The National Green Tribunal sets a 15-day window for government authorities to respond to petitioners before they approach the court, but is silent on the potential risks involved

~By Vinay Vats

The National Green Tribunal has passed an order that has the potential to put complainants at risk and even at the mercy of authorities who have the muscle to pressure them. It has observed that before approaching the Tribunal for any kind of relief against government authorities the complainant or aggrieved party must first put up their case before the concerned authorities who should be given at least 15 days to explain their stand. Only if this period lapses without any response from the authority can the aggrieved party approach the Tribunal. The said response or lack of it need to be annexed with the application filed before the Tribunal.

The green court was hearing a matter related to major water and soil pollution in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh caused by emissions from power plants and industries. The Tribunal directed that the response of the government authorities can be directly given to the individual or can be uploaded on the official website.

The objective of the new order, the Tribunal said, was to “provide quicker remedy to the individuals and also enable the Authorities to indicate their stand”. The bench headed by chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who took charge on July 8, passed this order and ruled that this procedure will be  followed in all cases filed from August 1, 2018 unless an exception is made.

The bench also directed: “A copy of this order may be sent to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for being conveyed to all the statutory Authorities in the country by e-mail. The registry of the Tribunal may send, as far as possible, all communications by SMS/E-mail and for this purpose require furnishing of these particulars by all concerned.”

The NGT’s move will surely reduce its workload but the major issue arising out of it is the consequence of the 15-day notice. At present, if there is any violation, a person can approach the Tribunal directly and can easily get a stay on the violation, but if the said 15-day notice is given, there might be chances that the authority can keep on violating laws for the next 15 days. For example, thousands of trees could be cut without obtaining any clearances to make way for a new highway within those 15 days before a formal order came from the panel to halt the construction.

Further, the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 nowhere talks about the said 15-day representation to the authorities. A person can challenge the grant of environmental clearances without giving any representation. Section 14 of the Act states that the aggrieved can approach the Tribunal within six months of the cause of action, but there is no mention of any representation.

While the Tribunal has no doubt passed the order keeping some wider perspective in mind, it is completely silent on a scenario where the complaint is against a private party. The order puts the complainant at higher risk. He might be pressured by the authority not to file the case and it is unclear where he can go to, to get succour. Besides, there are cases when RTI activists and complainants have been attacked by violators. With the order now becoming binding, it won’t be a long wait before the repercussions begin.

—The writer is an advocate