Environmental activists and advocacy groups in Kerala are up in arms against the Central government’s decision to tamper with the process of appointments to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) amid concerns that the country’s environmental regulator would be undermined.
Accusing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of trying to establish dominance over the NGT, the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) said the modification of the appointment process would dilute the very mandate of the tribunal.
KSSP president T. Gangadharan and general secretary T.K. Meerabai said the new rules would take away the judiciary’s control on the selection of members to the tribunal.
Under the new process, the NGT chairperson will now be recommended by a five-member search- cum-selection committee led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or a nominee of the CJI.
Four out of five members of the committee would be recommended by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Earlier, the CJI had the prerogative to recommend a judge for the post of the chairperson.
KSSP feels that the reform is aimed at an executive takeover of the NGT. “It will lead to an absurd situation in which the tribunal members are appointed by the MoEFCC, which often happens to be the accused in cases that appear before the NGT,” a press note issued by the KSSP said. It added that the move had cleared the decks for corporate powers to plunder natural resources at will.
The press note adds that the government has also tweaked the rules on the qualifications of tribunal members. The new rules notified by the Finance Ministry do away with the condition that only a retired SC judge or Chief Justice of a High Court could become the chairperson. Now, anyone with at least 25 years of experience in law can be chosen, in addition to retired judges.
While earlier the chairperson could be removed only after consultation with the CJI, the government has appropriated the power to remove the chairperson or a judicial member after conducting an inquiry. The tenure of the chairperson and members has been reduced from five to three years and their remuneration reduced.
Kerala State Biodiversity Board former chairman V.S. Vijayan said the notification reflected the Central government’s agenda to exercise control over autonomous bodies. “It takes away the powers of NGT to adjudicate on environmental issues”, he said.
“The government has made a mockery of the tribunal,” C. Divakaran, MLA, and chairman of the Assembly committee on public undertakings said. “The new rules have stripped the NGT of its powers to enforce environmental regulations. The government should reconsider its decision,” he said in a press note issued here.
The Aam Aadmi Party Kerala said the notification had reduced the NGT to a satellite of the Environment Ministry. Highlighting the role of the NGT in putting the brakes on the Aranmula airport project, party convener C.R. Neelakantan called on the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government to mobilise public opinion against the new rules.
