AHALIA INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION, AHALIA CAMPUS Vs. STATE ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY, (SEIAA KERALA)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a non-profit organization primarily focussed on healthcare, has approached this Court being aggrieved by the stand taken by the 2nd respondent- The Kerala Pollution Control Board, insisting on environmental clearance for the constructions made by the petitioner for granting Consent to Operate. The reliefs sought by the petitioner are as follows:

(2.) The facts that led to the filing of this writ petition are as follows:

(3.) According to the petitioner, such a stipulation is not at all necessary in view of the subsequent notification issued in this regard. According to the petitioner, initially, the relevant notification was Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 (SO 1533 (E) dtd. 14/9/2006, which contemplated prior environmental clearance in the case of construction projects having an area beyond 20,000 sq.mts. However, later, the requirement of prior environmental clearance in respect of the construction projects was substituted by a further notification dtd. 15/11/2018, wherein the minimum area for which prior environmental clearance required, was enhanced to 50,000 sq.mts. from 20,000 sq.mts. Exhibit P4(b) is the said notification. Therefore, it was pointed out that, in the light of the above, it is not necessary for the petitioner to obtain a prior environmental clearance. Besides, it was also the case of the petitioner that the petitioner is entitled to get an exemption in respect of the building used for the purpose of education, as the petitioner is running paramedical educational courses along with the hospital.