TALLI GRAM PANCHAYAT Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arise from an order dtd. 16/7/2021 of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The appellant challenged the grant of an environmental clearance to Ultratech Cement Limited (fourth respondent) by a letter dtd. 5/1/2017. The NGT by the impugned judgment dismissed the applications to recall the order of a single member and for condonation of delay.

(2.) By a letter dtd. 5/1/2017, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) granted an environment clearance to the fourth respondent for limestone mining with a total production capacity of 0.53 million tonnes per annum at villages Talli and Bambor situated in Taluka Talenja, of the District of Bhavnagar in the State of the Gujarat. The fourth respondent served a copy of the environment clearance upon the Talathi-Cum-Mantri of the Gram Panchayat on 12/1/2017 through a letter dtd. 9/1/2017. The fourth respondent also issued a public notice on the grant of the environmental clearance on 11/1/2017 in Gujarati in Saurashtra Samachar and in English, in Gujarat Samachar. The appellant challenged (Appeal No. 36 of 2017) the environmental clearance which was granted to the fourth respondent under Sec. 16 of the NGT Act on several grounds including the following:

(3.) The appellant obtained leave to file an application for condonation of delay (MA 262 of 2017 in Appeal No. 36 of 2017) since the appeal was filed beyond the prescribed period of 30 days. The fourth respondent contended that the notice was published in the newspapers on 11/1/2017 and the letter was served upon the Talathi-cum-Mantri on 12/1/2017 and therefore, the period of limitation must be calculated from these dates. However, the appellant contended that the publication was not in conformity with the statutory requirements under Clause 10 of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification as interpreted in Save Mon Region Federation v. Union of India 2013 (1) All India NGT Reporter 1. The appellant argued that the environment clearance certificate must be uploaded on the website and has to be accessible and downloadable to the public. The appeal along with the application for condonation of delay was heard on 24/11/2017. In view of the position of law in Save Mon Region Federation (supra), the Tribunal sought a clarification on whether the environment clearance which was uploaded on the website was accessible to and could have been downloaded by the public.