National Green Tribunal
K.M Santhanagopalan vs Union Of India Rep By The Secretary To ... on 10 April, 2024
Author: K. Satyagopal
Bench: K. Satyagopal
Item No.1 (i) to (viii):-
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI
Dated this the 10th day of April, 2024.
(Through Video Conference)
Original Application No.21 of 2020 (SZ)
(Earlier W.P. No.13433 of 1996)
WITH
Original Application No.22 of 2020 (SZ) &
M.A. Nos.173 & 174 of 2017 (SZ)
(Earlier W.P. No.39722 of 2005)
WITH
Original Application No.23 of 2020 (SZ)
(Earlier W.P. No.24595 of 2005)
WITH
Original Application No.24 of 2020 (SZ)
(Earlier W.P. No.29246 of 2006)
WITH
Original Application No.25 of 2020 (SZ)
(Earlier W.P. No.29275 of 2006)
WITH
Original Application No.184 of 2016 (SZ)
WITH
Original Application No.185 of 2016 (SZ)
WITH
Original Application No.186 of 2016 (SZ)
IN THE MATTER OF
O.A. No.21/2020:-
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forums
Through its President - Murugandhi
3, Vinayagar Koil Street, Kosapet,
Vellore - 632 001.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
Union of India
Rep. by its Secretary
Department of Ministry of Environment,
Paryavaran Bhavan, Lodi Road,
New Delhi and Ors.
...Respondent (s)
WITH
Page 1 of 15
O.A. No.22/2020:-
K.M. Santhanagopalan
4/7, Kalashetra Avenue,
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai - 41.
(Substituted as legal representative in the place
of deceased Original Applicant viz., S.
Jayalakshmi W/o. K.M. Santhanagopalan as per
order dated 09.09.2014 in W.P. M.P.
No.187/2014 in W.P. No.39722/2005.)
...Applicant(s)
Versus
Union of India
Rep. by the Secretary to Government
Ministry of Environment & Forests,
New Delhi and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
O.A. No.23/2020:-
K. Narayanasamy
S/o. Kandasamy Gounder
1/54, SIDCO T. Nagar (P.O.)
Vijayapuram (Via)
Tiruppur - 641 606.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Loss of Ecology Authority
(Prevention & Payments of Compensation)
Authority for the State of Tamil Nadu
Rep. by its Administrative Officer (Judicial)
Old No.119, New No.26, G.N. Chetty Road,
T. Nagar, Chennai - 17 and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
O.A. No.24/2020:-
Govindasamy
S/o.Kannu Gounder,
Vadhiyar Street,
Rasathupuram Village,
Vellore District and Ors.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Chairman
Loss & Ecology
117, G.N. Chetty Street,
Chennai - 17 and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
Page 2 of 15
O.A. No.25/2020:-
Jayaraman
S/o. Nadappa Gounder
No.13, Vedamani Gounder Street,
Rasathupuram Village,
Vellore District and Ors.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Chairman
Loss & Ecology
117, G.N. Chetty Street,
Chennai - 17 and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
O.A. No.184/2016:-
J. Seethapathi
S/o. V. Janakiraman
Maniyaarakuppam Village,
Thennampattu, Ambur Taluk.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Loss of Ecology Authority
Rep. by its Chairman
Peters Road, Royapetta,
Chennai and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
O.A. No.185/2016:-
A.R. Pushpalatha
W/o. Late A.C. Ramamurthy
Kanrampalli Village, Ambur.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Loss of Ecology Authority
Rep. by its Chairman
Peters Road, Royapetta,
Chennai and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
WITH
O.A. No.186/2016:-
A.R. Sureshbabu
S/o. Late A.C. Ramamurthy
Kanrampalli Village, Ambur.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
The Loss of Ecology Authority
Rep. by its Chairman
Peters Road, Royapetta,
Chennai and Ors.
... Respondent (s)
Page 3 of 15
O.A. Nos.21 to 25/2020:
For Applicant(s): None.
For Respondent(s): 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.
O.A. Nos.184 to 186/2016:
For Applicant(s): Mr. A. Yogeshwaran.
For Respondent(s): Dr. D. Shanmuganathan for State of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. S. Sai Sathya Jith for Tamil Nadu SPCB.
Judgment Reserved on: 04th March, 2024.
CORAM:
HON'BLE Smt. JUSTICE PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE Dr. SATYAGOPAL KORLAPATI, EXPERT MEMBER
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 Page 4 of 15
(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 Compensation
used for irrigation payable
mg/L 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 Page 5 of 15 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 transferred to the file of the National Green Tribunal." .........
"In view of the long pendency of the claims before the LoEA, the Tribunal should dispose of all the claims within a period of six months."
7. Subsequently, the W.P. No.13433 of 1996 & batch cases were transferred to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the same were re-numbered as Original Application Nos.21 to 25 of 2020 (SZ).
8. Pursuant to the order of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras, the MoEF&CC (CP Division) sent a communication dated 21.04.2016 to the Registrar General, NGT, Principal Bench, New Delhi requesting to take necessary action in compliance with the above-mentioned order.
9. As the claims/applications relating to LoEA were directed to be transferred to this Bench for consideration, the applicants in O.A. Nos.130 to 134 (SZ) have filed fresh applications viz., O.A. Nos.184 to 186 of 2016 (SZ) before this Tribunal on 27.05.2016.
Page 6 of 1510. The applicant (O.A. No.184 of 2016), who is the owner of agricultural lands comprised in Survey Nos.52/1B1, 58/2A, 58/3, 59/2 and 58/2B of Thennampattu Village, Ambur Taluk, Tirupathur District (erstwhile Vellore District), has filed this application seeking a direction to the respondents to award compensation for the damages caused to his agricultural lands as stated supra and also for the lands in Sy. No.60/2B, 61/1A and 62/2A3 admeasuring 1.02 Hectares which were left out by the LoEA in accordance with the parameters fixed by them in its Award dated 07.03.2001 for lands covered in Class V i.e. above 4900 TDS along with interest from the date of the award till the date of realization.
11. The applicant (O.A. No.185 of 2016), who is the owner of agricultural lands comprised in Survey Nos.235/1, 235/2, 235/3 admeasuring 0.02.50 Ha., 0.98 Ha., 0.98 Ha. respectively of Thuthipet Village, Ambur Taluk, Tirupathur District (erstwhile Vellore District), has filed this application seeking a direction to the respondents to award compensation for the damages caused to his agricultural lands (supra) as per the calculation made in Para 13 of the application along with interest from the date of the Award i.e. 07.03.2001 till the date of realization.
12. The applicant (O.A. No.186 of 2016), who is the owner of agricultural lands comprised in Survey Nos.182/1, 186/2, 236/1, 237/1, and 237/2 admeasuring a total extent of 3.24 Ha. and the joint owner of lands comprised in Sy. Nos.183, 185, 201/2, 232/1, 232/2, and 233, admeasuring a total extent of 9.67 Ha. of Thuthipet Village, Ambur Taluk, Tirupathur District (erstwhile Vellore District), has filed this application seeking a direction to the respondents to award compensation for the damages caused to the agricultural lands in Sy. Nos. 236/1, 237/1, 237/2, 201/2, 232/1, 232/2, 233, and 183 as per the calculation made in Para 17 of the application along with interest from the date of the Award i.e. 07.03.2001 till the date of realization.
Page 7 of 1513. As the directions issued by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras were not complied with, a contempt petition [Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018] was filed and the Hon'ble High Court of Madras has passed several orders on several occasions. The relevant dates and orders are usefully extracted below:-
Date Order/Direction Even though this court by virtue of order passed in 05.07.2019 WP.No.39722 of 2005 dated 07.04.2016 directed the respondents to constitute one Additional Bench of National Green Tribunal at Chennai within a period of six months, so far the Additional Bench is not constituted which compelled the petitioner to come before this Court by way of this Petition.
2.An affidavit has been filed by the respondent stating that steps are being taken to constitute the Bench. However, it is seen that a number of posts are vacant not only in southern region but also throughout the country. Therefore, the following details have to be filed by the appropriate officer by way of an affidavit:
a) How many judicial member posts are vacant in various benches (Bench wise details)?
b) How many expert vacancies are there (Bench wise details)?
c) When all the vacancies will be filled up?
d) When the Additional Bench of National Green Tribunal will be constituted at Chennai?
26.07.2019 As per the earlier order of this Court dated 29.03.2016, the cases pending before the Loss of Ecology Authority were transferred to National Green Tribunal and the staffs of the authority are directed to be absorbed by the National Green Tribunal. Even after passage of three years, nothing has been done by the respondent either to constitute an Additional Bench as per the earlier order or to absorb the staffs of the Loss of Ecology Authority.
.........
3. Mr.G.Karthikeyan, learned Assistant Solicitor General has filed an affidavit today stating that an Additional Bench would be constituted for filling up the vacancies. ... ... ...... ... ... Therefore, Mrs. Nagasaila, learned Counsel for the petitioner would submit that it is better to appoint a retired Judge of this Court to decide the claim of the farmers. By the next hearing, if no instructions are obtained by Mr. G.Karthikeyan, learned Assistant Solicitor General, this Court will be compelled to appoint a retired Judge of this Court to decide and adjudicate the claims.
4. Mrs. Nagasaila, learned Counsel for the petitioner would also submit that she would inform the Advocate General about the constitution of the Loss of Ecology Authority and in case of constitution, remuneration has to be borne out by the State Government. Though the staffs of the Loss of Ecology Authority were directed to be absorbed by the National Green Tribunal, so far it has not been done and no salary has been paid to them. Hence, Mr. G.Karthikeyan, learned Assistant Solicitor General seeks time to get instructions as to when the salary of the staffs sought to be absorbed by the National Green Tribunal would be paid by the Central Government.
Page 8 of 1519.08.2019 ... ... ... Ms. D. Nagasaila, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that instead of waiting for constitution of the Green Tribunal, this Court could appoint a retired District Judge to decide about the claims which were pending before the Loss of Ecology (Prevention and Payments of Compensation) Authority. Moreover, the claims relate to damages caused to the lands and crops prior to the year 2007. ... ... ...
14. That apart, the O.A. Nos.184 to 186 of 2016 (SZ) were taken up for consideration and this Tribunal vide Order dated 17.08.2020 specifically directed the District Collector to ascertain whether any applications filed by the applicants in these cases were pending with them and whether the same has been disposed of. Pursuant to which, a copy of the letter in all the above cases, has been produced addressed by the Tahsildar, Ambur to the Government Pleader, NGT stating that none of these applicants have filed any application for compensation before the District Collector or LoEA and no compensation had been awarded.
15. In compliance with the Order of the Hon'ble High Court, a letter dated 24.07.2021 has been addressed by the Registrar General, NGT (PB), New Delhi to the Registrar, NGT (SZB), Chennai issuing the SOP/Guidelines regarding the transfer of record from the Office of LoEA to the Office of NGT (SZB), Chennai with a direction to start the process of handing over/taking over such records be completed at the earliest and positively within one month and compliance thereof be sent to the NGT, PB on expiry of said period.
16. Accordingly, this Tribunal issued an Office Order dated 27.07.2021 by deputing the officials/staffs to complete the entire process of taking over the records from the Office of LoEA.
17. Again, on 29.07.2021 and 06.08.2021, the Contempt Petition [Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018] was taken up for consideration and the following orders were passed by the Hon'ble High Court:-
Page 9 of 1529.07.2021 ... ... ... ... By virtue of order dated 07.04.2016, this Court directed the Central Government to consider for rehabilitating the employees of the Loss of Ecology, whose particulars are furnished in paragraph 79 by absorbing them into the National Green Tribunal. The communication dated 19.07.2021 written by Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the Chairperson, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi reveals that they recommended the absorption of contract labourers, since they have been working for so many years and constructive part of their life have been spent in the service of Loss of Ecology Authority and they shall be paid the same scale of pay, which applicable to the regular employees of the National Green Tribunal.
Paragraph Nos. 3 to 5 of the communication dated 19.07.2021 are extracted hereunder:-
"3.This Ministry vide letter dated 22.03.2017 again requested NGT to set up Additional Bench from the existing sanctioned strength. Further, vide letter dated 12.07.2017, the Ministry conveyed for reporting the nine(09) contractual employees of the Loss of Ecology Authority to NGT, Southern Bench, Chennai.
4. The Hon'ble High Court heard the Contempt Petition No.2746 of 2018 on 15.07.2021. The Learned Assistant Solicitor General has opined that it would not be possible to deny the employees their rights.
5. I shall be grateful if you could kindly look into the matter and initiate the establishment of an Additional Bench at Chennai and consider the absorption of nine(09) contractual employees of the Loss of Ecology Authority to NGT, Southern Bench, Chennai."
4. With regard to the appointment of retired High Court Judge, which is pending before the Loss of Ecology Authority, Learned Advocate General is requested to get instructions from the Government.
5. Since it is represented by the Learned Counsel that there are similar matters pending before the Loss of Ecology Authority, the same shall be retained with the authority itself, without being transmitted to the National Green Tribunal.
... ... ... ... Mr.T.Mohan, Learned Counsel appearing for the Loss of 06.08.2021 Ecology Authority submitted that earlier, the Central Government has appointed the Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.Baskaran (Retd.) as Chairman of the Loss of Ecology Authority for deciding the cases and after his resignation, the vacancy of the said post has not been filled up.
3. It is seen that the order has been passed in the year 2016 and half a decade was gone and however, the same has not been complied with by constituting an Additional Bench and poor farmers are still suffering. Therefore, an order has to be passed by the Central Government for appointment of a retired Judge of this Court for deciding the cases which are pending before the Loss of Ecology Authority. This Court suggests Hon'ble Mr. Justice D. Hari Parandhaman to be appointed as Chairman of Loss of Ecology Authority for deciding the said cases.
4.In this regard, Mrs. R.Anitha, Learned State Government Counsel appearing for the Second and Third Respondents undertakes to inform the Learned Additional Solicitor General Page 10 of 15 of India to get instructions from the Central Government with regard to the recommendation of Hon'ble Mr. Justice D. Hari Parandhaman to be appointed as Chairman of Loss of Ecology Authority so that Central Government will pass appropriate notification. It is made clear that this order is passed in modification of the order passed by this Court on 07.04.2016.
18. From the above, it is seen that the Hon'ble High Court had suggested Hon'ble Mr. Justice D. Hari Parandhaman to be appointed as Chairman of Loss of Ecology Authority for deciding the said cases and the said order is passed in modification of the Original Order dated 07.04.2016 in W.P. No.13433 of 1996.
19. Thereafter, the contempt petition was not taken up for consideration.
20. The process of taking over the records from the LoEA has been stopped based on the above-referred order dated 29.07.2021 which specifically states that "Since it is represented by the Learned Counsel that there are similar matters pending before the Loss of Ecology Authority, the same shall be retained with the authority itself, without being transmitted to the National Green Tribunal."
21. In the meanwhile, this Tribunal had passed an order dated 22.11.2021 in the original applications [O.A. Nos.21 to 25 of 2020 (SZ)], on the following lines:-
"2. Mr. T. Mohan Learned Counsel appearing for the some of the petitioners appearing before the Hon'ble High Court of Madras, submitted that by virtue of the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court suggesting for appointment of a retired Judge as member of loss of Ecology Authority and that has not been implemented by the Central Government and proceedings are still pending before the Hon'ble High Court and wanted this Tribunal to adjourn this case to middle of December so that some orders can be obtained from the Hon'ble High Court as to what is to be done by this Tribunal by virtue of subsequent orders passed by the Hon'ble High Court.
3. We have also sent a request for clarification to Hon'ble High Court through Registry. The Registry is also directed to verify as directed by the Tribunal any clarification request has been sent to the Hon'ble High Court, if so what is the present status."Page 11 of 15
22. Pursuant to the above direction, the Registry sent a communication to the Registrar General, High Court of Madras, Chennai on 29.11.2021 on the above lines and wherein, it is specifically stated as follows:-
"3. Further, I submit that in furtherance to the Order of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras dated 06.08.2021, kindly clarify as to whether this Tribunal can continue adjudication of the matters pending on the file as referred 2-6 above or to transfer the same.
4. Hence, kindly place the matter for consideration before the Hon'ble Chief Justice and inform and clarify the same to this Tribunal at the earliest."
23. Thereafter, O.A. Nos.21 to 25 of 2020 (SZ) [Earlier W.P. No.13433 of 1996 & Batch] were taken up for consideration and vide Order dated 14.09.2022, this Tribunal had adjourned the matters sine die based on the following observations:-
"2. On the basis of the transfer order passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in W.P. 13433/1996 and connected matters as per judgment dated 07.04.2016, the cases were taken on file by this Tribunal. Subsequently, there were certain directions issued by the Hon'ble High Court in the same issue in Contempt Petition No. 2746/2018 and Sub Application Numbers 122&133/2021 by order dated 06.08.2021 and subsequent orders suggesting for restoring the Loss of Ecology Authority and suggesting a retired Judge of the Hon'ble High Court as its Chairman and directed the MoEF&CC to consider those aspects and pass appropriate directions and there was a direction issued to the Loss of Ecology Authority not to transfer the pending applications to this Tribunal and it was informed that the Contempt Petition and clarification petitions are still pending before the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in the disposed of matter.
3. In one of the order dated 06.08.2021, the Hon'ble High Court has directed the Additional Solicitor General of India to get instruction from the Central Government with regard to the recommendation of the Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. Hariparandhaman, to be appointed as Chairman of Loss of Ecology Authority so that the Central Government will pass appropriate notification which was made clear that this order was passed in modification of the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court on 07.04.2016 by which order the entire matters have been transferred to this Tribunal for consideration.
4. In view of the fact that certain directions have been issued by the Hon'ble High Court in this matter and in view of the orders passed, it may not be possible for the Tribunal to proceed with the matter further.
5. We feel it appropriate to adjourn the case sine die till further clarificatory orders are issued by the Hon'ble High Court in this regard.Page 12 of 15
6. The parties are also at liberty to file an application for reopening the matter for hearing after any further directions in this regard has been issued by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras.
7. The Registry is directed to place the records before the Bench as and when any further final order or clarificatory order issued by the Hon'ble High Court in this regard.
8. With the above direction and observation, these matter are adjourned sine die."
24. The long and short of it is that,
(i) Earlier, the order passed on 07.04.2016 by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in W.P. No.13433 of 1996 and batch, it was decided to transfer all the claims to the National Green Tribunal and also provide the NGT with Additional Bench with required staff.
(ii) As the said direction could not be complied with, a contempt petition (Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018) was filed and in the said contempt petition, vide Order dated 29.07.2021, the Hon'ble High Court has thought it fit to keep the matters pending only before the LoEA and not to transfer them to the National Green Tribunal.
(iii) The suggestion of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras, vide Order dated 06.08.2021, to appoint the Hon'ble Mr. Justice D. Hari Parandhaman as Chairman of LoEA is yet to be considered by the Central Government.
(iv) As the earlier order passed on 07.04.2016 is modified by the Hon'ble High Court in its order dated 06.08.2021 and vide Order dated 29.07.2021, directing the claims pending before the LoEA to be retained with the authority itself without being transmitted to the National Green Tribunal, it can be decided only by the LoEA.
Page 13 of 15(v) Therefore, the applications viz., O.A. Nos.185 to 186 of 2016(SZ) which were directly filed before this Tribunal by the applicants also involves the same exercise of assessing the damages caused to the applicant's lands.
(vi) Another set of matters viz., O.A. Nos.21 to 25 of 2020 (SZ) is pending before this Tribunal that were originally transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Madras, wherein also the damages have to be assessed.
25. It is now stated that the LoEA itself is not in existence and the contempt petition and connected matters are pending before the Hon'ble High Court of Madras. In such circumstances, it would be appropriate that these matters may be tagged along with the pending contempt petition [Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018] after obtaining appropriate directions from the Hon'ble High Court.
26. The learned counsel for the applicant Mr. A. Yogeshwaran mentioned that in most of the cases, the papers are lost and it would be very difficult to assess the damage after this length of time. As the damages relate to the period between 1996 and 2001 and awards have already been passed and not received by the applicants herein, it would be appropriate for the applicants to obtain suitable orders from the Hon'ble High Court of Madras.
27. As already the Hon'ble High Court of Madras has directed not to transfer any matters from the LoEA to the National Green Tribunal, the above matters may be tagged along with the pending contempt petition before the Hon'ble High Court in Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018 for appropriate orders to be passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras for further action.
28. Accordingly, all the above Original Applications viz., O.A. Nos.21 to 25 of 2020 (SZ) & O.A. Nos.184 to 186 of 2016 (SZ) are closed. Consequently, M.A. Nos.173 & 174 of 2017 (SZ) in O.A. No.22 of 2020 (SZ) are also closed.
Page 14 of 1529. It is open to the applicants to get these Original Applications tagged along with the pending Cont. P. No.2746 of 2018 after getting appropriate orders from the Hon'ble High Court of Madras. Till such time, the Registry is directed to maintain the original records.
Sd/-
Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, JM Sd/-
Dr. Satyagopal Korlapati, EM Internet - Yes/No All India NGT Reporter - Yes/No O.A. Nos.21 to 25/2020 (SZ) & M.A. Nos.173 & 174 of 2017 (SZ) O.A. Nos.184 to 186/2016 (SZ) 10th April, 2024. Mn.
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