• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought a response from the Central Pollution Control Board and others in a matter regarding alarming levels of heavy metals and toxic substances found in Karnataka's Arkavathi river.

• The green body was hearing the matter where it had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a newspaper report regarding mercury, banned pesticide DDT, cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and fluoride found in the river water.

• According to the news report, samples were collected from three sites, revealing high DDT concentrations, mercury levels and harmful hydrocarbons.

Key poiints on Arkavathi river:

• The Arkavathi River is falling in the jurisdiction of Bangalore Rural district and Ramanagara district. 

• The river originates at Nandi Hills of Chikkaballapura district. It flows southwards to finally join Kauveri river at Sangam in Kanakapura Taluk. 

• Its total length is 190 km.

• Kumudavathi, Suvarnamukhi and Vrishabhavathi are the three tributaries for Arkavathi river. 

• The River passes through Savanadurga Reserve Forest and adjacent to Reserve Forests like Hulthur Reserve Forest and Handigundi Reserve Forest. Hence the River is a major source of water for wild life.

• The Arkavathi River flow is very lean during non-monsoon season.

National Green Tribunal

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was established on October 18, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. 

• It is a specialised body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. 

• NGT has five places of sitting — the principal bench at New Delhi and zonal benches at Pune, Kolkata, Bhopal and Chennai. 

• The Tribunal is headed by the chairperson who sits in the principal bench and has at least ten but not more than twenty judicial members and at least ten but not more than twenty expert members.

• Any person seeking relief and compensation for environmental damage involving subjects in the legislations mentioned in Schedule I of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 may approach the Tribunal.

Why was NGT set up?

• The precursor to the NGT Act was the 186th Report of the Law Commission of India submitted in March 2003 which came after the Supreme Court repeatedly urged Parliament through various judgments to establish specialised environmental courts, with qualified judges and technical experts on the bench. 

• The Supreme Court also put forward that there should be direct appeals to the Supreme Court from such environmental courts. 

• The Law Commission then recommended creation of a specialised court to deal with the environmental issues. The Law Commission expressed the view that it is not convenient for the High Courts and the Supreme Court to make local inquiries or to receive evidence. 

• Moreover, the superior Courts will not have access to expert environmental scientists on permanent basis to assist them. 

• The NGT was conceived as a complementary specialised forum to deal with all multidisciplinary environmental issues, both as original as well as an appellate authority. 

• The specialised forum was also made free from the rules of evidence applicable to normal courts and was permitted to lay down its own procedure to entertain oral and documentary evidence, consult experts, etc with specific mandate to observe the principles of natural justice.

• The right to a healthy environment has been construed as a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution in the judicial pronouncement in India.

• The NGT is set up under the constitutional mandate under Entry 13 List I of Schedule VII to enforce Article 21 in regard to the environment and the Tribunal was conferred special jurisdiction for enforcement of environmental rights.

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