In short. An NGT application is filed under section 14, 15 or 16 of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010, in Form I under the NGT rules, with a fee of ₹1,000 (1 per cent of any compensation claimed). Time limits are 6 months, 5 years or 30 days, each extendable by 60 days. Delhi NCR cases go to the Principal Bench, New Delhi.
The NGT is one of the more approachable forums in India. The fee is low, the rules of the Civil Procedure Code do not bind it, and a resident with a genuine grievance can file without being a lawyer. That openness has a cost: the tribunal receives a very large number of applications, and the ones that are vague, late or filed before anyone has asked the authorities to act are often disposed of at the first hearing with a direction to the pollution board to look into it. The difference between that outcome and a real hearing is usually in the papers.
This post is about the filing itself: which provision, which bench, what the application must contain, how the paper book is put together and what to expect after it is listed. For the wider picture of the tribunal's work, see our page on NGT cases at the Principal Bench in Delhi. If your problem is a factory near your home, read your remedies against factory pollution first, because the NGT is only one of several routes.
- The law
- National Green Tribunal Act 2010, sections 14, 15, 16 and 18
- Rules
- NGT (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2011
- Bench for Delhi NCR
- Principal Bench, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi
- Fee
- ₹1,000; if compensation is claimed, 1% of the claim (minimum ₹1,000)
- Time limits
- 6 months (s.14), 5 years (s.15), 30 days (s.16), each plus up to 60 days
- Who can file
- Any person aggrieved, including residents and organisations (s.18(2))
Do you have to complain to the authorities before going to the NGT?
The NGT Act does not say in so many words that you must first complain to the pollution board, but in practice you should, and you should be able to prove it. The tribunal's first question in most residents' applications is what the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the UP Pollution Control Board, the municipal body or the District Magistrate was told and what they did. An application that arrives without any earlier complaint is often disposed of with a direction to the authority to treat it as a representation and decide it.
So before you file, send a written complaint to the regulator with your evidence, by email and speed post, and keep the acknowledgement. Give it a reasonable time, usually three to six weeks depending on how serious the harm is. If the authority does nothing, or replies with a closure report you can show is wrong, that inaction becomes part of your case. An RTI application asking for the action taken on your complaint, inspection reports and the unit's consent to operate often produces the documents that make the NGT application strong.
The exception is real urgency. If a hazardous discharge is happening now, if trees are being cut this week, or if a water body is being filled, you can go straight to the tribunal with an application for urgent listing and explain why waiting for the authority would make the case pointless.
Which section should you file under: 14, 15 or 16?
Section 14 is the general jurisdiction. It covers civil cases where a substantial question relating to the environment arises out of the seven Acts in Schedule I: the Water Act 1974, the Water Cess Act 1977, the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, the Air Act 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act 1991 and the Biological Diversity Act 2002. Rules made under these Acts count too, which is why noise, hazardous waste, plastic waste, solid waste, construction dust and environmental clearance cases all come to the NGT. A residents' application asking the tribunal to stop pollution and direct the authorities to enforce the law is usually a section 14 case.
Section 15 is for relief and compensation to victims of pollution or environmental damage, restitution of damaged property and restoration of the environment. If your crop failed because of effluent, your borewell was contaminated, or a gas leak injured your family, section 15 is the provision. It has a longer time limit and a fee linked to the amount claimed. Many applications combine sections 14 and 15, asking both for enforcement and for compensation.
Section 16 is the appellate jurisdiction. It is used to challenge specific orders: directions or closure orders of a pollution board under section 33A of the Water Act or section 31A of the Air Act, orders of the appellate authority under those Acts, directions under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, environmental clearance decisions, and approvals under the forest law. After the Jan Vishwas Act 2023 replaced many offences under the Air and Environment Acts with penalties decided by an adjudicating officer, appeals against those penalty orders also lie to the NGT. If you are a unit owner facing a board order, see our separate post on appealing a pollution board closure order.
Sections 14, 15 and 16 compared
The section decides the time limit, the fee and what the tribunal can give you. Pick it before you draft anything.
| Provision | Used for | Time limit | Typical case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 14 | Substantial environmental question under the Schedule I Acts | 6 months from when the cause of action first arose, plus up to 60 days | Residents seek closure or control of a polluting unit, or enforcement of noise or waste rules |
| Section 15 | Compensation, restitution of property, restoration of the environment | 5 years from when the cause for compensation first arose, plus up to 60 days | Farmer's crop or a family's borewell damaged by industrial effluent |
| Section 16 | Appeal against listed orders and decisions | 30 days from communication of the order, plus up to 60 days | Challenge to a DPCC closure direction or an environmental clearance |
| Section 22 | Appeal from the NGT to the Supreme Court | 90 days from communication of the NGT order | Party aggrieved by the final NGT order |
The extra 60 days is not automatic. You have to file an application for condonation of delay, supported by an affidavit, explaining the delay day by day with documents. Beyond the outer limit the tribunal has no power to condone, whatever the merits.
How is the six-month limit for a section 14 case counted?
The six months run from the date the cause of action first arose. For a one-time event, such as trees being felled on a particular day or a wetland being filled in one month, that date is fairly clear. For pollution that continues every day, applicants argue a continuing cause of action, and the tribunal has often accepted that ongoing violations give a fresh cause each day. You should not rely on that alone. Explain when you first noticed the harm, what you did about it, and why the violation is still happening.
The safer course is to file well within six months of the latest clear event in your story: the authority's refusal to act, a fresh inspection report, a new expansion of the unit, or an order that grants it consent despite your objection. Put that event in the list of dates and build the application around it. When Advocate B.K. Singh reads a residents' file for an NGT matter, the first thing he does is lay the dates out on one page, because the limitation answer usually decides how the application has to be framed.
Which NGT bench should you file in?
The NGT sits at its Principal Bench in New Delhi and at zonal benches in Bhopal (central zone), Pune (western zone), Kolkata (eastern zone) and Chennai (southern zone). Rule 11 of the NGT rules says an application is ordinarily filed at the bench within whose jurisdiction the cause of action arose, wholly or in part. The Principal Bench hears cases from the northern zone, which includes Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.
For anyone in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram or Faridabad, that means the Principal Bench at Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg. Every NGT bench has at least one judicial member and one expert member, and the expert members often ask the sharpest questions: what is the monitored level, which standard applies, what does the consent condition say. Draft with that reader in mind.
Who can file, and who must be made a respondent?
Section 18(2) of the NGT Act allows an application or appeal by the person injured, the owner of damaged property, any person aggrieved (including a representative body or organisation), the Central or State Government, a pollution board or a local authority. A resident welfare association, a farmers' group or a few neighbours can file together, and an RWA should pass a resolution authorising one office bearer to sign and swear the affidavit.
The respondents are the people and bodies against whom you want an order. In a typical pollution case that means the unit or project itself, the state pollution board (the DPCC in Delhi, UPPCB in UP, HSPCB in Haryana), the Central Pollution Control Board where national standards or a joint inspection matter, the District Magistrate, and the municipal body or development authority if land use or waste is involved. Add the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change only if a central decision or clearance is under challenge. Adding every department in the city does not make the case stronger; it only delays service and invites a dozen identical replies.
What goes into an NGT paper book
Rule 8 requires the application to be filed in triplicate in two compilations, with extra copies for each respondent. In practice the paper book is arranged like this:
Compilation 1: the application
- Index and urgent listing proforma, if urgency is claimed
- Synopsis and list of dates
- Memo of parties with full addresses and email IDs
- Application in Form I (Form II if compensation under section 15 is claimed)
- Prayer clause with specific reliefs
- Verification and supporting affidavit
- Copy of the impugned order, in a section 16 appeal
Compilation 2: annexures
- Complaints to the board, DM or municipal body with proof of dispatch
- Replies received, or proof that none came
- Photographs and videos, dated, with a description of each
- Monitoring reports, lab results, medical records if any
- RTI replies: consent to operate, inspection reports, action taken
- Maps or Google Earth images showing the site and nearby homes
- Documents numbered as Annexure A-1, A-2 and so on (rule 13(6))
With the filing
- Vakalatnama, if an advocate files
- Authority letter or RWA resolution for an organisation
- Fee receipt (₹1,000 or 1% of the compensation claimed)
- Application for condonation of delay, if late
- Application for interim relief or exemption, as separate miscellaneous applications
- Proof of advance service on the respondents, where the registry asks for it
What should the application actually say?
Rule 13 asks for the grounds to be set out concisely under distinct heads, numbered consecutively. Treat that as a drafting instruction. Start with who you are and why you are affected, then describe the source of harm precisely: the name of the unit or project, its exact location, its distance from homes, schools or a water body, what it emits or discharges, and since when. Then say which law and which standard is being broken, for example the consent conditions under the Water and Air Acts, the ambient air or noise standards, or the waste management rules.
Next, show the substantial environmental question. Section 2(1)(m) of the Act treats a question as substantial where there is a direct violation of a specific statutory environmental obligation affecting the community at large, where the damage to the environment or property is substantial, or where the harm to public health is broadly measurable. A dispute between two neighbours over one chimney may not meet this test; a unit discharging untreated effluent into a drain that feeds a colony's water supply clearly does. Write the facts so the tribunal can see which limb you rely on.
End with reliefs the tribunal can actually grant: a joint inspection, directions to the board to act within a time, closure until compliance, environmental compensation, restoration of the site, and monitoring reports. Avoid prayers that belong elsewhere, such as criminal prosecution of officers or recovery of a private debt. A short, accurate application with strong annexures does far better than forty pages of general complaints about pollution in the city.
How to file an NGT application, step by step
Build the record
Collect photographs, videos, medical or crop loss records, and copies of every complaint you sent. Use RTI to get the unit's consent order and the board's inspection reports. Note every date.
Choose the provision and check limitation
Decide whether the case is under section 14, 15 or 16, or a combination. Count the time from the right date. If you are late but within the extra 60 days, prepare a condonation application now.
Draft the application and list of dates
Write the application in Form I (or Form II for compensation), with grounds under separate heads and specific prayers. The synopsis and list of dates should let a member understand the case in two minutes.
Assemble the paper book
Arrange the two compilations, number the annexures A-1 onwards, paginate everything and prepare the index. Make the copies the rules require, with one extra set for each respondent.
Swear the affidavit and sign the vakalatnama
The applicant, or the authorised office bearer of an RWA, swears the supporting affidavit before an oath commissioner or notary. If an advocate files, the vakalatnama is signed and attached.
Pay the fee and file
Pay ₹1,000, or 1 per cent of the compensation claimed subject to that minimum, through the permitted mode (online payment through Bharat Kosh is accepted) and file online or at the filing counter of the Principal Bench.
Remove defects and get it listed
The registry scrutinises the filing and may raise defects such as missing pages, unclear annexures or wrong fees. Cure them quickly, because the case is not listed until the defects are cleared.
Serve the respondents
Serve copies on the respondents as directed, usually by email and speed post, and file an affidavit of service. Government respondents often appear through their standing counsel at the first hearing if served in advance.
Can you file an NGT application online?
Yes. The NGT accepts filing through its e-filing facility, and the fee can be paid online through Bharat Kosh, with the receipt attached to the filing. Physical filing at the registry of the bench is still available. Scanned documents must be legible, properly bookmarked and in the order of the index; an unreadable annexure is as good as no annexure.
Two practical points. First, the NGT has charged printing costs for paper books filed online under an office order of 2019, calculated per set of pages; check the current figure when you file. Second, keep a complete paper copy of what you filed, page numbered exactly as filed, because members and counsel refer to page numbers at the hearing and you will need to follow along.
What happens at the first hearing in the NGT?
The first hearing is short and it is decisive. The bench will read the synopsis and look at the annexures, and then usually does one of three things. It may issue notice to the respondents and ask for replies within a fixed time. It may constitute a joint committee, typically of the CPCB, the state pollution board and the District Magistrate, to visit the site, verify the facts and file a factual and action-taken report. Or it may dispose of the application with a direction to the authority to look into the grievance and take action in accordance with law within a set period.
The third outcome is common and many applicants find it disappointing, but it is not the end. The tribunal's order binds the authority to decide, and if the authority does nothing or decides arbitrarily, that failure can be the basis of a fresh application or an execution application. The way to make the first two outcomes more likely is to show at the first hearing that the authority has already been approached and has failed, and that the harm is serious enough to need the tribunal's own supervision.
Where the joint committee route is taken, the matter usually returns after two to three months with the committee's report. The tribunal then hears objections to the report, may call for a further report, and passes final directions, often including environmental compensation calculated on the method set out by the CPCB.
A made-up example: a dyeing unit next to a Ghaziabad colony
Here's a made-up example. Residents of a colony on the edge of an industrial area in Ghaziabad notice coloured water in the open drain behind their houses from January, along with a sharp smell in the evenings. In February, the RWA writes to the UPPCB regional office at Ghaziabad and to the District Magistrate, with photographs and a short video. Nothing happens. In March they file an RTI application and learn in April that the unit's consent to operate expired the previous year and that an inspection in 2025 had found its effluent treatment plant not working.
In May, the RWA passes a resolution authorising its secretary to file. The application is framed under sections 14 and 15: enforcement of the Water Act and the consent conditions, and restoration of the drain. The list of dates runs from January to the RTI reply, and the limitation is comfortably within six months of the authority's failure to act. The respondents are the unit, the UPPCB, the CPCB and the District Magistrate. The annexures are the complaints with postal receipts, dated photographs, the RTI replies and a Google Earth image marking the unit, the drain and the houses.
At the first hearing the tribunal forms a joint committee and asks for a report in eight weeks. The committee finds the treatment plant non-functional and samples exceed the discharge standards. At the next hearing the tribunal directs the board to stop the unit from operating until it complies and to assess environmental compensation. The residents' work was mostly done before the case was filed: the dated complaints, the RTI replies and a clear map.
How should you respond to a joint committee report?
Joint committee reports decide more NGT cases than arguments do. If a committee is formed, write to its nodal officer (usually named in the order or identifiable through the state board) asking to be informed of the site visit, and attend with your photographs. Committees sometimes visit during working hours when a unit has switched off its boiler, or take water samples upstream of the outfall. A resident who is present can point to the right spot.
When the report is filed, read it the same day. Check the date of the visit against your own records, the location of the sampling points, whether the standards quoted are the right ones, and whether the committee looked at the consent conditions or only at the unit's own records. File written objections with documents before the next date. A point Advocate B.K. Singh often makes to residents is that a report which is wrong on a basic fact, such as the distance to the nearest house or whether the unit has valid consent, should be objected to in writing, not argued orally for the first time at the hearing.
Can the NGT give urgent or interim relief?
Yes. Section 19 gives the tribunal power to regulate its own procedure, and it routinely passes interim orders: stopping tree felling, restraining filling of a pond, directing a unit to stop discharge pending inspection, or asking the board to inspect within a week. To ask for this, file a separate miscellaneous application for interim relief with the main application, and an urgent mentioning or listing request explaining why the matter cannot wait for its normal listing. Each miscellaneous application carries its own fee, currently at least ₹500 under the rules.
Interim relief is given on evidence, not on fear. A video of trees being cut yesterday, with the location visible, gets attention. A general apprehension that a project may harm the area does not. If the harm is irreversible, such as felling or filling, say so plainly and explain why compensation later would not repair it. For tree felling specifically, our post on illegal tree felling in Delhi sets out the Forest Department and Tree Officer route that should usually run alongside.
Mistakes that sink NGT applications
- No prior complaint. Going to the tribunal without first asking the board or DM to act invites a disposal with a direction to the same authority.
- Late filing without explanation. A section 14 case filed years after the problem began, with no account of the delay and no recent event, is often dismissed on limitation.
- A private dispute dressed as an environmental one. A boundary quarrel or a grudge against a neighbour does not become a substantial environmental question because the word pollution appears in it.
- Vague facts. "A factory is polluting the area" is not a case. Name the unit, give the address, the distance, the emission or discharge and the dates.
- Undated photographs. Photographs without dates, locations or a description of what they show carry little weight. Keep the original files with their metadata.
- Wrong or too many respondents. Leaving out the board, or adding every ministry in Delhi, both cause delay.
- Prayers the tribunal cannot grant. Asking for arrest of officials or recovery of private money distracts from the reliefs the tribunal can give.
- Ignoring the committee report. Not filing objections to a flawed report usually means the tribunal accepts it.
Can you file in the NGT without a lawyer?
Yes. A party can appear in person, and many residents and environmental groups do. The rules on form are not complicated, and the members are used to hearing applicants who are not lawyers. If you file yourself, keep the application short, attach the documents in order, and be ready to answer two questions: what did the authority do when you complained, and which standard is being broken.
A lawyer helps most in three places: framing the case so it meets the substantial question test and the limitation, drafting objections to a committee report, and handling the respondents' replies, which in industrial or project cases are often long and technical. Where a unit or developer is represented by senior counsel and the matter turns on clearance conditions or technical data, appearing in person becomes harder. You can also file yourself and bring in counsel later if the case gets contested.
After the NGT order: review, appeal and compliance
If the order has an error apparent on the face of the record, you can file a review application under rule 22 within 30 days of receiving a copy of the order, supported by an affidavit. Review is narrow. It is not a second hearing on the merits, and it is usually decided without a long argument.
An appeal against a final NGT order lies to the Supreme Court under section 22 within 90 days of the order being communicated. The Supreme Court can allow a further period if there was sufficient cause. Appeals there are filed through an Advocate-on-Record; our page on Supreme Court practice explains how that works, and the procedure is close to the one in our post on special leave petitions.
If you win and the respondent does not comply, section 25 makes an NGT order executable as a decree of a civil court, and section 26 makes non-compliance an offence. In practice the more common step is an execution application before the NGT itself, pointing out what was directed, by when, and what has not been done. Keep a file of compliance reports and fresh photographs from the date of the order, because they are what an execution application needs.
Final checklist before you file
- You have written to the board, DM or municipal body and kept proof of dispatch and any reply
- You know which section you are filing under and have counted the time limit from a clear date
- If late, a condonation application with a day by day explanation is ready
- The unit or project is named, located and described precisely, with a map
- Photographs and videos are dated and described
- RTI replies, consent orders or inspection reports are annexed where available
- Respondents include the polluter, the regulator and the DM, and no one unnecessary
- Prayers are specific and within the tribunal's powers
- Affidavit sworn, vakalatnama or authority letter attached, fee paid
- A complete page-numbered copy is kept for the hearing
What to do this week
If the harm is ongoing, start recording it today: photographs and short videos with the date and place, a simple diary of times and effects, and any medical visits. Send a written complaint to the pollution board and the District Magistrate if you have not done so, and file an RTI for the unit's consent and inspection reports. Count your dates.
If you have already complained and nothing has happened, the NGT is a realistic next step. Related posts deal with specific harms: noise from loudspeakers, DJs and generators, construction dust and debris, and, where the problem is wider than one site, public interest litigation in the High Court. If you want an advocate to read your papers and tell you whether the time limit is still open, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh can look at them through our online enquiry form.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fee for filing a case in the NGT?
The fee is ₹1,000 for an application or appeal where no compensation is claimed. If you claim compensation, the fee is 1 per cent of the amount claimed, subject to a minimum of ₹1,000. Each miscellaneous application, such as one for interim relief or condonation of delay, carries a separate fee, at least ₹500 under the rules.
Can I send a letter or email to the NGT instead of filing a proper application?
The NGT has in the past acted on letters and news reports, and the Supreme Court has recognised its power to take up matters on its own. But you cannot count on a letter being registered as a case. If you want a hearing, file a proper application in the prescribed form with documents and the fee.
How many hearings does an NGT application usually need?
Section 18(3) asks the tribunal to try to decide applications within six months of filing, but contested cases often take longer, especially when a joint committee report and objections are involved. Some applications are disposed of at the first hearing with directions to the authorities. A realistic expectation for a contested residents' case is several months to over a year.
Can the NGT order a factory to shut down?
Yes. The tribunal can direct a pollution board to close a unit until it complies, order it to stop discharges, and impose environmental compensation. It usually acts on the basis of an inspection or joint committee report, so evidence that the unit is operating in breach of its consent or the standards matters.
Do I need an advocate to file in the NGT?
No. Applicants can appear in person, and the procedure is simpler than in a civil court. An advocate is useful for framing the case to meet the time limit and the substantial question test, and for handling technical replies and committee reports.
What if I miss the six-month limit in the NGT?
You can file within a further 60 days with an application for condonation of delay showing sufficient cause. After that the tribunal cannot condone the delay. If the pollution is continuing, you may be able to rely on a fresh cause of action, such as a recent refusal by the authority, but this needs careful drafting.
Can a resident welfare association file an NGT case?
Yes. Section 18(2) allows any person aggrieved, including a representative body or organisation, to file. The RWA should pass a resolution authorising one office bearer to sign the application and swear the affidavit.
Which NGT bench hears cases from Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram?
The Principal Bench in New Delhi, because it covers the northern zone, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The application is filed where the cause of action arose, wholly or in part.
Can I claim compensation for health problems in the NGT?
Yes, under section 15, if the harm is caused by pollution or environmental damage. You need medical records linking the illness to the exposure as far as possible, and evidence of the source. The fee is calculated on the compensation claimed.
Can I go to the High Court instead of the NGT?
You can file a writ petition, but High Courts often send environmental matters under the Schedule I Acts to the NGT, which was set up for them. A writ is more suitable where the issue involves fundamental rights beyond the NGT's statutes or a challenge to the validity of a law.
What is a joint committee in an NGT case?
It is a team the tribunal appoints, usually with officers of the CPCB, the state pollution board and the district administration, to inspect the site and report facts and action taken. Its report carries great weight, so applicants should attend the visit if they can and file objections to any errors.
Can an NGT order be challenged?
A review application can be filed within 30 days for an error apparent on the record. An appeal lies to the Supreme Court under section 22 within 90 days of the order being communicated, and is filed through an Advocate-on-Record.
Written and reviewed at B.K. Singh & Associates
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M., with more than twenty years of practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district courts and tribunals across Delhi NCR. This article explains the general law as of 24 October 2026; it is not legal advice on your facts.