Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding winding up the Oversight Committee and permit monitoring of the environmental compliance and issues through the state monitoring mechanism, 10/11/2023
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Atul Singh Chauhan Vs Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change & Others dated 10/11/2023.
The state of Uttar Pradesh filed the application requesting for review of the order dated July 20, 2023 "seeking limited review to wind up of the Oversight Committee and permit monitoring of the environmental compliance and issues through the State Monitoring Mechanism."
Uttar Pradesh has placed on record the communication dated November 28, 2022 sent by the Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Forest & Climate Change to the NGT which disclosed that the "Oversight Committee appointed by the NGT and the staff recruited by it is putting an extra financial burden on the board". The state of Uttar Pradesh has set up three tier systems and accountability assessment committees for implementation of projects and compliance of directions.
The bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Sudhir Agarwal noted that the Oversight Committee constituted by the order of the tribunal cannot be made effectively accountable for the compliance of the directions but it would be more appropriate to entrust the responsibility to the three tier committees and the mechanism set up by the state.
The counsel for the state of Uttar Pradesh informed the court that the committees constituted by the state and the three tier monitoring mechanism have now become operational. The Oversight Committee was constituted by the tribunal on the request of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Now, the state has set up its own three tier monitoring mechanism by constituting the committees at different levels and has also constituted the Accountability Committees, therefore, the proper monitoring mechanism at the instance of the state of UP has come into existence.
Further, the Oversight Committee constituted by the NGT cannot operate in perpetuity especially when as per the stand of UP the expenses of the Oversight Committee, UP and the staff recruited by it, is putting an extra financial burden on the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board said the NGT.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), November 10, 2023 directed that the three-tier monitoring mechanism and accountability committee set up by the State of Uttar Pradesh should be entrusted with the monitoring of directions issued by the courts and the NGT. And that in these circumstances, it would not be proper to continue the Oversight Committee appointed by the tribunal. The court also directed that the district level committees will submit their monthly report by the last date of each month to the concerned state level committee and the state level committee will submit a quarterly monitoring/compliance report to the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh will analyze and compile the reports within one month of their receipt in his office and will take requisite action to ensure full compliance. The Chief Secretary would also file the action taken report every six month before the Registrar General of the NGT.
The time limit of September 1, 2023 fixed for smooth transition of work of the Oversight Committee to the three-tier mechanism set up by the state of Uttar Pradesh in the meeting of the Chief Secretary with the Chairman and members of the Oversight Committee on June 29, 2023 is already over. The NGT directed that henceforth, "the three-tier mechanism, the committees set up therein as also the Accountability Committee set up will be responsible for compliance of various directions of the NGT and the courts and implementation of projects, unless otherwise directed in any particular matter".
If any report is pending before the Oversight Committee, the same may be submitted to the concerned courts/tribunal by the committee on or before November 30, 2023. Accordingly, the Oversight Committee is wound up and the Oversight Committee will transfer all the immovable and movables received by it from the state of UP/UPPCB for its functioning to the state/UPPCB by November 30, 2023.