Congress urges NGT to release Great Nicobar panel report before reforms

Published 9 August 2026 · politics

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday urged the Green Tribunal (NGT) to make public the report of the High-Powered Committee that reviewed the environmental approvals

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday urged the Green Tribunal (NGT) to make public the report of the High-Powered Committee that reviewed the environmental approvals for the Great Nicobar Island Project. He said the tribunal had been forced to clear what he called the "ecologically disastrous" project on the basis of that report, and claimed that if it was released, it would be shown to be deeply flawed. Read Full Story His remarks came ahead of the Lok Sabha taking up the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, which seeks to implement a Supreme Court ruling and provide for a Tribunals Commission for appointments to various tribunals, including the NGT. Ramesh said he hoped tribunals, especially the NGT, would regain their voice and authority and fulfil their legal mandate in letter and spirit. In a post on X, Ramesh said, "Tomorrow the Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up The Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2026 that may well chart a new future for 16 semi-judicial Tribunals set up over the years, including the very important Green Tribunal (NGT) that came into being in October 2010 by an Act of Parliament itself." He said the Bill sought to implement the Supreme Court's directions in the Madras Bar Association judgment of November 19, 2025, which struck down key provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, and called for an independent Tribunals Commission for appointments.

Ramesh said he had joined the challenge to the 2021 Act in the Supreme Court because the existence of an independent NGT was at stake. He also recalled challenging provisions of the Finance Act, 2017, which, he said, had sought to weaken tribunals "by resorting to the subterfuge of having the amendments declared as part of a Money Bill to escape full and proper legislative scrutiny in both Houses of Parliament, especially the Rajya Sabha." He alleged that much had already been lost because of the Modi government's refusal to heed reasoned criticism or judicial precedent. "No doubt the NGT was the main target because the Modi government was finding it inconvenient," he said. Ramesh added that after defending the "untenable" 2021 law up to the Supreme Court, the government was now compelled to bring in many of the reforms it had resisted earlier, saying that "confrontation has finally yielded to concurrence." Ramesh said, "Hopefully the various Tribunals, and more particularly the NGT, will rediscover their voice and authority and fulfill their legal mandate in letter and spirit." He added that, to signal this revival, the NGT should release the report of the High-Powered Committee that it had directed to be set up to review the environmental approvals for the Great Nicobar Island Project.