2.11. National Green Tribunal (NGT)

NGT was established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection. India became the third country in the world to set up a specialised environmental tribunal, only after Australia and New Zealand, and the first developing country to do so.

New Delhi is NGT’s Principal Bench with Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai being other

benches.

2.11.1. Composition

♤ 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 as well as Expert Members in the tribunal.

♤ Only an existing or retired judge of a High Court or Supreme Court can be a judicial member

♤ Expert members need to have been in any environment related field with at least 15 years of administrative experience.

2.11.2. Jurisdiction

The NGT adjudicates matters relating to following legislations:

♤ Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974,

♤ Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977,

♤ Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,

♤ Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,

♤ Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,

♤ The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and

♤ Biological Diversity Act, 2002.