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Some grey areas in Green tribunal bill

National Green Tribunal, approved by a parliamentary select committee, does not have any power to stall any project that can cause damage to environment.

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The government may pat its back for introducing an environmental court under the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bill, but the proposed enactment has some grey areas. NGT, approved by a parliamentary select committee, does not have any power to stall any project that can cause damage to environment. It can act only when the damage is done, by dealing with the origin of pollution.

It also fails to hold delinquent polluting companies criminally liable for their acts of omission and commission, such as Bhopal’s industrial disaster or any nuclear accident. The government’s intent in framing the law on the eve of the Copenhagen summit creates doubts on its will to have a strong in-house mechanism to do justice to environment.
Why should this tribunal not have the power to act for the protection of environment, cancel environmental clearances if necessary and provide incentives to individuals who work as eyes and ears of nature and wildlife? Why should it penalise alert NGOs and civil society for raising their voice against dangers from projects? Why should it not have the power to issue contempt of court notices to polluting business groups?

A close scrutiny of the Bill that may be debated in Parliament soon exposes the executive’s decision to overshadow parliamentary supremacy on environment protection. The government has accepted the parliamentary panel’s recommendation in ensuring equity between expert and judicial members on the Green Tribunal. But the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) doesn’t want the Bill being debated by lawmakers whenever any amendment is sought. This power must not go away from the bureaucracy, it feels.

The Parliamentary Committee says vesting “such an overriding power in the ministry undermines the supremacy of Parliament.” Moreover, a tribunal member can join a corporate house whose case he might have dealt with within two hours of demitting office. It’s a dangerous proposition that harms transparency and impedes a tribunal’s independence. The house panel feels judges shouldn’t be allowed to take up directorship of any concern or be associated with any industrial house.
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