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Binay Kumar Dalei & Ors. vs State of Odisha & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 254Decided 2 Mar 2022
Civil Appeal Nos. 1627-1628 of 2022
L. Nageswara Rao · B.R. Gavai

Background

An NGO approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking cancellation of stone quarry leases granted near the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha and a stop to further leases in the sanctuary's eco-sensitive zone, which forms part of a traditional elephant migration corridor linking the Similipal, Hadgarh and Kuldiha sanctuaries. Based on a forest department report finding that 97 stone quarries were operating close to the corridor and that some had encroached into the eco-sensitive zone, the NGT eventually ordered a complete stop to mining activity in and around the elephant corridor, without hearing the quarry lease-holders (the appellants), whose plea to be added as parties had earlier been rejected. The lease-holders appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing their quarries were outside the eco-sensitive zone.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that the dispute could be resolved without a blanket mining ban, since the State of Odisha itself had a Comprehensive Wildlife Management Plan (approved by the national Standing Committee on Wildlife) laying out mitigation measures for quarrying near the corridor, and had also begun the formal process under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to declare the elephant corridor a "conservation reserve." The Court directed the State to actually implement this Wildlife Management Plan and complete the conservation-reserve declaration process, and ruled that mining by the 97 quarries could resume only after these two steps were completed. It declined to order the government to compensate the lease-holders for losses suffered while mining was halted, though it left them free to separately approach the government for relief.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will balance economic/livelihood interests against wildlife protection by requiring the government to actually follow through on its own environmental safeguard plans (rather than imposing an outright activity ban or ignoring the environmental concerns entirely), and a lease-holder cannot claim compensation from the court itself for losses caused by a regulatory stoppage - that is a separate claim to be pursued with the government.

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

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