Legal eagles raise pitch for ‘Green Bench’ in State HC

Hyderabad: The recent demolitions taken up by HYDRA to clear the lakes that have been encroached in the last three decades or so has thrown up another demand.

The legal experts feel that the government along with taking measures to clear all the illegal constructions in the FTL and buffer zones should take measures to see that more Green Courts should be set up in the state. At present there is only one National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the entire South India based in Chennai.

“There is a provision for establishing Green Bench and Chief Justice of High Court can constitute the Green Bench exclusively to focus on issues related to environment,” advocate R Sameer Ahmed, who fought cases of lake Banjara and Malkam cheruvu told Hans India.

According to Sameer, another major issue is failure of authorities to implement the Green Tribunals orders. If the GT stays construction activity, they go to High Court and in many cases the High Court had given stay order on the Green Tribunal decision.

The case goes on and on for long period and in the meantime, the construction activity continues in the FTL and buffer zones.

Legal experts say that the Green Tribunal orders in about 90 percent of the cases were not implemented. When the aggrieved again approached the Tribunal alleging that the officials had not implemented the orders, the HoDs and concerned officials were served with contempt notice but nothing much happens.

The government extends legal aid to them and everything remains entangled in the legal battle.

Thakur Raj Kumar Singh of Human Rights and Consumer Protection Cell Trust said, “If exclusive wings in High Court to handle Green cases can be created, encroachments can be prevented in time.”

Green activists say that the Telangana’s High Court can study the system that is prevailing in Tamil Nadu and Kerala where environmental concerns are taken much seriously. These State High Courts refer these types of cases back to NGT.