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SC refused to stay any order or prohibit the NGT from proceeding


Posted on 06 Sep 2014

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to restrain the National Green Tribunal (NGT) from hearing further the dispute over the environmental clearance given to the Rs 6,000-crore Vizhinjam port project, a multipurpose deepwater trans-shipment port in Kerala.

“If we start staying the orders of the NGT just like that, NGT will not be able to decide anything. We will examine everything but will not stay any order. What is the problem? Let NGT go ahead,” said the Green bench, led by Justice J S Khehar.

The bench, also comprising Justices J Chelameswar and AK Sikri, further said: “Everything goes hand in hand. We understand the importance of economic development but it has to go hand in hand with the environment.” It added that the issues relating to Vizhinjam port project had many factors rolled into one. “It has all the elements. It has aspects of economic development and environmental concerns besides defence related issues too. We will examine everything,” said the court.

It agreed to examine the appeal filed by Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) and the Kerala government against a decision of the NGT, and issued notices to the tribunal as well as the petitioner before the tribunal. But it refused to stay any order or prohibit the NGT from proceeding in the case that is listed for September 29 before the tribunal.

VISL is a special purpose government company fully owned by state government that has to act as an implementing agency for the development of the greenfield seaport at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram. In the order under challenge, the NGT had declared itself to be a “court”, holding it has “all the trappings” of a judicial body. It also ruled that the NGT can exercise the powers of judicial review and examine the validity of notifications passed under different laws.

The order, authored by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar, underlined that the purpose of the NGT Act will “stand defeated” if the tribunal is not said to have all the powers of a court. The tribunal is hearing petitions challenging the 2011 Coastal Regulation Zone notification and the environmental clearance given to the Rs 6,000-crore Vizhinjam sea project in Kerala by the environment ministry.

Source: Indian express