HC not to interfere with NGT’s Rs 100 crore fine on govt

CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court has refused to interfere with the orders of the National Green Tribunal in Chennai, imposing a fine of Rs 100 crore on the TN government for not taking any step to maintain and preserve the waterways and water-bodies, and the Buckingham canal and Cooum river. The Supreme Court is the ultimate authority to decide the issue on appeal, the bench of Justices R Subbiah and C Saravanan said on Friday.

The bench was dismissing a petition from the State Public Works Department, challenging the order of the National Green Tribunal passed on an original application from Jawahar Shanmugham of Tiruvanmiyur on February 13, 2019. The Tribunal also issued directives to the State, to take necessary steps to preserve the canal and river.

As per Sec. 22 of the National Green Tribunal Act, the jurisdiction of the High Courts has been impliedly excluded, by inclusion of the words ‘Supreme Court’ and therefore, the petition filed before this court is not maintainable. When there is an efficacious and statutory remedy of appeal available before the SC, this writ petition filed by the petitioner is not maintainable, the bench said.

Rejecting the arguments of the Advocate-General, that the Tribunal did not consider the various status reports and other documentary evidence filed by the State government and it amounted to violation of the principles of natural justice and hence the writ petition is maintainable, the bench said that it is not inclined to accede to such submissions.

Even assuming that the Tribunal did not consider the various records filed on behalf of the petitioner, including the status reports, it will not be a ground to entertain this writ petition especially when the records produced before us showed that the Tribunal, before passing the order, had afforded sufficient opportunity to the parties to the original application, to put forth their submissions.

“In such view of the matter, we hold that the February 2019 order has not been passed in violation of principles of natural justice and accordingly, the argument advanced by the learned Advocate General is rejected.” In the result, the writ petition fails and it is dismissed as not maintainable, the bench added.