The National Green Tribunal was established to provide a specialised forum for environmental disputes. For anyone encountering it for the first time, a clear sense of its jurisdiction is a useful starting point.

What the Tribunal hears

The Tribunal deals with civil cases raising a substantial question relating to the environment, where that question arises out of the implementation of the enactments listed in the schedule to the statute that created it. Those enactments include the principal laws on water and air pollution and environmental protection.

How a matter reaches it

Matters come before the Tribunal in more than one way — through original applications, and through appeals against certain orders passed by authorities under the scheduled enactments, such as consent orders passed by Pollution Control Boards. Each route carries its own limitation period.

The reach of its orders

The Tribunal may direct relief and compensation, and may order restoration of the environment. Its orders are appealable, in the ordinary course, to the Supreme Court of India.

A note of caution

Jurisdiction under the environmental statutes is a technical subject, and the appropriate forum depends closely on the facts and the specific enactment involved. This primer is an orientation, not a substitute for advice on a particular matter.