Court rejects NGO objection
Judges Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the “Kahar Samaj Panch Committee” appeal against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) to approve the project. The judges firmly said: “Even environmentally friendly solar projects are being questioned even for the sake of saving the environment.”
THDC, a government-operated entity, initiated a tender to establish a floating solar power plant at the Jayakwadi Dam. The dam is the soil structure of the Godavari River in the Sambhaji Nagar area and is declared as a bird sanctuary and ecologically sensitive area by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. NGOs believe the project will damage local biodiversity and destroy bird life.
NGT review and weak arguments of NGOs
The Supreme Court noted that the NGO rushed to NGT immediately after the tender was issued, claiming that the solar project would damage the shelter. However, NGT maintained the government’s policy to promote solar energy after examining the ministry’s response. It repeatedly asked NGOs: “Is there a law prohibiting the establishment of floating solar projects in ecologically sensitive areas?” But NGOs cannot provide a clear answer.
The court also noted that NGOs failed to say whether floating solar projects were even in ecologically sensitive areas of shelter. NGT dismissed the case due to no legal basis for the challenge, and the Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
Focus on NGOs
The court acknowledged the role of a real environmental group but warned that competitors or vested interests would use NGOs as an upward trend in the front that hinders development projects. The substitute observed that this judgment highlighted an increasing focus on the credibility of Indian environmental litigation, which has become a practice for project supporters to build NGOs and challenge projects. “Although the real ecological challenges must be addressed, the Supreme Court’s judgment marks an opposition opposition that slows growth of critical infrastructure. (TOI’s investment)
