Govt wants to pass National Green Tribunal Bill this session

The government will try to pass a bill on setting up of a special tribunal, which will settle environment disputes, in the current Parliament session, Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said today.

The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009, which has already been introduced in the Parliament in July, provides for the setting up of a tribunal with powers of a civil court for expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests.

The bill has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which is expected to submit its report on Monday, Ramesh said while speaking at a function to release a report 'Green India 2047', prepared by TERI.

"I want to get the National Green Tribunal Bill passed in this Winter session. It will pave way for specialised environment court and will give a new dimension to the environment protection," Ramesh said.

The bill aims at establishing an autonomous tribunal, which will take over from the Ministry in matters of environmental clearance of development projects. It will also ensure enforcement of legal right relating to environment and shall have jurisdiction over all civil cases pertaining to the entire set of central environment related laws.

The bill provides for relief and compensation to persons for environmental damage.