Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed French cement giant Lafarge to mine for limestone in the forests of Meghalaya’s East Khasi hills, saying there has to be a balance between environmental protection and sustainable development.

The court issued detailed guidelines and directed the central government to appoint a national regulator to evaluate different projects and ensure the protection of the environment.

The apex court forest bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia vacated the Feb 5, 2010 order which restrained Lafarge from carrying out limestone mining in Meghalaya for its Bangladesh-based plant.

The $255 million Lafarge Surma Cement Project at Chhatak in Bangladesh, is entirely dependent on limestone from the East Khasi hills. The residents of Meghalaya’s Shella village, located in the vicinity of the mines, said the area is part of an environmentally sensitive zone.

Speaking for the bench, Chief Justice Kapadia said there has to be a balance between environmental protection and sustainable development.

“It cannot be said that the utilisation of the environment and its natural resources has to be in a way that is consistent with principles of sustainable development and intergenerational equity, but balancing of these equities may entail policy choices,” said the judgment.

The judges said that on issues of utilisation of natural resources, the courts would have to look into whether all the relevant factors have been taken into account. Have any extraneous factors influenced the decision? Is the decision strictly in accordance with the legislative policy underlying the law (if any) that governs the field?

The court said judicial scrutiny would also involve the question whether “the decision (is) consistent with the principles of sustainable development in the sense that has the decision-maker … arrived at a balanced decision?”

The judges said that the courts should review the decision-making process to ensure that the decision of the environment and forests ministry was fair and fully informed, based on the correct principles and free from any bias or restraint.

“Time has come for us to apply the constitutional doctrine of proportionality to matters concerning environment as a part of the process of judicial review in contradistinction to merit review,” said the court.

The court had to examine whether the decisions of the state were strictly in accordance with legislative policies and in line with sustainable development, he added.

“It is incumbent on the central government … to appoint an appropriate authority, preferably, in the form of regulator … for ensuring implementation of the National Forest Policy, 1988.”

“We have issued these guidelines in the light of our experience in the last couple of years. These guidelines will operate in all future cases of environmental and forest clearances till a regulatory mechanism is put in place,” the court said, asking the central government to file a compliance report within six months.