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National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava highlighted Indias evolving environmental jurisprudence and institutional mechanisms for environmental protection at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) and an International Judicial Colloquium in Yerevan, Armenia.
Addressing international delegates, Justice Shrivastava shared Indias experience in environmental adjudication, implementation and enforcement, citing the restoration of the River Ganga as an example of judicial intervention leading to measurable environmental improvement. He said the increasing population of Ganges River dolphins was an encouraging sign of ecological recovery. Speaking during the first session, titled Judicial Lifecycle, Justice Shrivastava said environmental justice does not end with the delivery of a judgment and must translate into tangible improvements on the ground. He outlined six interconnected stages in the environmental justice process interpretation, adjudication, remedy, implementation, enforcement, and monitoring and review. Highlighting the NGTs functioning, the Chairperson referred to the Tribunals practice of combining judicial and expert knowledge, constituting joint committees, seeking periodic compliance reports and prescribing time-bound action plans to ensure implementation of its directions. During the second session, Examining the Toolkit, Justice Shrivastava highlighted the interconnected nature of environmental challenges and explained how plastic waste discarded on roads and hillsides can travel through streams, rivers and wetlands before reaching oceans, adversely affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. He also outlined Indias constitutional and legislative framework for environmental protection, referring to Articles 21, 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and waste management regulations. Justice Shrivastava further highlighted the NGTs monitoring mechanism for municipal solid waste and sewage management, involving proceedings concerning States and Union Territories, periodic compliance reports and dedicated financial mechanisms for environmental infrastructure. Calling for greater focus on preventing waste at the source, he advocated circular economy practices, stronger Extended Producer Responsibility, life-cycle assessments and greater accountability of all stakeholders. The NGT Chairperson also stressed the importance of independent compliance verification and the use of technology, including satellite-based monitoring, to strengthen environmental governance and enforcement. Justice Shrivastava said pollution control was closely linked to biodiversity conservation and emphasised the need to protect rivers as living ecological systems. He said effective environmental governance required clear regulations, accountable institutions, dedicated financial resources and empowered judicial oversight. (ANI)
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