Strengthening Rule of Law for the Environment: The NGT’s Impact under Article 21 and SDG 16

The rapid urbanization and economic development lead to drastic degradation in the environment which further threatens the balance between ecology and human rights which are under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was established by the Indian Government in 2010 to ensure fast, accessible and specialized adjudication to matters which involving environment. This paper examines the access to environmental justice in detail. The paper further examines the role of NGT in providing justice to common people when their right to healthy environment is breached. This research paper then further also throws light on the composition, powers and structure of National Green Tribunal. The role of NGT in promoting SDG 16 is also discussed. The research paper also examines the alignment of NGT with the Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) which highlights access to justice. Through landmark case studies till date and other secondary source of data, the author in this paper has tried to assess the effectiveness of NGT in delivering environmental justice. This paper also critically examines the extent of SDG 16 and the contribution of NGT in achieving the obligations laid under SDG 16. This paper also examines the jurisprudential developments over the years where Indian courts have interpreted the scope of Article 21.