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New Delhi, March 15: The Supreme Court today warned that senior officials of the governments of Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra might be summoned if decisive steps were not taken in a week to set up benches of the National Green Tribunal.
The court had on December 6 asked these states to set up the benches in Calcutta, Bhopal and Pune.
Although Madhya Pradesh assured the court that the bench in Bhopal would start operations in a month, Bengal and Maharashtra have not stated their positions.
The National Green Tribunal was set up for expeditious disposal of environmental protection cases.
“It shall be the duty of the secretary of the department concerned to ensure compliance of the order. Otherwise, we may have to summon senior officers to the court,” a bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya said.
The apex court asked additional solicitor-general P.P. Malhotra to co-ordinate with the three states and posted the matter for hearing to April 4.
The bench was dealing with the question of providing sufficient accommodation to tribunals. The court was informed that of the 443 bungalows occupied against rules, 192 have been vacated.
Journalist squatters
The court referred to journalists illegally occupying some bungalows. Justice Mukhopadhaya said: “When an MP or some VIP is under an illegal occupation of a bungalow the channels and newspapers take photographs and repeatedly show in the channels about the illegality. Why don’t they show about themselves?”
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