Learn when businesses can face NGT action for environmental violations, legal risks, compliance issues, documents, and environmental dispute guidance.
Today your non-intentional compliance miss can lead to an environmental offence. Operating a factory without environmental clearance, or developing a project without complying with pollution control norms or ignorance towards following the best environmental practices that your business operates under can lead to notices, complaints and NGT action.
No one wants an environmental offence on their business record. For most business owners environmental laws and compliances can be daunting. Until that notice or complaint shows up on your doorstep. Itâs not just the penalties that keep businesses up at night. Manufacturing facilities can be shut down, projects delayed due to reputation harm, loss of business, loss of revenue and increased regulatory attention.
NGT action for Environmental violation is most commonly seen when these situations occur:
The National Green Tribunal deals with all matters regarding environmental protection. They can also settle all civil cases which are allied with the enforcement of any laws mentioned in the NGT Act.
If you operate a business in Delhi NCR, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad or if you own a business in Mumbai or Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata or any other commercial cities where your business operations are industrial or infrastructure related activities, you need to know about environmental compliance and be prepared.
âMost business owners donât pay attention to the environment because they are too busy running their business. The major reason why environmental disagreements turn from bad to worse is because business owners focus on âgetting the job doneâ and take paperwork such as permissions, required inspections or compliance reports too lightly. They become reactive instead of proactive until the matter has reached a crisis level.â Says BK Singh Advocate
By being aware of what can go wrong, you can avoid business headaches. Have contracts, operations and authorizations reviewed by a legal professional who can pinpoint where you could potentially have issues with environmental clearance, notices/letters received, agreements and operating credentials with agencies.
âIf you have money in investments, manpower , customers and signed contracts you would still not be able to operate. If someone files a complaint on the environmental compliance of your plant or activity be it from an enforcement agency or an affected person your regular activities can come to a complete stopâ
âEnvironment clearances are not a one shot job. You need to apply and take approvals for pollution control, environment clearance, solid waste management, water consumption, emission norms, hazardous waste handling, RPCC clearance and local body requirementsâ
âOne point that has been observed is that companies donâ care/take for timely compliances reports. Their mind set is seeing one authorities have cleared this operation they are good to go. What about the other enviroment clearances that are pending. â.
If you own/manage any industrial operations in industrial estates/ manufacturing/ construction projects /mining and allied operations/ infrastructure projects/ commercial projects you need to manage Enviromental Risk as part of your Legal Risk Portfolio.
Environmental disputes can arise in many different situations. While you may be subject to inspections by the regulator, you may also get a complaint from an impacted community/ resident group/ environmental organisation/individual alleging that your activities/environment are being adversely affected by your operations.
The National Green Tribunal is just one forum where environmental disputes are determined. Cases lodged with the Tribunal can relate to environmental damage, compliance with regulations, restoration and compensation (if provided for under law).
Receipt of an environmental complaint should not be construed as an admission of liability by the company. Facts, evidence, the relevant law, your true compliance status and the judgement of the forum that determines the dispute will ultimately decide responsibility.
However ignoring correspondence served on you and failing to preserve documents can cause further complications. By consulting legal advisors early your company can understand the claims being made and what documents will be needed to appropriately defend any allegation.
NGT litigation refers to legal proceedings in the National Green Tribunal regarding offenses pertaining to issues involving environmental protection. Pollutions disputes, natural resources damages, environmental clearance terms violations are just some examples.
An entity can be involved in NGT litigation in many ways. An industrial facility might be accused of wrongfully releasing its waste into a water body. An infrastructure project may be challenged for non-compliance with the terms of its environmental clearance. An establishment might be accused of non-compliance with pollution control standards.
One thing to keep in mind is that the NGT is not the place to file just any type of commercial complaint. The NGT has jurisdiction only over environmental protection matters and offenses as per related environmental laws.
As Advocate BK Singh points out, it is vital for a company to know the difference between receiving a inspection by a regulator, a notice by the pollution control board, a complaint by an environmental NGO and a NGT litigation.
The statute(s) involved in environmental disputes can vary based on the issues involved. Following could be the different causes of action that you may have against your business: the activity you are engaged in where you are carrying out this activity effect on the environment created by your business specific allegations being made against you.
Following are some statutes that may be invoked in an environmental dispute:
The NGT is a tribunal which was established specifically to dispose of cases related to environmental disputes. NGT can grant relief, compensation and any other directions to any person under this Act.
This Act empowers the government to take measures which protect and improve the environment. If your business is affected by a notification, standards or any other environmental requirement specified under this Act, you could have a cause of action.
If your business operates with wastewater, discharge or water quality you could have concerns under this statute.
Similarly if your business emits any pollutants, you could be liable to action by regulators under this statute.
Obtaining clearances such as Consent to Establish (CTE) or Consent to Operate (CTO) from the respective State Pollution Control Boards are important compliance requirements for businesses.
Ensure that before you take any further steps with respect to an environmental complaint against your business, you know exactly what allegation is being made against you, what authority you are dealing with, what documents they have and what legal forum they are pursuing their action in.
Whatever you do for your business, if thereâs even a remote possibility that it can harm the environment and the rules that pertain to it arenât followed accordingly, it can land you in trouble. NGT complaints arenât just for the industries biggies. You can drag your small and medium scale business to NGT if theyâre found polluting or affecting any kind of resources such as air, water, land, environment assets etc.
If you fall under the category of building units, construction companies, Real estate, mining, infrastructure and EPC companies, waste treatment companies, garbage collection companies, chemical industries and businesses that handle hazardous materials, you have a lot more environment-based compliances to keep up with.
You will land up in NGT if :
âMost environment disputes become serious because a business is only concentrating on how to achieve their daily production goals. They tend to forget the renewal date, where to store vital documents like compliant record,frequent inspection reports, what does your approval allows and under which conditionsâ says BK Singh Advocate.
Proceedings before NGT can be initiated against a business in various ways. Simplistically speaking, you would think an issue would be brought to the Tribunalâs attention as an application by some person, organization or other party who is allowed to make an application to the NGT.
Such an application would make claims as to how someone has not complied with an environmental law, acted illegally in the decision they made or order remediation / compensation be paid.
The NGT will typically review:
Please note that receiving a notice from NGT is a legal proceeding against your company. If you receive a notice from NGT take action. Ignoring the NGT by not picking up documents from the court, returning notices un-signed or supplying partial information can have adverse consequences against your company. BK Singh Advocate can help you understand the nature of the legal dispute, review the facts stated on record and advise you on how best to respond. We develop a strategy specifically tailored to the facts of each matter.
Similarly to any notice served upon you by regulatory authorities, Environmental notices can have legal and commercial implications on your business. Depending on the allegation, regulatorâs findings and directions issued by regulator/Tribunal.
Direction served to you may order you to cease your operations as usual till you carry out certain action to comply with requirements or till regulator carries out the action. Project/activity delays can have cash flow impact on your business.
Any Environmental Enforcement action can lead to you having to pay costs to put things right and improve your compliance standards, pay for restoration works, defend yourself against any claim for compensation, pay legal costs or undertake remedial works.
Being found in non-compliance with environmental legislation can damage your reputation with shareholders, investors, clients and future business partners.
You may have trouble receiving consent/approvals for future expansion/development projects from regulators if you continue to have environmental issues.
Why you should respond quickly to Environmental Notices
BK Singh Advocate suggests you get ALL Environmental Notices reviewed by a lawyer as soon as possible. Oftentimes you can understand the severity of the issue at an early stage and unnecessary panic can be avoided.
Documents are likely to play a crucial role again in environmental disputes. Often the defense as to the standing which the party could claim before NGT would depend on documentary evidence of the compliances carried out, permissions obtained and remedial actions performed.
Some of the main documents are as follows :-
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Environmental Permissions | Environmental Clearance, approval letters, renewals etc. |
| Records maintained with Pollution Control Board | CTE, CTO, Inspection reports, reports/documents submitted as part of compliance report etc. |
| Plant Operation Records | Month wise/account wise details of production/waste generated/emission monitoring system reports etc. |
| Technical records / studies | Environmental studies, environmental audits, Technical opinion received etc. |
| Correspondence with Regulatory Authorities | Notices received, replies sent, representation etc. |
| Project/Plant Business Records | Agreements/contracts/project/ tender documents, permission / approved to operate etc. |
The above mentioned list is by no means exhaustive and would vary from case to case depending on the nature of the dispute. Documents in a case involving construction activity would be very different from say a manufacturing industry and waste recycling facility.
If your business receives an environmental notice, complaint, inspection letter or NGT notice, you may want to speak with an attorney.
You should get these papers reviewed immediately if:
Letting the proceeding get to its end stage will leave you with little time to understand what you are being accused of and gather documents. BK Singh Advocate and our attorneys can help businesses with environmental compliances, matters and proceedings with environmental agencies.
ENVIRONMENTAL disputes are often commercially sensitive. At CORPORATE LAW FIRM we deal with these issues by first understanding how your business functions, what are your permits/current regulatory status quo, contracts, concerns and your exposure in terms of liability.
BK Singh Advocate would assess your situation prior to you initiating any legal proceedings. He would review the environmental permits/ clearance you have been granted and any notice/compliance/violation letters you have received from any regulatory authority.
Services may include:
We have assisted clients with operations around Delhi NCR, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad. Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and other states where our clients have their places of business in India.
Environmental disputes can often spill over into your business. We help businesses understand what options are available to them. Unless you specifically instruct us to, we will not initiate any legal proceedings on your behalf. We will assess the legality of your position and help you understand what you options are. We represent both sides of an environmental dispute. Environmental disputes often turn into disputes of documents and law.
If allegations are made against a business related to environmental damage, violation of environmental laws, violations of permissions granted to them or failure to follow regulatory requirements; the business can receive NGT action. The final position would be based on evidence, applicable laws and findings of the Tribunal.
If your business is facing allegation of any activity related to damage caused to environment, violation of environmental laws, permissions issued to them has been violated or non-compliance to certain regulatory requirements have occurred; you can possibly be sued at NGT. Ultimately it would depend on the evidence, facts, laws that are applicable to the situation and findings of the Tribunal.
Yes. NGT allows matters to be brought before the tribunal that affect the public at large. NGT matters could be related to small or medium business concerns too. Depending on the nature of activity small/medium businesses indulge in, NGT action can be initiated against them if raised in the concerns of environment.
The National Green Tribunal hears environmental disputes and can award relief, compensation and other such directions.
Yes. Every business has right to defend themselves and present all the evidence and material they have before NGT. Please go through our website and let us know if you have any specific questions. You can also share the facts with us and we can advise you on what your legal issues would be based on the matter and evidence.
Read the notice carefully and try to understand exactly what is being asked of you. Gather all the records you have pertaining to the matter, you might have to keep proving whatâs mentioned on those documents. Once youâve understood what is being alleged, please get in touch with us or any other legal counsel you have and determine how you should respond according to law.
Yes. If the concerns raised are serious enough, it could affect your operation. If while hearing the case, authorities or the forum decide itâs best for your operation to halt till the matter is resolved, they have the power to do so depending on the facts.
Any environmental clearances you have obtained when you started your business or during the course of operation, Industrial permission granted by the Pollution Control Board specific to your business, any Compliance reports youâve submitted to the regulator, Records/documents that show inspections have been carried out by technical staff on your business, Any communication you've exchanged with regulators. These are some basic documents you should keep.
No. Just because a complaint has been filed against you, doesn't mean NGT has accepted the complaint and you're liable for what's being mentioned in the complaint. You will only be liable to pay fines if an investigation is carried out, they find evidence against you and you're convicted according to the applicable laws.
Corporate Law Firm can assist you with any environment concerns or queries you have for your business. You can contact BK Singh Advocate, share the facts and documents related to your case and we can guide you on what you should do.
Like any other legal matter, it is always better to take legal advice at the earliest. You will understand the issue at hand, know what documents you should gather and know how to proceed/ respond according to the law.
Having an environmental compliance program is quickly becoming business as usual in India. Received a complaint with the NGT or an environmental violation notice against your business? Don't bury your head in the sand.
Environmental cases deal with technical data, regulatory requirements and legal arguments. An analysis of your permits, compliance history and the allegations against you will help you understand your rights and options.
BK Singh Advocate at Corporate Law Firm can help you and your business understand your environmental legal issues and suggest the best course of legal action based on the specific facts in your case.
Act quickly to get advice as environmental enforcement can impact your operations, your reputation and your ability to do future business.
Speak directly with Advocate BK Singh at LEGAL365.
Book Appointment Call NowFree first consultation. Honest legal advice.
