SC raps Centre over houses for tribunal

The Supreme Court on Wednesday admonished the Centre for failing to provide residential accommodation to members of the green tribunal and directed it to take immediate steps in this regard.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday admonished the Centre for failing to provide residential accommodation to members of the green tribunal and directed it to take immediate steps in this regard.

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A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi asked the Centre to file a response on the issue within six weeks. “Even the drivers of SC and HC judges are getting two-room accommodations. You have two options — either the government should volunteer to provide the accommodation or we will pass the order and would ask them (members of the tribunal) to resign,” it said.

The court’s stern observations came while it was hearing the Centre’s appeal against a Delhi HC verdict regarding the constitution of the national environment appellate authority.

Filed in 2009, the appeal’s scope has been expanded and now SC is monitoring the constitution of the Green Tribunal and its circuit benches in Pune, Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, Chennai and Kolkata.

“Judges have to move from one ministry to another for getting accommodation and thereby they have to compromise their position. One of our judges had to quit after house was not provided,” the bench observed.