Forest Protection : Supreme Court Allows Centre To Notify Central Empowered Committee(CEC) As Permanent Body

The Supreme Court has allowed the Union Government to notify the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which has been constituted by the Supreme Court for overseeing matters related to forests, as a permanent body.

A Division Bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing an application, filed in the main matter of In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Ors, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 Of 1995, allowed issuance of notification for constitution of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) as a permanent body. The Bench consisted of Justices B.R. Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra.

The Bench observed that “CEC functioning as an ad hoc body, it functioning as a permanent body would be in the interest of all the stakeholders.” As a result, the Union of India would publish a draft notification under the provisions of Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, providing for the constitution of the CEC.

Case Background

The proceedings, in the captioned matter, originated from the Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India registered as T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Ors, which was in the nature of a public interest litigation filed in 1995. It was instituted for the protection of forest lands in the Nilgiris district of the State of Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, the scope of that writ petition was enlarged so as to protect such natural resources throughout the country. The writ petition, in substance, continued with the cause title “in Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India & Ors.” Various Orders have been passed from time to time in this writ petition to ensure the preservation of forest resources in balance with economic activities.

By an Order of the Apex Court dated 9th May 2002, a CEC was directed to be formed primarily for monitoring the implementation of the Court’s orders and to place the incidents of non­compliance. Subsequently, the present applications (I.A. NO.196062 & 174896/2019) were filed, and via Order dated 24 February 2023, they were allowed. The following prayer was sought: - “Allow the present Application and permit the Applicant to construct a Convention Centre at Patnitop after demolishing the existing dilapidated Club Building of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC).”

Thereafter, on when the matter was heard, a suggestion was made by the Bench that instead of the CEC being an ad-hoc body, it would be in the larger interest that the CEC as an institution should be a permanent statutory body and Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta accepted the said suggestion.

Court’s Observations

Recently, on 18 August 2023, when the Court resumed its hearing in the present application, SG apprised the Bench about a draft notification to be issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) regarding the constitution of CEC.

At this, Amicus Curiae Advocate K. Parameshwar submitted one last suggestion to the draft notification, i.e., there should be a provision for a periodical audit of the functioning of the CEC by the MoEFCC, and SG did not object to the said suggestion. He stated that the suggestion given by the Amicus Curiae would be incorporated in the final notification that would be issued by the MoEFCC. In view of the same, the Court permitted the Union of India to proceed further with the issuance of notification for constitution of the CEC as a permanent body. It recorded:

“We also permit the MoEFCC to proceed further with the constitution of the CEC in accordance with the notification that will be issued by the MoEFCC.”

Case Title: In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Ors, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 Of 1995

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 687

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