How is the National Green Tribunal (NGT) different from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)?  1) The NGT has been established by an Act whereas the CPCB has been created by an executive order of the Government. 2) The NGT provides environmental justice and helps reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts whereas the CPCB promotes cleanliness of streams and wells and aims to improve the quality of air in the country. Which of the statements given above is/are correct-?

The correct answer is B (2 only). Statement 1 is wrong, and statement 2 is right.

• Statement 1 is false. The NGT was set up under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, which gives it statutory status. The CPCB is also a statutory body, not an executive creation. It was constituted in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, and its air-pollution role comes from the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Both laws are parliamentary statutes.
• Statement 2 is correct. The NGT's core job is speedy disposal of environmental cases and environmental justice, with a view to reducing the load on High Courts and the Supreme Court. The CPCB is an advisory and monitoring body under the MoEFCC. Its functions include improving stream and well water quality and monitoring air quality through the national network.

The core concept here is the difference between an adjudicatory body (NGT) and a regulatory and monitoring body (CPCB). This links directly to Mains GS-3 on environmental governance and the institutional design of pollution control.

Trap: Candidates often assume that anything set up by the government is an executive body, or that both bodies are judicial. Check the legal source of each body before judging the first statement.