Observing that smart cities will become deserts without the benediction and intervention of institutions such as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) established for preserving the environment, Supreme Court judge Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday stressed on the need for addressing the manpower and infrastructure needs of various benches of the tribunal.
The judge was inaugurating the tribunal’s southern zone bench at the renovated 18th century Kalas Mahal in Chepauk here.
Mr. Gogoi pointed out that one of the two benches of the tribunal in southern zone did not have an expert member thereby increasing the burden on the judicial member who had to dispose of petitions without the assistance of a technical expert.
In his address, Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the Kalas Mahal, built in 1768 by the eighth Nawab of Arcot Mohammed Ali Wallajah and originally part of the Chepauk Palace, was a place steeped in history. He pointed out that it was only after Independence that it fell into neglect and was gutted in 2002.
The Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee said the longevity and health of living beings depended on the purity of the environment.
Exploitation of resources
Pointing out that ancient rulers were highly conscious of the need to protect nature, Ms. Banerjee said that exploitation of natural resources began only during the British era and then grew slowly.
Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam said the State government as well as the people were the forerunners when it came to protecting the environment. He pointed out the former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had earmarked the Kalas Mahal for NGT’s southern zone bench and had allotted ₹14.5 crore for the renovation of the building.
The Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, a direct descendant of Nawab Wallajah, said that Kalas Mahal was the official residence of the Nawabs of the Carnatic from 1768 to 1855. Nawab Wallajah was a secular ruler who had donated huge tracts of land for building temples as well as for educational institutions started by Christian missionaries. “India should remain a secular country. If there is no secularism, India will die,” he said.
NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar and the southern Bench’s judicial member P. Jyothimani spoke.
Although Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami participated in the inauguration at Kalas Mahal, he did not attend the function that followed at Kalaivanar Arangam.