Srinagar Bandh Apada Sangharsh Samiti Anr. V. Alaknanda Hydro Power Co. Ltd Ors.
- 2022-02-17
Court: National Green Tribunal
Citation: M.A. No. 104 of 2012 (Arising out of Appeal No. 39 of 2012)
Coram: Justice Swatanter Kumar (Chairperson), Justice P. Jyothimani (Judicial Member), Dr. D.K. Agrawal (Expert Member), Dr.G.K. Pandey (Expert Member), Prof. A.R. Yousuf (Expert Member)
Facts:
In this case, an appeal against the grant of Environmental Clearance given to an Rs. 6,400 crore hydro project was filed by an organisation called Save Mon Area Federation along with a social activist.
The said project was located near the wintering site for a bird called Black-necked Crane, which is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and features in the ‘Threatened Birds of India’ a literature produced by the Appellants. Apart from the birds, the area was also home to several other endangered species such as the snow leopard, red panda, Arunachal macaque etc.
Issue:
Whether the grant of Environmental Clearance is proper or not.
Decision:
The Tribunal revoked the Environmental Clearance given to the Project quite proactively.
The Tribunal directed the EAC to make a fresh review of the environmental grant proposal and requested the Ministry of Environment and Forest to carry out a separate report on the conservation of the bird in question.
