Background: the benches and the Act behind the tribunal whose order drives the Kannur river plan

Background

The river revival plan now taking shape in Kannur is being drawn up to comply with an order of the National Green Tribunal, so it helps to know how that tribunal is built. The Tribunal works under the NGT Act 2010, along with its practice and procedure rules and other rules made under the Act. Its Principal Bench sits at Delhi, and it has four zonal benches: the Central Zonal Bench at Bhopal, the Eastern Zonal Bench at Kolkata, the Southern Zonal Bench at Chennai and the Western Zonal Bench at Pune. Kerala falls within the work of the southern zone. The Tribunal is headed by a Chairperson and hears matters through two classes of members, Judicial Members and Expert Members, so that scientific evidence is weighed alongside the law. Its registry is led by a Registrar General, with Registrars and Deputy Registrars for the principal and zonal benches. Cause lists, case status, judgements and orders and electronic filing are all published through the Tribunal website.