SC decides whether National Green Tribunal has powers to take Suo Moto Cognisance 16/07/2019 – Posted in: Daily News

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

 

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: Apex court agreed to examine a legal question of NGTs power to take Suo Moto cognizance; Role, power, and Functions of National Green Tribunal

 

News Flash

The Supreme Court agreed to examine a legal question whether the National Green Tribunal, has the power to take cognizance of a matter on its own.

 

National Green Tribunal

  • The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
  • It was set up for expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
  • It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.

 

Place

  • NGT is set up at five places of sittings including New Delhi, Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai,.
  • New Delhi is the main place for the sitting of Tribunal.

 

Chairperson and Members

  • It has a full-time chairperson.
  • The chairperson should have been either a judge of the Supreme court of India or Chief Justice of a high court in India.
  • The tribunal has at least 10 and a maximum of 20 full-time judicial members.
  • It has at least 10 and a maximum of 20 full-time expert members.

 

Appointments

  • The appointment of members is done by the Central Government.
  • The chairperson of NGT is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
  • Judicial Members and Expert Members are appointed on the recommendations of such Selection Committee.
  • Chairperson, Judicial Member, and Expert Member hold office for 5 years.
  • Maximum age of the chairman 70 years if he has been a Supreme Court Judge and 67 years, if he has been a high court judge.

 

Jurisdiction

  • The Tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases where a substantial question relating to environment is involved.
  • It would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act.
  1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
  2. The Water (Prevention and Control o[Pollution) Cess Act, 1977
  3. The Forest (Conservation) Act
  4. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
  5. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  6. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
  7. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002

 

Source: The Hindu

 

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