The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the Central government is prohibited from granting “ex-post facto” Environmental Clearances (EC) in the future. The apex court struck down previous Office Memorandums (OMs) and notifications that allowed such retrospective approvals for mining and industrial projects.
A bench led by Justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan determined that projects commencing operations without prior environmental clearance cannot be legitimized afterwards. Justice Oka emphasized that corporations, real estate developers, public sector entities, and mining companies that have intentionally flouted environmental regulations will not receive leniency.
The court specifically forbade the government from reintroducing any policy similar to the controversial 2017 notification that had facilitated retrospective ECs. The 2021 OM and all related circulars were also declared illegal and nullified, though the court clarified that environmental clearances already granted under these invalidated provisions would remain valid.
This ruling arose from petitions filed by the NGO Vanashakti and others, contesting the legality of certain government memorandums issued in July 2021 and January 2022. These memorandums had created a system granting environmental clearances for projects that had started operations without prior approval, a requirement set forth in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2006.
Petitioners argued that these OMs undermined the fundamental requirement of prior clearance, a condition emphasized numerous times in the 2006 Notification, which weakened environmental protections. The Supreme Court had previously put a temporary stay on these OMs in January 2024.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change defended its stance by stating that the 2017 Notification allowed a six-month window for violators to seek regularization, which expired in September 2017. The Ministry argued that the 2021 OM was designed to address ongoing violations not covered by earlier regulations and aimed to evaluate environmental damage under the ‘polluter pays’ principle. The government cautioned that denying regularization could result in large-scale demolitions, referencing the adverse effects seen during the 2021 demolition of the Supertech Twin Towers.
However, the Supreme Court dismissed these arguments, asserting that environmental laws cannot be relaxed to accommodate unlawful projects. Justice Oka questioned the rationale behind the government’s attempt to protect entities that knowingly contravened the EIA notification by failing to secure prior EC.
The court declared, “We hold that the 2017 notification and the 2021 OM as well as all associated circulars/orders/OMs/notifications are illegal and hereby struck down. We restrain the Central Government from issuing any further notifications that allow for ex post facto EC in any form.”
He further noted that the EIA notification was already eleven years old when the 2017 notification was issued, indicating no grounds for leniency towards those who committed the “gross illegality” of proceeding without prior EC. Justice Oka stressed that the violators were not uneducated parties but included well-informed corporations and developers who knowingly broke the law.
The Centre’s counsel had contended that the 2021 OM functioned merely as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and was not aimed at granting ex-post facto EC. They claimed it stipulated the demolition of illegal projects and the cessation of operations of permissible projects that lacked prior EC.
Despite these arguments, the bench asserted that granting EC under the 2021 OM would effectively normalize illegal activities retroactively. The court labeled the 2021 OM as “arbitrary and illegal,” noting it violated prior Supreme Court rulings.
Justice Oka called for a stringent approach in environmental matters, highlighting the constitutional right to live in a pollution-free environment under Article 21. He pointed out the dire consequences of environmental degradation, particularly the severe air pollution levels in major cities like Delhi. The court firmly rejected the notion that development can come at the expense of the environment, asserting that environmental conservation is a critical component of sustainable development.
While nullifying the policies facilitating retrospective ECs, the court clarified that environmental clearances already issued under the 2017 notification and the 2021 OM would remain in effect. The bench acknowledged that the 2017 notification was initially meant as a one-time measure for resolving existing violations but reiterated that such measures were illegal, as they encouraged pollution by parties that failed to secure prior EC, thereby infringing on the right to a pollution-free environment.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/environment/supreme-court-strikes-down-ex-post-facto-environmental-approvals.html
Category: Assam,Environment,Northeast News,Top News
Tags:
Publish Date: 2025-05-16 23:43:00
