What happened: Supreme Court action on post facto environmental clearances
On July 29, a Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant quashed a 2021 Office Memorandum that supported post facto environmental clearances (environmental approvals granted after construction or operations begin).
The Supreme Court order removed one administrative route for retrospective approvals. The Supreme Court also preserved a path for the Centre to regularise environmental violations through a statutory notification mechanism.
Policy concern discussed is that removing the memorandum may not eliminate incentives for retrospective approvals if the statutory notification regularisation route continues to make after-the-fact clearance feasible.
Background and earlier position: why post facto clearance can become common
EIA-based environmental governance relies on sequencing: environmental appraisal should occur before construction begins, not after a project starts operations. Early appraisal helps regulators assess impacts early enough to change design and mitigation measures.
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