CB BureauThe Supreme Court has slammed the ministry of environment and forests
(MoEF) for outsourcing of the green report of an area to a project promoter seeking
green clearances for the same area. The
report creation is the job of the special officials of the ministry itself.
The ministry had asked Nirma Ltd to prepare a study on the
flora and fauna in its proposed cement plant project area in Gujarat.
In a letter, the MoEF wrote to Nirma saying, ‘You are requested
to undertake a three-month study on flora and fauna in the area as the
information/data is not fully available at the stage and to ascertain whether
the project area is a wetland or a water body.’
‘The ministry, prima
facie, has violated the apex court’s landmark judgment on Lafarge cement plant
in Meghalaya. We have asked the ministry to file an affidavit giving reasons why it
asked the project proponent to prepare the flora and fauna report,’ said the
bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swatanter
Kumar.
The MoEF under Jairam Ramesh had issued a showcause notice
to Nirma. It had asked the company why the environmental clearance granted
to the Rs 600 crore cement plant, coke oven plant and captive power plant near
village Padhiarka in Bhavnagar district should not be cancelled.
The notice was pursuant to findings by an expert committee that was set up after the March 18 order of the apex court asking it to
examine whether lands on which the project is being set up were wetlands/water
bodies, and if at all the project be allowed, what should be the steps taken to protect the
environment.
After the expert committee report, Nirma held meetings with the
ministry officials and pointed out inadequacies in the committee report on
flora and fauna.