E-Paper
Pune-based western zone bench of NGT to start operations after two years in Feb 2020
Exactly two years after it was shut down due to appointment related issues, the Pune-based western zone bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will start functioning on February 1, 2020.
An order in this regard was issued by the chairperson of NGT, Adarsh Kumar Goel, stating, “Siddhanta Das, expert member stands posted and transferred from NGT Principal Bench, New Delhi, to NGT, Western Zone Bench, Pune wef February 1, 2020, subject to joining of judicial member.”
The bench had stopped operations in February 2018 after the NGT Bar Association (western zone) approached the Supreme Court in December 2017 after the expert member - one of the two members comprising an ideal NGT bench - of western zone had retired.
“We fought and made various representations to the Supreme Court. Our efforts have fructified. I’m confident that it will start functioning on February 1, 2020, and will remain functional for long,” said advocate Saurabh Kulkarni, president of NGT Bar Association (western zone).
On January 31, 2018, while hearing the submission made by the NGT Bar Association (western zone), the Supreme Court said that no single-member bench will be constituted in compliance with the 2017 circular of Ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF). A few months later the Principal Bench had started hearing important cases through video conference. However, the zonal bench remained shut.
A circular issued by the Sukhda Pritam, deputy registrar of NGT Principal Bench, on Thursday, read, “As directed by the competent authority, all concerned are intimated that consequent on the posting of Sidhanta Das, expert member, NGT WZB, Pune, will become functional wef February 1, 2020, subject to joining of judicial member.”
However, who the judicial member will be, is yet to be announced.
Justice Jawad Rahim was the last judicial member at the western zone. He was later appointed as the acting chairperson of NGT after former chairperson justice UD Salvi retired in February 2018. However, justice Rahim also retired in August 2019 before the current chairperson took over.