Concept:

• The National Green Tribunal was formed on 18 October 2010.
  • The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which 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 of Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty, which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment.
  • NGT is proposed to be set up at five places of sittings and will follow circuit procedure for making itself more accessible.
  • New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai shall be the other place of sitting of the Tribunal.

Explanation:

Green Bench :

• A green bench is a judicial bench that hears and adjudicates disputes relating to the preservation of forests and the protection of the environment. 
• The word green bench was coined by the Supreme Court in the 'Madras Tanneries' case, on August 28, 1996.
• Green Bench was the earlier form of the National Green Tribunal.
• The First Green bench was in Kolkata.

• NGT Structure :
  • The Principal Bench of the NGT is in New Delhi.
  •  Each Bench has a specified geographical jurisdiction in a region. 
  • The Chairperson of the NGT is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, head quartered in New Delhi.
  • On 18 October 2010, Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta became its first Chairman.
  • Retired justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is the incumbent chairman.
  • Other Judicial members are retired Judges of High Courts.
  • Each bench of the NGT will comprise at least one Judicial Member and one Expert Member.
  • Expert members should have a professional qualification and a minimum of 15 years experience in the field of environment/forest conservation and related subjects.
• Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is a Chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT).
• Under the NGT Act 2010, the tribunal is to have a full-time chairperson and up to 20 judicial and expert members each.
• According to the Act, the tribunal is not supposed to have less than 10 of either.
• It currently has four judges, including the chair, and as many experts