On Wednesday, Former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, sworn-in as the new Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal in the presence of all the members of the principal and zonal benches.

Justice Shrivastava said that, “Right to healthy environment has been construed as a part of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.”

“The powers which have been conferred upon the NGT are very wide. Greater the power, greater is the responsibility to ensure that powers are being used and utilised for achieving the object and purpose of the Act”, added the Chairperson.

“The environmental issues mainly arise on account of the conflict between the developmental activities and their adverse impact on environment. Hence, a balance approach is required to ensure sustainable development. As Chairman of the NGT my effort will be to consider the issues raised before the Tribunal in such a manner that the object with which the Tribunal has been constituted is fully achieved.”

Justice Prakash Srivastava was enrolled as an advocate on February 2, 1987, and practiced extensively in the Supreme Court, handling cases related to taxation, civil matters, and constitutional issues for an extended period. He was appointed as a Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 18, 2008, and later became a Permanent Judge on January 15, 2010. On October 11, 2021, he took the oath as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and retired from service on March 30, 2023.