The Former Tamil Nadu chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan has been appointed as an expert member of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Southern Zone in Chennai.
The serving expert member in the Southern Bench Saibal Dasgupta has been sent to Eastern Zonal Bench in Kolkata.
They were appointed by the principal bench of the NGT in New Delhi
The Appointments Cabinet Committee of the Union Government approved this appointment.
However, the Madras High Court ordered an interim stay on this appointment.
The Court observed that she did possess administrative experience, but not five years of experience in dealing with environmental issues.
The NGT Act prescribes a minimum of administrative experience of 15 years including five years in dealing with environmental matters in the Central or a State government.
Poovulagin Nanbargal, an NGO fighting on issues related to environment headed by Sundarrajan, approached the High Court in this regard.
NGT
The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India.
It enables the creation of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.
It draws inspiration from India's constitutional provision (Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty).
The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
The Principal Bench of the NGT is in New Delhi.
It has regional benches in Pune (West), Bhopal (Central), Chennai (South) and Kolkata (East).
The Chairperson of the NGT is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court.
Each bench of the NGT will comprise at least one Judicial Member and one Expert Member.