Stitch in time: SC strikes down illegal green clearance notifications, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Supreme Court quashed two Union Environment Ministry notifications that permitted industries to regularise illegal operations by paying fines.
• Notifications (2017 and 2021) bypassed prior environmental clearance, a key principle of the EIA Notification 2006.
• Court criticised the use of executive orders rather than parliamentary amendments.
• Rationale for the orders: economic contribution of violators and precedent of earlier UPA notifications (2012–13) later struck down.
• Judgment emphasised strict adherence to prior environmental clearance norms.

Detailed Insights:

• In 2017, a “one-time” 6-month window allowed units without clearance to apply retroactively.
• In 2021, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) allowed similar regularisation, again for a fee.
• These measures were challenged for undermining environmental rule of law and setting poor precedent.
• SC noted that simply imposing fines lacked sufficient deterrence, as many illegal units flourished.
• The ruling protects companies that had already regularised under these schemes but stops future misuse.
• Highlights a systemic failure in environmental regulation enforcement and potential misuse of executive discretion.

Key Concepts:

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): A legal process to evaluate environmental effects of proposed projects.
• Prior Clearance Principle: Projects must receive environmental approval before starting operations.
• Executive Overreach: Using administrative orders instead of legislative process for significant policy changes.

Significance:

• Reaffirms the judiciary’s role in upholding environmental accountability.
• Reinforces the need for proactive environmental governance and transparent, parliamentary oversight.
• A cautionary signal to future governments against retrospective regularisation of illegal activities.

Mains Mock Question:

Critically examine the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Environment Ministry’s regularisation of illegal industrial units. What does this mean for environmental governance in India?