Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 2165

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL CHENNAI (SOUTHERN ZONE BENCH)
Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member, Satyagopal Korlapati, Expert Member
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum Through its President – Murugandhi – Appellant
Versus
Union of India Rep. by its Secretary Department of Ministry of Environment – Respondent
Original Application No.21 of 2020 (SZ)|Original Application No.22 of 2020 (SZ)|Original Application No.23 of 2020 (SZ)|Original Application No.24 of 2020 (SZ)|Original Application No.25 of 2020 (SZ)|M.A. Nos.173 & 174 of 2017 (SZ)|Original Application No.184 of 2016 (SZ)|Original Application No.185 of 2016 (SZ)|Original Application No.186 of 2016 (SZ)

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. A. Yogeshwaran
For the Respondents: Mr. G.M. Syed Nurullah Sheriff for MoEF&CC, Dr. D. Shanmuganathan for State of Tamil Nadu, Mr. S. Sai Sathya Jith for Tamil Nadu SPCB

Tribunal closed pollution compensation claims lacking jurisdiction after High Court modified transfer order to retain them with defunct Authority, directing applicants to seek relief via pending contempt petition.

Headnote:(A) Environmental Pollution - Tannery effluents - Loss of Ecology Authority - Assessment of damage to agriculture from polluted water (TDS levels) and compensation slabs: 1000-2100 mg/L (Rs.1000/ha/year), 2100-3500 (Rs.2000), 3500-4900 (Rs.6500), above 4900 (Rs.14000) - Claims transferred from High Court to Tribunal then retained with Authority per modification orders - Tribunal lacks jurisdiction post-modification directing claims to be handled by Authority. (Paras 4, 6, 24)

(B) Jurisdiction - Transfer of proceedings - High Court order transferring pollution compensation claims to Tribunal modified by subsequent contempt orders retaining claims with Authority and halting record transfer to Tribunal - Tribunal adjourns matters sine die then closes, directing applicants to seek tagging with pending contempt for resolution. (Paras 6, 20, 23, 25-28)

Facts of the case:
Claims arise from tannery pollution damaging agricultural lands via untreated effluents, leading to Supreme Court directions forming Authority for damage assessment and compensation. High Court transferred pending claims to Tribunal; later contempt orders modified this, retaining claims with Authority (non-existent) and suggesting retired judge appointment. Applicants sought compensation reassessment per 2001 award parameters with interest; records lost, no prior claims filed.

Findings of Court:
Original Applications closed; applicants at liberty to tag with pending contempt petition before High Court for appropriate orders. Registry to maintain records till then.

Issues: Whether Tribunal can adjudicate claims post High Court modification retaining them with Authority; assessment of damages after long delay and lost records.

Ratio Decidendi: High Court’s modification of transfer order divests Tribunal of jurisdiction over claims, requiring resolution via pending contempt proceedings before High Court given Authority’s non-existence and procedural history.

Result: All Original Applications closed.

Table of Content
1. origin of tannery pollution litigation and loea creation. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. loea compensation rates and disputes. (Para 4 , 5)
3. high court transfers cases to ngt, later modifies. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 13 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24)
4. applicants seek compensation for polluted lands. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 14)
5. ngt attempts record transfer from loea. (Para 15 , 16)
6. ngt closes cases, directs to high court. (Para 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29)

JUDGEMENT

Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member.

1. The genesis of these matters starts from the W.P.No.914 of 1991 which was filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court by the Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum for the protection of thousands of innocent lives, suffering from serious air and water pollution being caused due to the discharge of untreated effluents by the tanneries into agricultural fields, waterways and open lands in North Arcot District (Vellore), Tamil Nadu.

2. Pursuant to the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, vide its Order dated 28.08.1996 in W.P. No.914 of 1991 [reported in (1996) 5 SCC 647], the Central Government/ MoEF&CC had issued a Notification S.O. 671 (E) dated 30.09.1996 constituting a body namely, the Loss of Ecology (Prevention & Payments of Compensation) Authority for the State of Tamil Nadu (hereinafter referred to as ‘LoEA’) to (i) Assess the damage/loss to the ecology/environment in the affected areas, (ii) Identify the individuals/families who have suffered from the pollution, (iii) Collect the compensation from the tanneries and (iv) Distribute the same to the individuals/families.

3. Thereafter, the said W.P. No.914 of 1991 was transferred to the Hon’ble High Court of Madras and re-numbered as W.P. No.13433 of 1996.

4. Several awards have been passed by the LoEA for the State of Tamil Nadu, including one passed on 07.03.2001 which is now in dispute, and the rate of compensation determined as follows:

TDS in well water used for irrigation mg/L	Compensation payable Rupees per hectare per year
1000-2100	1000
2100-3500	2000
3500-4900	6500
Above 4900	14000

5. Aggrieved by the Award dated 07.03.2001, some of the parties filed applications viz., O.A. Nos.130, 131, 132 & 134 of 2014 (SZ) before this Tribunal praying for a direction to the LoEA to re-conduct water analysis and for awarding compensation to the damage caused. After careful consideration, this Tribunal disposed of the above-referred applications by Order dated 30.09.2014 with a direction to the LoEA to consider and dispose of the representations of the applicant within three months.

6. On 07.04.2016, the Hon’ble High Court of Madras, after perusing the records and considering the issue in detail, passed an elaborate order in W.P. No.13433 of 1996 & batch cases (Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum Vs. Union of India, MoEF&CC, New Delhi & Ors.) and also issued several directions to the authorities, of which, the following are the relevant portions:-

“(iii) All the claims pending investigation/enquiry on the file of the Loss of Ecology shall stands transferred to Chennai Bench of the National Green Tribunal.

… … …

(vi) In view of the huge volume of claims now getting transferred to the National Green Tribunal, the Central Government shall constitute, at least one additional Bench at Chennai, as undertaken by the learned Additional Solicitor General, for the present. The Central Government shall examine the constitution of another additional Bench, within six months, so that the Tribunal does not crush under the weight of such a huge volume.

(vii)The Union of India shall consider rehabilitating the employees of the Loss of Ecology Authority whose particulars are furnished in Paragraph 79 above by absorbing them into the National Green Tribunal.

(viii) … … … But, we are of the considered view that after the constitution of the National Green Tribunal, there is no point in keeping the said writ petition pending before this Court. Therefore, we direct W.P. No.13433 of 1996 to be tra

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2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 2165

Tribunal closed pollution compensation claims lacking jurisdiction after High Court modified transfer order to retain them with defunct Authority, directing applicants to seek relief via pending contempt petition.

Cases Referred (1)