SC stays NGT order naming Delhi L-G as Yamuna panel head

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the direction of the Nation Green Tribunal (NGT) which had appointed Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena as the head of the of the high-level committee for Yamuna river pollution.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justices P.S. Narasimha and Manoj Misra agreed to hear the Delhi government’s plea against the January 9 order of the NGT and issued notice to the petitioner on whose application the tribunal had passed the order.

The NGT had issued an order in January this year naming Delhi L-G as the chairman of the committee.

The NGT had constituted the high-level committee of authorities concerned in Delhi where pollution of Yamuna is higher (about 75 per cent) compared to other river basin states, and said, “We request the Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, who is chairman of DDA and administrator of Delhi under Article 239 of the Constitution, to head the committee.” 

“Issue notice… There shall be a stay of the operation of the direction issued on January 9, 2023 by the National Green Tribunal to the extent that the Lieutenant Governor has been directed to be a member of the committee and to chair it,” the top court said, adding it is not staying the rest of the order.

The Delhi government’s plea against the NGT order also reflected the ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government and the L-G, who reports to the Union home ministry, over the authority of services in Delhi.

The AAP government in May approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to set aside the NGT order calling it unconstitutional and violative of the two Constitution bench decisions in July 2018 and May 11 this year, defining the remit of the powers of the L-G