Everything is green in new National Green Tribunal courtrooms

The National Green Tribunal has literally gone green, adopting the colour for the furniture and decor of courtrooms in its newly inaugurated premises.
The colour scheme dominates not only the seating of the NGT members and those meant for lawyers and litigants, but also the curtains and carpets of the three courtrooms.
Any litigant, lawyer or casual observer, who walks into these courtrooms would most likely connect the colour with the kind of cases being heard by the tribunal.
Apart from the colour scheme, the other aspect of the new courtrooms that stands out is their spaciousness.
Compared to the makeshift arrangements at two locations in south Delhi from where the NGT had been functioning since its inception on October 18, 2010, the new building is an improvement as far as space and location are concerned, as it is now very close to the Supreme Court as well as the Delhi High Court.

The new building was allocated to the NGT after the intervention of the Supreme Court which had last year directed the Centre to shift the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) from Faridkot House and allot it to the tribunal.

However, shifting of the NGT took some time as the NHRC, which was expected to move out by January, shifted to its new premises only recently.
The infrastructure and accommodation issues faced by the tribunal members -- judicial and expert -- and the staff as well as setting up of additional benches have been closely monitored by the apex court whose active involvement and warnings to the government are responsible for setting up three additional benches in Chennai, Bhopal and Pune, apart from the Principal Bench in Delhi.

Apex court judge R M Lodha, during his speech on the inauguration of the NGT's new premises, had said tribunals do not require such a formal setup and should work in a more informal setting, like a round table around which all stakeholders can meet and try to resolve the issues plaguing them.