Role and Function of National Green Tribunal in India

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 Supreme Court than in a number of cases highlighted the difficulty faced by judges in
adjudicating on complex environmental cases and laid emphasis on the need to set up a
specialized environmental court. Though the credit for enacting the NGT Act, 2010 goes to
the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, it became functional only because of repeated
directions of the Supreme Court while hearing the Special Leave Petition titled Union of
India v. Vimal Bhai[2].

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”.

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.
Important Landmark Judgements of NGT

1. Harinder Dhingra v. International Recreation & Amusement Ltd. & Ors, 2017,

dealt with the issue of illegal drawl of groundwater. An amusement park in Gurgaon,
Haryana was responsible for diverting water from the river for its commercial use. The NGT
approved the committee’s recommendations and suggested steps to disconnect the canal
supply and mandate the treatment of water by increasing the recharge of water.

2. Uttarakhand floods case, Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd, 2013

Held to compensate as per the polluter pays principle. In 2015 it was held that all diesel
vehicles over 10 years to be not permitted in Delhi- NCR due to its increased pollution.

3. C. Mehta v. Union of India & Ors, 2019,

NGT looked into the reports of the supervisory committee to ensure cleaning of river Ganga’s
Phase I. Upon incomplete action plans, the NGT warned states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
West Bengal and Jharkhand and the National Mission for Clean Ganga of compensation for
the failure to formulate and implement plans for Phase II and Phase III.

4. Almitra H. Patel vs. Union of India,2012,

NGT gave judgment of complete prohibition on open burning of waste on lands, including
landfills – regarded as the single biggest landmark case dealing with the issue of solid waste
management in India.

5. In 2017, the Art of Living Festival on Yamuna Food Plain was declared violating
the environmental norms, the NGT panel imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 Crore.
6. In 2012, POSCO a steelmaker company signed a MoU with the Odisha government
to set up steel project. NGT suspended order and this was considered a radical step in
favour of the local communities and forests.
7. In 2015, the NGT ordered that all diesel vehicles over 10 years old will not be
permitted to ply in Delhi-NCR.