Section 14 vs Section 15 of the NGT Act: Settlement of Environmental Disputes and Relief, Compensation and Restitution

Sections 14 and 15 together make up the original jurisdiction of the National Green Tribunal, but they do different jobs. Section 14 empowers the Tribunal to settle disputes involving a substantial question relating to environment, so that it can stop, regulate or correct environmentally harmful activity. Section 15 empowers it to compensate victims and to order restitution of damaged property and of the environment. Many applications invoke both: one to stop the harm, the other to repair it.

1. Section 14: Tribunal to Settle Disputes

Section 14(1) and (2), NGT Act, 2010

(1) The Tribunal shall have the jurisdiction over all civil cases where a substantial question relating to environment (including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment), is involved and such question arises out of the implementation of the enactments specified in Schedule I.

(2) The Tribunal shall hear the disputes arising from the questions referred to in sub-section (1) and settle such disputes and pass order thereon.

The ingredients are: a civil case; a substantial question relating to environment, as defined in Section 2(1)(m) (a direct violation of a specific statutory environmental obligation affecting the community at large, causing substantial damage to environment or property or broadly measurable damage to public health, or consequences relating to a specific activity or point source); and a question arising from the implementation of a Schedule I Act. Under Section 14(3), the application must be filed within six months from the date on which the cause of action first arose, extendable by sixty days. Orders under Section 14 are typically directions: closure or regulation of an activity, installation of treatment plants, demarcation of buffer zones, action plans, and cessation of activity likely to cause damage (Section 19(4)(j)).

2. Section 15: Relief, Compensation and Restitution

Section 15(1), NGT Act, 2010 (substance)

The Tribunal may, by an order, provide: (a) relief and compensation to the victims of pollution and other environmental damage arising under the enactments specified in Schedule I (including accident occurring while handling any hazardous substance); (b) for restitution of property damaged; (c) for restitution of the environment for such area or areas, as the Tribunal may think fit.

Section 15 is remedial and compensatory. Section 15(2) makes relief under it in addition to relief under the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991. Section 15(3) requires the application to be made within five years from the date on which the cause for compensation or relief first arose, extendable by sixty days. Section 15(4) allows the Tribunal to apportion compensation among victims. It works with Section 17, which fixes liability on the person responsible under the heads in Schedule II (death, injury, medical expenses, loss of wages, property damage, cost of restoration of the environment and others), with no-fault liability for accidents (Section 17(3)). Compensation for environmental damage is remitted to the Environment Relief Fund (Section 24).

3. Key Differences

Basis	Section 14	Section 15
Purpose	Settle disputes; enforce environmental rights; stop or regulate harm	Compensate victims; restore property and environment
Threshold	Substantial question relating to environment (Section 2(1)(m))	Pollution or environmental damage arising under Schedule I Acts
Nature of relief	Directions, prohibitions, regulation, cessation	Monetary relief, compensation, restitution
Limitation	6 months from when cause of action first arose	5 years from when cause for relief first arose
Extension	60 days	60 days
Link with other provisions	Section 19(4) powers; Section 20 principles	Section 17 (liability, no-fault); Schedule II; Section 24; PLI Act
Typical example	Challenge to ongoing discharge into a river; illegal construction on a floodplain	Claim by villagers for crop loss and well contamination; restoration of a dumpsite

✦ Mnemonic: 'Fourteen Fixes the Fight; Fifteen Funds the Fix'

Section 14 fixes the fight: it settles the dispute and stops the harm. Section 15 funds the fix: it pays victims and restores the environment. Clocks: six months for 14, five years for 15. Coaching analogy: 14 is the fire brigade that puts out the fire; 15 is the insurance claim that rebuilds the house.

4. Relationship in Practice

The two provisions are frequently invoked together. For example, in cases on landfill fires or river pollution, the Tribunal issues directions under Section 14 (to stop dumping, treat sewage, remediate) and imposes environmental compensation under Sections 15 and 17 (as with the Rs 100 crore on Haryana for the Bandhwari landfill and Rs 100 crore on Kochi for the Brahmapuram fire). The longer limitation period under Section 15 allows compensation claims even where a Section 14 challenge to the activity itself would be time-barred. In its suo motu proceedings (Ankita Sinha, 2021), the Tribunal exercises both powers.

⚠ Examination point

Show that both are original jurisdiction, contrast dispute settlement with compensation and restitution, state the limitation periods (six months versus five years), and link Section 15 with Sections 17 and 24 and the PLI Act.

✦ How to write a 10-mark answer on Section 14 versus Section 15

1. Section 14: text, ingredients, Section 2(1)(m), limitation, nature of orders. 2. Section 15: text, heads, 15(2) to 15(4), limitation, Section 17 and Schedule II, Section 24. 3. Differences table. 4. Relationship in practice. 5. Conclusion.

5. Related Topics and Provisions

Topic or provision	Connection
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (Topic 38)	Full treatment of the Act
NGT original vs appellate jurisdiction (Topic 71)	Place of Sections 14 and 15
Section 14 vs Section 16 (Topic 73)	Original versus appellate
Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 (Topic 37)	Section 15(2)