In Newsitem titled “Fire breaks out at Vellalore landfill in Coimbatore” appearing in The Hindu dated 07.04.2024, the NGT registered a suo motu OA on the basis of a news article relating to a fire at an open dump yard located within the Vellalore landfill premises in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. At this site, over 200 tonnes of legacy waste was set ablaze, raising concerns about the release of harmful pollutants in the air and soil. The matter was transferred to the Southern Bench of the NGT for further orders.
Pertinently, the Supreme Court had orally observed in a pending matter [National Green Tribunal & Anr. Vs. Goa Foundation & Ors] that the jurisdiction of the Principal Bench at New Delhi is limited to matters arising within the Northern Zone only, and that it had no jurisdiction to hear matters arising in other parts of the country outside its jurisdiction. Thus, the NGT’s Principal Bench, upon taking suo motu cognisance of an incident occurring outside its territorial jurisdiction or acting on a letter petition, lists the matter for further adjudication before the appropriate bench of the NGT with competent territorial jurisdiction.
It is also pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of India in Municipal Corporation of Bombay v. Ankita Sinha held that NGT has suo motu powers to take up cases dealing with environmental issues since Section 14 of the NGT Act does not require the filing of any formal application in matters concerning the environment.
Source: Barandbench
