RAS question
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was established under which Act?
Correct answer: (A) National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
The National Green Tribunal was established under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
Explanation
The National Green Tribunal, or NGT, was established on 18 October 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. Its purpose is the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources, and enforcement of legal rights connected with the environment. The PIB source also explains why a specialised tribunal matters: environmental disputes often involve multi-disciplinary questions and require relevant expertise, while the Tribunal is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure and is guided by principles of natural justice. The Principal Place of Sitting is New Delhi, with the other four benches at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) The Biodiversity Act, 2002 concerns biodiversity conservation and does not establish the National Green Tribunal.
- (C) The Forest Conservation Act deals with forest conservation, while the NGT was created under its own dedicated 2010 Act.
- (D) The Environment Protection Act, 1986 is an environmental law, but the NGT was not constituted under it; it was constituted under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
Concept
This tests the institutional framework of environmental governance, especially which statute creates which body. RAS repeatedly asks such questions because environmental protection in India depends on matching laws, tribunals and enforcement mechanisms correctly.