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Bengaluru Development Authority v. Mr. Sudhakar Hegde & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 303Decided 17 Mar 2020
Civil Appeal No. 2566 of 2019
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The Bengaluru Development Authority's "Peripheral Ring Road" project, an eight-lane, roughly 65-kilometre road intended to ease Bengaluru's traffic congestion, had its Environmental Clearance quashed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The NGT found that the underlying Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) data was collected more than three years before it was actually submitted to the environmental authority, making it stale. The Authority, as project proponent, appealed the NGT's order to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reviewed several deficiencies in the EIA process, including the outdated baseline data, questions about the EIA consultant's accreditation, and unresolved issues around forest land, tree-felling, and an underlying petroleum pipeline. It agreed with the NGT's ultimate conclusion that a fresh EIA was necessary, though for its own, more detailed reasons. Exercising its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Court issued a structured set of directions: the Authority must conduct a fresh rapid EIA through an accredited, sector-specific consultant, address all the deficiencies identified in the judgment, secure other required statutory clearances before the environmental appraisal committee reviews the project, and consult the relevant authority regarding the safety of petroleum pipelines beneath the proposed road. The appeal was disposed of in these terms, with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will not allow large infrastructure projects to proceed on environmental clearances based on outdated impact-assessment data; rather than simply cancelling clearance, they may use their powers to set out a clear, specific roadmap for compliance that still allows the project to move forward lawfully.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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