The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 was enacted in consonance with which of the following provisions of the Constitution of India? 1. Right of healthy environment, construed as a part of Right to life under Article 21 2. Provision of grants for raising the level of administration in the Scheduled Areas for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes under Article 275(1) 3. Powers and functions of Gram Sabha as mentioned under Article 243(A) Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
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Explanation
The correct answer is A, 1 only. The National Green Tribunal Act rests on the right to a healthy environment read into the right to life, so only the first provision is in point. The Supreme Court has held in a line of cases, from Subhash Kumar onward, that Article 21 includes the right to a clean environment, and the Act of 2010 was passed to give that right a forum of its own. It set up a tribunal with judicial and expert members which decides civil cases on environmental laws within six months, and it drew on the Stockholm and Rio declarations, to which India was a party. Statement 2 is wrong because Article 275(1) provides grants in aid for the administration of Scheduled Areas and has nothing to do with the tribunal. Statement 3 is wrong because Article 243A concerns the powers of the Gram Sabha under the panchayat provisions. B, C and D are wrong because each of them takes in one of these two irrelevant articles. Exam tip: NGT Act 2010, Article 21, five benches with the principal bench at Delhi.