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M.P. Patil v. Union of India

Country/Territory
India
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Mar 13, 2014
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
National Green Tribunal
Seat of court
New Delhi
Judge
Swatanter Kumar ; U.D. Salvi; Dr. G.K. Pandey; Prof. A.R. Yousuf; Dr. R.C. Trivedi
Reference number
No. 12/2012
Language
English
Subject
Energy
Keyword
Agricultural development Agriculture and environment Liability/compensation Energy conservation/energy production Public participation Indigenous peoples Air pollution (stationary sources) Poverty Access-to-information Agricultural commodities Agricultural land Resource/damage valuation Air quality/air pollution
Abstract

In this case, the plaintiffs, a villager, challenged the order of the Ministry of Environment and Forests granting Environmental Clearance for a project setting up a Thermal Power Project near the village Kudgi in Bijapur District Karnataka.

The plaintiffs claimed that they could not properly participate in the decision making process and that they were not offered enough money to compensate the loss of their agricultural fields where the power plant was planned. They stressed that in such a poor region, agriculture was very important for the subsistence of the local communities. At the same time they also pointed out that the projected power plan will have irretrievable and irreversible consequences on the environment mostly caused by the pollution load due to burning coal.

The National Green Tribunal held that if the planned power point was crucial for the development of the region, the order still needed to be redrafted to integrate pollution mitigation measures. Also, the judges stressed that the procedure provided by the law needed to be followed and that, as a result, public authorities had to give public notice and hear the project affected people. Consequently, the Tribunal remanded the order to the Ministry of Environment and Forests

Full text
patilvuoi.pdf
Website
www.greentribunal.gov.in