In around 30 judgments it has given so far, the National Green Tribunal has been extremely critical of the lack of adequate environment impact assessments conducted by the MoEF prior to the granting of a clearance.
Activist Vimal Bhai had challenged the ministry's in-principle clearance to the proposed 300-MW hydroelectric project on the Alaknanda river.
The petition stated that the Forest Advisory Committee had rejected the project stating that any form of development would cause irreversible damage to the mountain ecology.
The MoEF had cleared the project without even waiting for the final report from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, as stated in Vimal Bhai's petition. The NGT overruled the MoEF and has asked the WII and the IIT Roorkee to undertake a cumulative assessment on all the dams being constructed on the Ganga.
The NGT has also overruled the environment clearance given to Scania Steel and Power for the expansion of its sponge iron and captive power plant.
The NGT reported that in an effort to make the project look clean, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report actually recorded pollution indicators well below possible levels. Read the full report here.
Source: Age Correspondent, The Asian Age, New Delhi.
