Chennai:
The Madras High Court Friday granted three months time to the Centre to examine appointment of an additional expert member on regular basis to the National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone) here.
The court gave the directive while disposing a PIL by D Karthik, an advocate, who submitted that after constitution of NGT, Southern Zone, all the cases relating to environmental matters pending before various high courts in the south were transferred to the tribunal here.
The previous expert member Nagendiran has resigned from the office a few months ago and no member has been appointed in his place till date, he submitted.
Due to want of more expert members, there has been huge delay as well as listing cases for hearing.
The volume of litigations with respect to environment has increased manifold in the southern states and it was only due to this fact, a second court was actually established a few years ago in Chennai. However, without there being sufficient expert members, the tribunal could not function effectively, he submitted.
