ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN INDIA: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

AUTHOR – SARTHAK CHAUHAN* & DR. RATNESH KUMAR SRIVASTAVA**

* STUDENT AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN, INDIA

** PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN, INDIA

BEST CITATION – SARTHAK CHAUHAN & DR. RATNESH KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN INDIA: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (4) OF 2026, PG. 01-05, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

This paper sinks into the nature of the reversal of environmental justice in India since the emergence of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2010. The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010 and is a wholly focused, fast-tracked platform on addressing the eco-conflicts and ensuring the implementation of environmental rights in fact. I deconstruct the NGT sitting, where the NGT fits in the court system, the new procedural actions it took and how well it is solid in sorting out the real-life green complaints. The paper also examines the application of sustainable development, precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle during its rulings. Although the tribunal is fairly progressive and has been bulking up environmental governance, it continues to grind its teeth on issues such as limits to jurisdiction and other discrepancies between the policy and practice besides the paucity of resources. I criticize such hitches and emphasize that we should come up with reforms that will improve the NGT in providing a genuine environmental justice.