NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) observed that there has been a lack of adequate action to control farm fires in Punjab, and the measures taken so far have been described as "selective."

National Green Tribunal (NGT)

• Established: Under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
• Principal Place of Sitting: New Delhi.
• The other four places: Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai 
• Composition: Chairperson, the Judicial Members, and the Expert Members.
• Tenure: 5 years and are not eligible for reappointment.
• Appointment: The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• Disposal of cases: NGT is mandated to make disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of the filing of the same.
• NGT Powers: The following are the Acts under which NGT can take actions and has the authority to take actions:

oThe Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

oThe Water (Prevention and control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977.

oThe Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

oThe Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution), 1981.

oThe Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

oThe Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

The NGT Act does not cover two important legislations related to environment, they are:

• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006