Court exclusively for environmental matters to be set up

Environmental Minister, Jairam Ramesh has launched the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is dedicated to hear matters related to the environment exclusively. The NGT will replace the existing Environment Appellate Authority, where all the pending environmental cases will be transferred to the NGT..Environmental Minister, Jairam Ramesh has launched the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is dedicated to hear matters related to the environment exclusively. The NGT will replace the existing Environment Appellate Authority, where all the pending environmental cases will be transferred to the NGT..In a press release to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ramesh said that India will be the third country after Australia and New Zealand which will have such a tribunal dedicated exclusively to deal with environmental matters. The NGT will be headed by a Chairperson and will have 20 members who are experts in environmental sciences and will have power to issue directions for damages. The tribunal has been directed to apply the polluter pays principle and the principle of sustainable development..Former Supreme Court judge, Justice L.K. Panta has been appointed as the first chairman of the NGT. The NGT will be head quartered in New Delhi and will have four regional benches which are to be announced shortly. The benches will be mobile and will have sittings in different parts of the country. Currently, there are more than 5,000 environmental cases pending in the various courts of the country..The NGT will also not be liable to any monetary limit while imposing the compensation which they can award to aggrieved parties. The Ministry of Environment and Forests also intends to organise workshops in rural areas to educate people about issues of access and procedure related to the NGT in a few weeks time.