Introduction
Established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) operationalises the right to a clean and healthy environment under Article 21, guided by the Directive Principle enshrined in Article 48A. As a specialised quasi-judicial body, it blends judicial adjudication with multi-disciplinary technical expertise to provide speedy environmental justice.
Role and Performance in Environmental Protection
The NGT has redefined environmental governance in India by bridging regulatory deficits and establishing an accountability framework for ecological degradation.
- Specialised Environmental Jurisprudence: Under Section 20 of the NGT Act, 2010, the tribunal is statutorily mandated to apply the Precautionary Principle, the Polluter Pays Principle, and sustainable development paradigms, ensuring scientific evaluation rather than formalistic civil procedure.
- Expeditious Disposal: In accordance with Section 18 of the Act, the tribunal endeavours to dispose of applications and appeals within six months of filing, significantly unclogging the regular judicial system.
- Proactive and Suo Motu Interventions: Affirmed by the Supreme Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) v. Ankita Sinha (2021), the NGT possesses suo motu jurisdiction, allowing it to act on reports of environmental distress without waiting for formal litigation.
- Landmark Enforcement Decisions: The tribunal has cracked down on illegal rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya, enforced heavy penalties on municipal corporations for non-compliance with solid waste management rules, and halted unauthorized construction in ecologically fragile floodplains.
Major Challenges Hampering NGT's Functioning
Despite its proactive role, multiple systemic hurdles compromise the operational efficacy and finality of the NGT's mandates.
- Statutory Exclusions from Schedule I: Several key conservation statutes—notably the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006—remain outside the tribunal's jurisdictional ambit, fragmenting environmental regulation.
- Enforcement Deficit: The NGT lacks an independent enforcement machinery or contempt cadre. It relies on chronically under-resourced and under-staffed State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and district administrations to execute its orders, often leading to non-compliance.
- Institutional Vacancies: Persistent vacancies of both judicial and expert members have crippled regional and zonal benches (Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai), leading to centralisation of proceedings at the Principal Bench in New Delhi.
- Judicial Delays via Article 226: While appeals against NGT orders statutorily lie before the Supreme Court under Section 22, the Supreme Court in Madhya Pradesh High Court Advocates Bar Association (2022) upheld the High Courts' writ jurisdiction under Article 226, frequently resulting in prolonged interim stays and jurisdictional friction.
Conclusion
To realise its mandate of green justice, the NGT must be equipped with an autonomous compliance wing and comprehensive jurisdiction over all environmental statutes. Filling member vacancies and strengthening state regulatory bodies will reinforce the environmental rule of law and sustainable development.