New Delhi; September 2026: An analysis, conducted by South Asian Reporter for Environment Laws (SAREL), has revealed that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have not ruled even once in favour of environmental justice. It has been examined that 119 appeals filed at the five benches of the NGT between January and June. While environmental or public-interest parties filed 16 of the 119 merit appeals, the project proponent, property owner, or industry side filed 51 such appeals.
“More than 50 appeals were dismissed on technicalities or procedural issues and never reached a merits ruling. The public-interest side was not given a favourable judgment in all 16 of its matters, winning none. The industry side was dismissed in only about a third of its appeals and secured a favourable order in 59% with 30 of the 51 merit appeals were won, with a further 06% preserved at status quo”, the analysis said.
It also highlighted that dismissal on technical grounds was a major filter, as 44 per cent of all appeals were dismissed on limitation, jurisdiction, maintainability or withdrawal without any merits ruling.
At the NGT’s Principal Zone Bench (Delhi), the industry, project-proponent and property-owner side won five of the 10 merit appeals. The side won 15 of 24 such appeals at the Western Zone Bench (Pune), 09 of 12 at the Southern Zone Bench (Chennai) and 01 of 05 at the Central Zone Bench (Bhopal).
According to the analysis, the Eastern Zone Bench (Kolkata) decided just one matter between January and June — a single appeal from the public-interest side, which was disposed of and dismissed. No project-proponent appeals were decided in these six months.
The findings contrast with what the CJI said yesterday (Saturday – 19th September 2026) at the inauguration of the NGT’s two-day international conference on “The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics” in New Delhi.
“At present, the question before our courts is no longer conservation versus development, but rather how the two can be harmonised and sustained together, Indian courts must find a balance between conservation and development”, the CJI have said in his address.
Team Maverick.
