NGT vs the Centre: A past filled with friction

The heavy industries ministry has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that there is currently no legal provision under which diesel vehicles more than 15 years old can be de-registered, as had been ordered by the tribunal on July 18. It said the order was in “contravention” of the Motor Vehicle Act and risked giving rise to several new litigation. SAYAN GHOSHAL and SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY look at some other past instances when the green court and the government locked horns

Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) project, October 2015

The NGT suspended Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance granted in 2013 to the 22-km MTHL project connecting Nhava in Navi Mumbai to Sewri worth over ~11,370 crore. The tribunal noted that the procedure followed by the MoEF and the Maharashtra Coastal Zonal Regulation Authority (MCZRA) in granting the clearance was not in accordance with a 2011 notification and allowed six months for the Maharashtra (MMRDA) to get fresh clearance. Thereafter, the Centre granted the project fresh CRZ clearance on 25 January 2016. Environment ministry ex-post-facto clearance to defaulting industries , January 2016 The NGT-Western Zone Bench in January struck down an environment ministry circular of 2003 allowing ex-post-facto environmental clearances to over 23 defaulting industries in Gujarat, and others across the country in the period 1998-2003. The tribunal declared the circular void-ab-initio and declared ex-post facto environmental clearances illegal. Tawang Hydro Power Case , April 2016 NGT suspended the environmental clearance given to the 780 Mw Nyamjang Chhu power project in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. The clearance, the court noted, didn’t consider the impact of the hydro project — promoted by Noida-based textile-to-steel conglomerate, LNJ Bhilwara Group — on the habitat of the blacknecked crane, a species that breeds in the Tibetan plateau and migrates to Tawang for the winter.

The court ordered a study of the environmental flow (E-flow) requirement at the wintering site of the birds “as expeditiously as possible,” through the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). According to latest reports, the ministry has ordered the study to be conducted in the monsoon season. Environment clearance for rail projects, July 2016 The NGT made it mandatory to obtain environmental clearances (EC) for Indian Railway projects before any work began on the ground. The order came after a petition was filed claiming the ecology and course of the river Hindon was being affected by the laying of the 140-km new track from Noida in UP to Rewari in Haryana. Indian Railways argued that its projects are exempted from obtaining EC as they are large infrastructure projects of national importance. Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) elevated state highway, July 2016 The NGT stayed work on the 9.3-km elevated state highway falling within a bird sanctuary in Ghaziabad. It asked the project to obtain an environmental clearance. The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) contended that environmental clearances were not required for state highway projects. The tribunal allowed the GDA time to bring the details of the construction on record but suspended all work on the project till the time the environmental clearances were obtained.