NGT Has Duty To Ensure Environmental Clearance Is Lawfully Granted : Supreme Court

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka, Justice Prashant Mishra, and Justice AG Masih reinstated a plea before NGT which challenged the environmental clearance for the CBWTF on the ground that no such facility should be set up within a 75 km radius of an existing CBWTF.

The NGT had dismissed the plea citing its earlier order in another case in which it had directed that, pending further decisions, the radius for permission for additional CBWTFs would stand reduced to 40 km from existing facilities.

The Supreme Court found that instead of dealing with the applicant's objections, NGT interpreted clause 2(b) of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)'s Revised Guidelines for CBWTFs and effectively reduced the required distance from 75 km to 40 km.

“It was the duty of the NGT to satisfy itself that all conditions precedent for grant of environment clearance were complied with. It is the duty of the NGT to ensure that environment clearance is lawfully granted. NGT ought to have directed the 4^th respondent (UP PCB) to produce on record whether compliance was made on clause 2(b) of the Guidelines…The NGT based on view taken earlier has virtually substituted requirement of coverage area of radius of 75 kilometers by 40 kilometers”, the court observed.

Clause 2(b) mandates that State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) conduct a gap analysis of biomedical waste generation and the existing treatment capacity within a 75-kilometer radius. Based on this analysis, an action plan for developing new CBWTFs should be submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) and the CPCB.

Consequently, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned order and restored the application to the file of the NGT, New Delhi. The NGT has been directed to decide the application fresh in accordance with law after calling upon the UP PCB to produce evidence material regarding compliance with clause 2(b) of the revised guidelines.

Background –

The impugned order of the NGT was passed in an appeal against the grant of Environmental Clearance (EC) dated January 24, 2023, for the establishment of the CBWTF by Silkon Biotech Private Limited in Azamgarh District.

The appellant contended before the NGT that according to CPCB guidelines, no facility can be set up within 75 km of an existing CBWTF, and if fewer than 10,000 beds are available, the existing facility can cover up to a 150 km radius. Further, the guidelines stipulate that a distance of 500 meters must be maintained from habitations and other sensitive establishments. The appellant argued that these guidelines were violated, as M/s Fero Buildhards (India) Pvt. Ltd. is located within 75 km of the proposed facility, there are fewer than 10,000 beds within a 150 km radius, and a temple is situated 400 meters away from the proposed site.

The NGT dismissed the appeal, prioritizing the need to address the significant gaps in the generation and treatment of medical waste in the interest of environmental protection. The tribunal reasoned that the guidelines should be read as subsidiary to this main consideration and that the profit of the existing facility could not override environmental concerns.

In the impugned order, the NGT cited its previous order dated March 6, 2023 in Medical Pollution Control Committee v. State of Uttarakhand & Ors.

In this previous order, the tribunal discussed modifications to existing guidelines, such as reducing the limit of 75 km radius to 40 or 50 km and decreasing the mandatory requirement of 1,000 beds to approximately 500 beds to achieve the aim of “One district, one Facility.”

Case no. – C.A. No. 4178/2023

Case Title – Santosh Kumar Singh v. State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority and Ors.