A special bench of the court led by Chief Justice S H Kapadia that is hearing a petition challenging approvals granted to the French company Lafarge to mine limestone, likened the practice to "paying the piper to call the tune".
Kapadia's bench noted that every report that had been placed before it was produced by agencies hired by Lafarge. The judge commented on March 4 that it was unlikely that a "project proponent (private company) would pay a packet of money to get an adverse report".
Kapadia, who is gaining a reputation as an activist judge in an atmosphere ridden with scams and cases of high corruption, kicked up a political storm last week by annulling the appointment of India's Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas.
The fact that Thomas was the main accused in a case of corruption involving the import of edible palmolein appeared to have been overlooked, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was compelled to accept responsibility for it in parliament on March 8.
Kapadia's views on the way EIAs are carried out have serious implications for investors planning to set up environmentally sensitive industries. Leading environmental activists have welcomed the court's pronouncements. Read the full report here.
Source: by Ranjit Devraj, Asis Times Online, New Delhi.
