1. Short title and commencement.
(1) This Act may be called the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995.
(2) It shall come into force on such date or dates as the Central Government may, by
notification, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different States and any
reference in any provision of this Act to the commencement of this Act shall be construed
in relation to any State or part thereof as a reference to the coming into force of that
provision in that State or part thereof.
2. Definitions.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires;--
(a) "accident" means an accident involving a fortuitous or sudden or unintended
occurrence while handling any hazardous substance resulting in continuous or
intermittent or repeated exposure to death of, or injury to, any person or damage
to any property or environment but does not include an accident by reason only of
war or radio-activity;
(b) "Bench" means a Bench of the Tribunal;
(c) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Tribunal;
(d) "environment" includes water, air and land and the interrelationship which
exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living
creatures, plants, microorganism and property;
(e) "handling", in relation to any hazardous !substance, means the manufacture,
processing; treatment; package; storage; transportation by vehicle, use, collection,
destruction, conversion, offering for sale, transfer or the like of such hazardous
substance;
(f) "hazardous substance" means any substance or preparation which is defined as
hazardous substance in the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, (29 of 1986.) and
exceeding such quantity as specified by the Central Government under the Public
Liability Insurance Act, 1991; (6 of 1991.)
(g) "Judicial Member" means a Member of the Tribunal appointed as such under
this Act, and includes,the Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson who possesses any
of the qualifications specified in sub-section (3) of section 10;
(h) "Member" means a Member (whether Judicial or Technical) of the Tribunal
and includes the Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson;
(i) "notification" means a notification published in the official Gazette;
(j) "prescribed' means prescribed by ruler. made under this Act;
(k) "rules" means the rules made under this Act;
(l) "Technical Member" means a Member of the Tribunal who is not a Judicial
Member within the meaning of clause (g);
(m) "Tribunal" means the National Environment Tribunal established under
section 8;
(n) "Vice-Chairperson" means the Vice-Chairperson of the Tribunal.
Explanation.-In the case of the Tribunal having two or more Vice-Chairpersons,
references to the Vice-Chairperson in this Act shall be construed as a reference to
each of those Vice-Chairpersons;
(o) "owner" means a person who owns, or has control over handling, any
hazardous substance at the time of accident and includes,-
(i) in the case of a firm, any of its partners;
(ii) in the case of an association, any of its members; and
(iii) in the case of a company, any of its directors, managers, secretaries or
other officers who is directly in charge of, and is responsible to, the
company for the conduct of the business of the company.