HC directs Centre to appoint chairman of green panel

A statutory body created for deciding cases related to environment may get a chairman eight years after its creation as the Delhi High Court rapped the Centre. The Court slapped a cost of Rs 20,000 for not complying with its earlier order and gave it 12 weeks to appoint its head. National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) has remained headless since its creation in July 2000. A bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 for not complying with its 2005 order directing the government to appoint a chairman of the Commission which was constituted to deal with cases relating to environment. "The present case tests the limits of the scope of this court's power in exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction. The court cannot be expected to remain a mute witness to the unfortunate rendering of a statutory body ineffective by an unwilling executive," a bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said on Wednesday. "Union of India has not only not obeyed the mandamus issued by it by this court but continues to defy it by refusing to correct what appear to be obvious anomalies in the NEAA rules," the court said. It pointed out that retired judges of the apex court had refused to accept the post as the chairman was not given the salary on par with sitting Supreme Court judges like heads of other tribunals. "The Government has, by its unwillingless to take effective steps, rendered NEAA an ineffective body," it said. "For not complying with the directions issued by this court on September, 2005, which has necessitated the filing of this application, we direct the government to pay the applicant cost of Rs 20,000 within four weeks," the court said. The bench passed the order on a petition of a social activist, Vimal Bhai, who approached the court after the government failed to appoint chairman of the statutory body. "The government has failed to comply with the court's order and has left it with no choice but to issue further mandatory direction to ensure that legislative mandate contained in the Act is not frustrated by executive apathy. The government has to be made accountable in law for its disobedience of the court's order," the court said. "That the government has been lackadaisical is obvious. This court finds the failure of the government to appoint a chairperson for over eight years inexcusable," the court said, directing the government to amend the rules to provide all facilities to the head of the body on par with facilities of sitting Supreme Court judges. "It is directed that the Centre shall grant to the Chairperson of the NEAA, hereafter appointed, the salary, allowances and other conditions of service as applicable to a sitting judge of the Supreme Court," the court said.

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