technical knowledge. Since the advice of environmental
experts is required in deciding cases related to the environment it would be feasible to include
environmental experts in this specialised body. Setting up such a body would help in fast
disposal of cases. Environmental Courts in various states or group of states would have
original jurisd4iction in all civil cases where a substantial question relating to environment is
involved and Appellate jurisdiction under various other statutes.

The Government of India introduced The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009 in the Lok
Sabha on 31st July 2009. The bill provides for the establishment of a Green Tribunal, which is
a special court dealing with cases related to environmental protection and conservation of
natural resources and forests. It would replace the existing National Environment Tribunal
and the National Environment Appellate Authority. The tribunal, 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.

The bill, however, had faced criticism from different quarters, owing to its loopholes and
limitations. The hon. Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh accepted some
key amendments to the proposed legislation that the parliamentarians and the Standing
Committee. The bill was finally passed, in May 2010, and became The National Green
Tribunal Act, 2010.

The National Green Tribunal has finally been launched on 19th October, 2010. Justice
Lokeshwar Singh Panta has been named the Chairperson of the Tribunal. There will also be
10 other members in the Tribunal, each either a judicial or environmental expert. It would
now hear all the pending cases dealing with environmental issues and the genuine Public
Interest Litigations, also the Tribunal would decide the high profile Posco and Vedanta cases.
The tribunal would have benches all over the country. The minister however hopes to set up
the main bench of the tribunal at Bhopal, the city that has witnessed one of our countries most
horrific man-made environmental disasters. Anybody and everybody can approach the

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Tribunal to claim civil damages arising out of inadequate implementation of environment
laws. By setting a Green Tribunal India becomes the third country that has specialized courts
to deal with environment related cases following Australia and New-Zealand, which already
have such specialized courts.

Before the Green Tribunal was set up, the normal courts were responsible for deciding on
cases arising due to environmental issues. Due to this approximately 5000 cases, in various
High Courts and District Courts, were awaiting judgement. Such cases would now be
transferred to the Green Tribunal.

The previous adjudicatory framework included:

1. Civil Procedure Code (CPC)


2. Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
3. Criminal prosecutions before Judicial Magistrate under various laws.
4. Appellate Authority’s provision in some statutes to hear appeals against the order of
the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB)
5. The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995: The Act provides for strict liability for
damages, caused by accident occurring while handling hazardous substance and to
provide relief and compensation to the victims. (The Act, however, could not be
enforced due to limited mandate) (now repealed)
6. The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997. The Act provides a judicial
forum for hearing appeals against order of grant of environmental clearances under
the Environment (P) Act, 1986. (now repealed)

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SECTION II: National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009

Highlights of the Bill proposed in Lok Sabha.

1. The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009 aims to set up specialised environmental
courts in the country.
2. It would replace the National Environmental Appellate Authority and the National
Environment Tribunal Act.
3. It would consist of both judicial and expert members
4. It would hear only ‘substantial’ questions relating to the environment, which affect
the community at large, and not just individuals or groups of individuals, cause
significant damage to the environment and property or bring any harm to public
health.

Major criticisms of the Bill:

1. A ‘substantial’ question relating to environment could be interpreted in various ways.


2. The tribunal would have benches only at five locations initially and this would
significantly reduce the access to justice, as civil courts would not deal with such
cases anymore.
3. The bill did not provide the tribunal the power to deal with some laws related to
environment, which ruined the whole point of having such a body.
4. Particular method of selecting members of the Tribunal was not explained in the bill.
5. The bill does not provide any information on the minimum number of members of the
Tribunal and the Selecting Committee.

Proposed Amendments:

The bill was then revised by the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy was the
Chairman of the committee which had members from both the houses. They proposed certain
changes in the bill in their report dated 24th November, 2009.

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A summary of the recommendations made and proposed to be accepted by the Ministry
of Environment and Forests is as follows:

Section Original Bill Proposed Amendment


Section 1(2) The Central Government had The Act shall come into force on a
All of Act to Come the discretion to allow for date decided by the Central
into force different dates for different Government, by notification in the
simultaneously sections to come into force. Official Gazette
Section 4(1)(b) The number of Judicial/Expert The minimum number of full time
Number of Members members to be appointed to the Judicial Members and Expert
(Judicial/Expert) Tribunal was not mentioned. Members shall be not less than 10;
Specified subject to a maximum of 20 each
Section 4(4) In the Bill, this section defined Rule-making power has been further
Expansion of Rules the rule-making powers of the defined to include:
to include Circuit Central Government in (i) The procedure for hearing
Procedure, transfer consultation with the applications and appeals and other
of cases etc. chairperson of the Tribunal. matters like hearing at a place other
than the ordinary place of its sitting
falling within the jurisdiction.
(ii) The number of Expert Members
and Judicial Members should be
equal while listening to an appeal.
(iii) Rules relating to transfer of
cases by the Chairperson from one
place of sitting (including the
ordinary place of sitting) to the other
place of sitting.
Section 5(4) No member, judicial or expert, This time period was increased to
Post Tenure could take employment with two years in the proposed
Debarment any company or undertake amendment.
such activity for any person,
who had been a involved in a
dispute before the Tribunal, for
a period of 1 year.

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Section 18 (2)(e) Any representative body or Any aggrieved person can approach
Expansion of organisation functioning in the the tribunal and seek justice and
Definition field of environment could file compensation.
of Person Aggrieved an application for relief. It did
not mention whether any other
person affected could approach
the Tribunal.
Section 19A New Section Tribunal had to apply the principles
Principles to be of sustainable development, the
Applied precautionary principle and the
polluter pays principle while passing
any order, decision or award.

Section 20 According to the original bill In case there is a difference of


Power of the decision taken by a opinion between the members
Chairperson/Other majority of the members was hearing the application and the
Member to hear in final and binding opinion is equally divided, then the
case of a deadlock Chairperson (if he has not been part
of the hearing) will hear the matter
and decide. If the chairperson has
been a part of this bench then he
shall refer the matter to another
member of the Tribunal who shall
hear the application and decide.
Section 21 The decision made by the The aggrieved party can make an
Appeal to Supreme Tribunal was Final and appeal within 90 days from the date
Court Binding on the parties. of communication of the
order/award on one or more of the
grounds specified under section 100
of the CPC 1908. The Supreme
Court may allow an appeal even
after 90 days if it is satisfied that
sufficient cause exists.

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Amendments to the Bill

Based on the suggestions of the members of the parliament and the report of the standing
committee the Minister for Environment and Forests made the following amendments in the
bill:

• An Amendment to Clause 18 (2) (e) provides an equal opportunity to any citizen of


India to approach the National Green Tribunal.

• An Amendment to Section 19(a), ensures that the tribunal takes into consideration
principles of Sustainable Development, Precautionary principles, Polluter Pays
Principles and Intergenerational Equity while hearing any appeal and giving
judgements.

• The Third important Amendment was that the entire Act would come into force
simultaneously and not Section by Section.

• The Fourth Amendment gave the aggrieved person/party an opportunity to approach


the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied by the judgement given by the Green
Tribunal.

• The Fifth Amendment is about the place of sitting, territorial jurisdiction is included
in the Amendment as well.
• In the Sixth Amendment the number of the judicial and expert members was fixed to
a minimum of 10 and maximum 20.
• The Seventh Amendment dealt with breaking a deadlock in case there was a
difference in opinion between the members of the Tribunal regarding the judgement.
It gave the Chairperson the authority to make the final decision to break such a
deadlock.

• A Selection Committee would be set up to select the members of the Tribunal in a fair
and just manner. Environmentalists and people with background in environment
conservation will be made members of the National Green Tribunal. Activists may
not be members but if activists have the requisite educational qualifications, they
would not be debarred from being a member of the National Green Tribunal.

After all these amendments were made the Bill was finally passed by both houses of the
parliament and signed by the President of India.

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SECTION III: The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

Due to the increasing complexity of environmental litigations, lack of dedicated jurisdiction


and the rigidity of existing court procedures to deal with environmental cases there was an
urgent need to establish specialised courts dealing only with environment related cases, in
order to clear the long list of pending cases. The NET Act, 1995 could not be enforced due to
its limited mandate and thus it could not help at all in dealing with environmental cases.
There is a rapid increase in industries and consumption of natural resources therefore the
number of the environment related cases is also constantly increasing. It is very essential to
maintain a proper balance between sustainable development and environmental regulations
which can be achieved only if a body like the Green Tribunal is set up which is solely
concerned with environmental issues. The Access to Justice would then be easier.

Main objectives of the National Green Tribunal

There are 3 major objectives of the Green Tribunal

1. The effective and speedy 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.
2. It aims at enforcing all the legal rights relating to the environment
3. It also accounts for providing compensation and relief to effected people for damage
of property.

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SECTION IV: National Green Tribunal
The Green Tribunal has been set up by the Central Government. The first Green Tribunal was
officially notified on 19th October, 2010. Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta was appointed as the
chairperson of the Tribunal.

Composition of the National Green Tribunal

Members of the Green Tribunal include the Chairperson, full time Judicial Members (not less
than 10 and maximum 20) and full time Expert Members (also not less than 10 and more than
20). 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.

Qualifications for Appointments

1. Chairperson: A person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or Chief
Justice of a High Court.
2. Judicial Member: A person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court
3. Expert Member: Qualification and experience in relevant scientific and
technological field or practical experience in dealing with environmental matters

Term of Office

The Chairperson, Judicial and Expert Member are appointed for a period of five years. The
Chairperson and Judicial Member, if a judge of Supreme Court, shall not hold office after the
age of 70 years. In case of High Court they shall not hold office after 67 years of age. The
Expert Members can hold office only till 65 years.

Original Jurisdiction

The Tribunal shall have jurisdiction on 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 appended to the NGT Act. The Tribunal shall settle
disputes, provide relief & compensation and may order restitution of damaged environment.

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Schedule I includes:

1. The Water (P & CP) Cess Act, 1977;


2. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
3. The Air (P&CP) Act,1981;
4. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;
5. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
6. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Some significant laws are not included for example the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
which prevents any sort of destruction inside sanctuaries without permission. Another
example is the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2005 which gives rights
to forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes to protect and conserve forest resources.

As defined in the act a ‘substantial question’ includes an instance where there is direct
violation of a specific statutory environmental obligation whereby the community at large is
affected or likely to be affected by the environmental consequences. Or the gravity of damage
to the environment or property is substantial or there is a broadly measurable damage to
public health. The environmental consequences relate to specific activity or point source of
pollution.

Appellate Jurisdiction

Appeal may be preferred before NGT against:

1. Order of Appellate Authority u/s 28 of Water Act,1974


2. Order of State Govt. u/s 29 of Water Act,1974
3. Directions by the SPCBs u/s 33A of Water Act,1974
4. Decision of Appellate Authority u/s 13 of Water Cess Act,1977
5. Order of State Govt. u/s 2 of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
6. Order of Appellate Authority u/s 31 of Air Act,1981
7. Directions u/s 5 of Environment (P) Act,1986
8. Grant or Refusal of Environmental Clearance Under Environment (P) Act, 1986
9. Order or determination of benefit sharing, made by National Biodiversity Authority
State Biodiversity Board, under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002

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Award for Relief, Compensation and restitution of damaged environment

The tribunal may provide relief and compensation to the victims of pollution and for other
environmental damage arising under the enactment specified in the schedule I including
accident while handling any hazardous substance. It also takes care of restitution of property
damaged and the restitution of environment of the areas, as the Tribunal may think fit.

But there are certain limitations in filing application and the heads for claiming relief and
compensation. Firstly the application for relief and compensation or restitution has to be
made within five years from the date on which the cause for such compensation or relief first
arose.

The Compensation or relief payable under heads specified in Schedule II

Sch. – II: Heads of Compensation/Relief

1. Death, permanent or temporary disability or injury


2. Loss of wages and medical expenses
3. Damage to private or other property
4. Expenses incurred by the Government / Local Authorities in providing relief and
rehabilitation to the affected persons
5. Compensation for environmental degradation and restoration of the quality of
environment
6. Claim on account of damage or destruction of flora, fauna, crops, vegetables, trees,
orchards, etc.
7. Loss of business or employment or both
8. Any other claim arising out of any activity of handling of hazardous substance

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Application to the Tribunal

An application for settlement of disputes or relief or compensation may be made by any


person who has sustained the injury; or the owner of the damaged property; or the legal
representatives of the deceased; or any agent duly authorized by the person affected; or
any person aggrieved including representative body or organization; or the
Govt./CPCB/SPCBs/PCCs or any environmental authority constituted or established
under the Environment (P) Act.

The application or appeal has to be decided speedily, after hearing the parties, within a period
of six months from the date of the filing of the application or appeal.

Power and Procedure of National Green Tribunal

National Green Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down by Criminal Procedure
Code but is guided by the principles of natural justice. It has the power to regulate its own
procedure and is not bound by the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

National Green Tribunal can exercise powers of a Civil Court. It can summon people, enforce
attendance and examine on oath. It can also receive evidence on affidavits and decide matters
ex-parte. It also has the power to grant interim orders, injunctions or stay.

The Civil Court has been given the responsibility to execute the order or award made by the
NGT. Any payment or deposit of the amount directed by the NGT, as award, shall be
recoverable as arrears of land revenue or of public demand. The decision taken by the NGT,
by majority, shall be binding but an aggrieved person can make an appeal to the Supreme
Court against the order of the NGT within 90 days. The Green Tribunal can also award cost
for filing false or vexatious claims.

For non-compliance with the orders of the NGT there is a punishment of 3 years of
imprisonment or a fine of not more than 10crore rupees, or both. If non-compliance continues
there is an additional fine of 25000 rupees per day. For companies the fine can be 25crore
rupees with additional fine of 1lac rupees per day.

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Bar of jurisdiction

Civil courts cannot entertain any disputes which fall under the jurisdiction of the NGT and no
sanction can be granted by any civil court with reference to any action or order of the NGT.
Civil Court’s jurisdiction is debarred to hear appeals in cases which are appealable before the
NGT.

Repeal

The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and The National Environment Appellate
Authority (NEAA) Act, 1997 have been repealed with the establishment of the National
Green Tribunal. Also the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) has been
abolished. The functions of the NEAA have been subsumed in the NGT and pending appeals
have been transferred to NGT.

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SECTION V: CONCLUSION

Ever Since the expansion of Industries and the beginning of ‘developmental’ activities in the
country a large number of environmental issues have also come up. There are a number of
instances where such human activities have caused immense damage to the environment.

India is one of the very few nations in the world who give immense amount of importance to
environmental conservation. There are already a number of legislations that deal with
environment and forest conservation and protection. The Green Tribunal adds another feather
to India’s cap.

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

For a country that has faced one of the world’s most horrifying industrial disasters, setting up
a body like the Green Tribunal obviously seems to be an excellent idea. The critics of the
Tribunal however fear that it is going to deliver more of the same. That is, nothing!

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 bring about the much
needed reform in the way the courts deal with environmental issues and also the way people
perceive environmental damage.

With the introduction of a legal system that supports and encourages environmental justice,
the green tribunal shall make India a role model for its neighbouring nations of South-East
Asia.

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REFERENCES

 http://moef.nic.in/index.php

 http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/NGT-fin.pdf

 http://www.indlaw.com/display.aspx?4815

 http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/proposed-amendments-national-

green-tribunal-bill-2009?quicktabs_2=0

 http://www.igovernment.in/site/india-sets-national-green-tribunal-38632

 http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/02181812/National-Green-Tribunal-to-be.html

 http://www.ercindia.org/node/209

 http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/01/stories/2010050164201400.htm

 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Lok-Sabha-passes-

National-Green-Tribunal-Bill/articleshow/5878516.cms

 http://prsindia.org/index.php?

name=Sections&action=bill_details&id=6&bill_id=740&category=42&parent_catego

ry=1

 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2010/10/india-introduces-national-green-tribunal-for-

environmental-cases.php

 http://prsindia.org/theprsblog/2010/05/04/legislative-debate-influencing-amendments-

to-the-green-tribunal-bill-2010/

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