GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court of India has set aside a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that dismissed a plea against the clearing of land for the proposed greenfield airport at Doloo Tea Estate in Assam's Silchar. The apex court noted that the land clearing activities were undertaken without environmental clearance (EC), in breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 2006.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra observed that the authorities had violated the EIA notification by carrying out extensive land clearing without the requisite EC. The court ordered that no further activities should be carried out in breach of the 2006 notification.
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"We are of the view that authorities in the present case have acted in violation of the notification by carrying out extensive clearance at the site in the absence of environmental clearance," the court said. It emphasised that compliance with environmental laws is mandatory and that no EC has been issued for the project to date.
The court criticised the NGT for abdicating its duty by dismissing the plea without proper examination. The petition filed before the NGT had raised concerns that the EIA report was still pending and that the necessary EC for the airport had not been granted.
During the hearing, the CJI suggested maintaining the status quo until the environmental clearance report is received. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the State of Assam, argued that some petitioners were filing self-serving petitions without firsthand knowledge of the site, alleging that workers cut trees for domestic purposes and that various factors like wind direction must be considered for the greenfield project.
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However, advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, highlighted that trees were being cut along with the bushes. He stated that uprooting 41 lakh tea bushes was admitted and asserted that false statements were made in the joint secretary's affidavit.
The court noted that the uprooting of 41 lakh bushes could not be considered routine maintenance of the tea estate and was in breach of the EIA notification. The court set aside the NGT order and directed that once the clearance report is received, the State of Assam can reapply for commencement of work on the airport project.
