A parliamentary committee has pushed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to “more proactively” use its suo motu powers on critical environmental concerns such as felling of trees for the construction of highways, illegal sand mining and air pollution in the national capital.
Established in 2010, the NGT is a specialised body for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases related to environmental protection, conservation of forests and natural resources.
The committee has also recommended “stronger follow-up” by the tribunal and the Environment Ministry through regular action-taken reports, effective use of joint committees, clear fixing of responsibility and better ways to ensure that NGT orders are implemented promptly. The committee emphasised the need for the tribunal to use its suo motu (of its own) powers “more proactively” in relation to “critical environmental concerns” such as severe air pollution in Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic plain, illegal sand mining on riverbanks, river pollution, highway tree-felling and loss of indigenous roadside plantations, unregulated high-rise construction in metropolitan cities, pollution and ecological risks in northeastern States, and environmentally sensitive mining.
