NGT cannot shut down industries on technical grounds: Supreme Court
The bench said that the NGT court cannot be oblivious of the need to protect the livelihood of the project employees and the people dependent on the project in order to comply with environmental norms.
new Delhi. The Supreme Court on Friday said that the industry which contributes to the country’s economy and provides livelihood cannot be shut down on the ground of environmental technical irregularities only. A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and AS Bopanna observed that the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does not bar the latter from taking environmental clearance. The apex court made this observation while setting aside the order of the National Green Tribunal which had directed the closure of industries in Haryana which did not have prior environmental clearance.
The Supreme Court bench said that if such projects comply with environmental norms, the court cannot be oblivious of the need to protect the livelihoods of hundreds of workers employed in the project and those dependent on the project. There can be no doubt that the requirement of obtaining environmental clearance cannot be compromised in terms of compliance. In order to protect future generations and ensure sustainable development, it is imperative that pollution laws are strictly enforced. Go. Under no circumstances should polluting industries be allowed to operate uncontrollably and cause damage to the environment.
