National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is a statutory, specialised adjudicatory body established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 for the effective and expeditious disposal of environmental cases. It adjudicates substantial civil questions relating to the environment, grants relief and compensation, and hears specified environmental appeals.

Composition

The Tribunal combines judicial and technical expertise in environmental adjudication.

• The NGT consists of a Chairperson, Judicial Members and Expert Members.
• A bench hearing a matter must ordinarily have an equal number of Judicial Members and Expert Members.
• The Chairperson heads the Tribunal, while Expert Members bring specialised knowledge and administrative or professional experience concerning environmental matters.
• The Tribunal functions through its Principal Bench and other benches constituted by the Central Government.

Jurisdiction

The NGT exercises original, relief-and-compensation, and appellate jurisdiction under the NGT Act.

• Under Section 14, it has original jurisdiction over civil cases involving a substantial question relating to the environment arising from the implementation of an enactment listed in Schedule I.
• The scheduled framework principally covers the laws concerning water pollution, air pollution, environmental protection, forest conservation, public liability insurance and biological diversity.
• Under Section 15, it may order relief and compensation for victims of pollution and other environmental damage, restitution of damaged property, and restoration of the environment.
• Under Section 16, it hears appeals against specified orders and decisions made under the scheduled environmental enactments, including specified orders granting environmental clearance.
• An application under Section 14 is ordinarily required within six months, a compensation or restitution claim under Section 15 within five years, and an appeal under Section 16 within thirty days; the Act permits limited extensions for sufficient cause.
• An appeal from an NGT order or award lies to the Supreme Court under Section 22.

Powers and procedure

The NGT possesses adjudicatory and remedial powers designed for specialised and relatively flexible environmental justice.

• It may award compensation, direct restitution of property and order restoration of the environment.
• It may pass interim orders, including injunctions or stays, and may direct a person to cease and desist from violating an environmental enactment.
• It has specified powers of a civil court, including powers relating to summoning witnesses, receiving evidence, discovery of documents, review and deciding matters in default or ex parte.
• It is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and is guided by the principles of natural justice.
• It is not bound by the rules of evidence contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and may regulate its own procedure subject to the NGT Act and rules.
• Its orders and awards are executable as decrees of a civil court.
• The Supreme Court has held in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai v. Ankita Sinha that the NGT may exercise suo motu jurisdiction to address environmental issues within its statutory domain.

Environmental principles to be applied

Section 20 expressly requires the NGT to apply three core environmental principles while passing any order, decision or award.

• Sustainable development: development should meet legitimate needs while maintaining ecological sustainability and accounting for environmental costs.
• Precautionary principle: credible threats of serious environmental harm justify preventive action even when complete scientific certainty is unavailable.
• Polluter-pays principle: the person responsible for pollution must bear the costs of compensating affected persons and remedying environmental damage.

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