A telling tale of India’s environmental governance - #thread

In 2016, KTV Oil Mills & KTV Health Foods (a joint venture with Adani Wilmar Limited) constructed an oil storage facility & pipeline in Chennai w/o Coastal Regulation Zone clearance from India's environment ministry.

An expert panel of environment ministry had considered the project for clearance in 2016 but had not given clearance seeking some clarification from ministry-even then company built the facility & pipeline. Local fishermen community then opposed it in the National Green Tribunal.

In Jan 2017, NGT ordered an immediate stop to operations of the facility & asked the company to not start work until CRZ clearance is taken. Then in the next few months, an expert panel of environment ministry considered the project.

The environment ministry's expert panel noted that there are no specific provisions in CRZ Notification 2011 for considering a proposal for post-facto CRZ Clearance. But (in 2017) the panel recommended (clearance) to KTV's project.

One of the main points against the project has been the project is not a permissible activity in a Coastal Regulation Zone except in the notified port area – and KTV’s project is not located in that port area.

After expert panel’s recommendation, environment ministry didn’t issue clearance. Instead, in 2018, ministry amended the CRZ notification 2011 allowing post-facto clearances provided such activity was permissible under CRZ norms & post-facto approval was sought before June 2018.

Soon after amendment, environment ministry asked the company to get a recommendation from Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority for post-facto clearance. Environment Ministry also sent a reminder to Tamil Nadu CZMA about it.

Finally, in 2019, the Tamil Nadu CZMA recommended project after which the environment ministry in March 2019 issued CRZ clearance to the KTV's project. It was then challenged in the NGT whose southern bench heard the case & reserved judgement on July 30, 2020.

In its judgement announced on Sep 30, 2020, NGT’s bench of Justice K. Ramakrishnan & expert member Saibal Dasgupta set aside the CRZ clearance – it noted that authorities were not justified in considering project & granting the CRZ clearance.

NGT directed company to submit compensation of Rs 25 lakhs within 2 months & asked it to remove structures constructed in CRZ Zone within 3 months. NGT directed the Tamil Nadu CZMA to remove the structures if the company fails to do so in 3 months.

Link for the NGT's judgement - https://bit.ly/30rrcOk 

Advocate Ritwick Dutta of @lifeindia2016 & G. Stanley Hebzon Singh & K. Mageswaran deserves special applause for following the case till the end.