Supreme Court - Daily Orders
M.K. Balakrishnan . vs Union Of India Ministry Of Environment, ... on 16 August, 2017
Bench: Madan B. Lokur, Deepak Gupta
1
ITEM NO.1 COURT NO.5 SECTION PIL-W
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 230/2001
M.K. BALAKRISHNAN & ORS. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Respondent(s)
Date : 16-08-2017 This petition was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MADAN B. LOKUR
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK GUPTA
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Adv.
Mr. Zeeshan Diwan, Adv.
Dr. Jogendra Samal, Adv.
Mr. Naresh Kumar, AOR
For Respondent(s)/
applicant(s) Mr. A.N.S. Nadkarni, ASG
UOI/Delhi Mr. A.K. Panda, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ajit Kumar Sinha, Sr. Adv.
Mr. A.K. Sanghi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Wasim A. Qadri, Adv.
Mr. Ajay Kumar Singh, Adv.
Ms. Binu Tamta, Adv.
Mrs. Sunita Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Anil Singh, Adv.
Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, Adv.
Mr. Shalinder Saini, Adv.
Mr. Raj Bahadur, Adv.
Mr. G.S. Makker, Adv.
Mr. S.A. Siddiqui, Adv.
Mr. Satya Siddiqui, Adv.
Mr. Zaki Kazmi, Adv.
Mr. S.N. Terdal, Adv.
Dr. Rajeev Dhavan, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ravindra Adsure, Adv.
Mr. Anand Landge, Adv.
For States of
Signature Not Verified
Andhra Pradesh Mr. Guntur Prabhakar, Adv.
Digitally signed by
SANJAY KUMAR
Date: 2017.08.19
10:24:20 IST
Reason: Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv.
Assam Mr. Debojit Borhakati, Adv.
Mr. M. Balashivudu, Adv.
2
Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, Adv.
Mr. Sayooj Mohandas M., Adv.
Arunachal Pradesh Mr. Anil Shrivastav, AOR
Bihar Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR
Mr. Manish Kumar, Adv.
Chhattisgarh Mr. A.P. Mayee, Adv.
Mr. Avnish M. Oza, Adv.
Mr. Chirag Jain, Adv.
Mr. A. Selvin Raja, Adv.
Goa Mr. Atmaram N.S. Nadkarni, ASG
Mr. Jai A. Dehadraj, Adv.
Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv.
Ms. Shivangini Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Manisha Ambwani, Adv.
Gujarat Ms. Hemantika Wahi, AOR
Ms. Jesal Wahi, Adv.
Ms. Mamta Singh, Adv.
Haryana Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR
Dr. Monika Gusain, AOR
H.P. Mr. D.K. Thakur, AAG
Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma, Adv.
J&K Mr. M. Shoeb Alam, Adv.
Ms. Fauzia Shakil, Adv.
Mr. Ujjwal Singh, Adv.
Mr. Mojahid Karim Khan, Adv.
Jharkhand Mr. Tapesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Mohd. Waquas, Adv.
Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, Adv.
Karnataka Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR
Mr. Prakash Jadhav, Adv.
Mr. Parikshit P. Angadi, Adv.
Kerala Mr. G. Prakash, AOR
Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv.
Mrs. Priyanka Prakash, Adv.
Mrs. Beena Prakash, Adv.
M.P. Mr. Mishra Saurabh, AOR
Mr. Ankit Kr. Lal, Adv.
3
Maharashtra Mr. Kunal A. Cheema, Adv.
Mr. Yogesh Ahirrao, Adv.
Mr. Nishant R. Katneshwarkar, Adv.
Manipur Mr. Sapam Biswajit Meitei, Adv.
Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Adv.
Meghalaya Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee, AOR
Mr. Daniel Stone Lyngdoh, Adv.
Mizoram Mr. Pragyan Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Shikhar Garg, Adv.
Mr. Ganesh Bapu, Adv.
Mr. P. V. Yogeswaran, AOR
Nagaland Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR
Mr. Edward Belho, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. K. Luikang Michael, Adv.
Mr. Z.H. Isaac Haiding, Adv.
Odisha Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, AOR
Punjab Ms. Uttara Babbar, Adv.
Ms. Akanksha Choudhary, Adv.
Rajasthan Mr. S.S. Shamshery, AAG
Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Raj, Adv.
Mr. Milind Kumar,Adv.
Sikkim Ms. Aruna Mathur, Adv.
Mr. Avneesh Arputham, Adv.
Ms. Anuradha Arputham, Adv.
Mr. Amit Arora, Adv.
Ms. Simran Jeet, Adv.
for M/s Arputham Aruna & Co.
Tamil Nadu Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, Adv.
Mrs. Maha Lakshmi, Adv.
Mrs. Sujatha Bagadhi, Adv.
Telangana Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, Adv.
Mr. Mrityunjai Singh, Adv.
Tripura Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR
Mr. Rituraj Biswas, Adv.
U.P. Mr. Shrish Kr. Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Anuvrat Sharma, AOR
West Bengal Mr. Raja Chatterjee, Adv.
4
Runa Bhuyan, Adv.
Mr. Chanchal Kr. Ganguli, Adv.
Puducherry Mr. V. G. Pragasam, AOR
Mr. Prabu Ramasubramanian, Adv.
Mr. Menu Sundaram, Adv.
A&N Islands Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv.
Ms. G. Indira, AOR
Mr. Jayant Bhushan, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ketan Paul, Adv.
Reeja Varghese, Adv.
Mr. Karunish Kumar Shukla, Adv.
Mr. Abhijit Sengupta, AOR
Mr. Abhishek Chaudhary, AOR
Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, AOR
Mr. A. Venayagam Balan, AOR
Mr. B. S. Banthia, AOR
Mr. Khwairakpam Nobin Singh, AOR
Mr. Kunal Verma, AOR
Mr. Naresh K. Sharma, AOR
Mr. P. V. Dinesh, AOR
Mr. R. Ayyam Perumal, AOR
Mr. R. D. Upadhyay, AOR
Mr. R. Nedumaran, AOR
Mr. S. Chandra Shekhar, AOR
Mrs. D. Bharathi Reddy, AOR
Mr. M.S. Mangla, Adv.
Ms. Babita, Adv.
Ms. Aakansha Tiwari, Adv.
Mr. V.S. Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Shiv Sagar Tiwari, AOR
M/s Corporate Law Group (NP)
5
Ms. Kamini Jaiswal, AOR
Ms. Sumita Hazarika, AOR
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
We have heard learned counsel for the parties as well as learned Additional Solicitor General. Our dissatisfaction as recorded in the order dated 13th of July, 2017 continues and has now transformed into disappointment due to governmental apathy. As far as the Wetlands Rules are concerned, an assurance is given to us by learned Additional Solicitor General that these will be finalized and notified on or before 30th September, 2017. We take the assurance of the learned Additional Solicitor General on record. As far as the constitution of the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority is concerned, we have seen the notification issued by the Government of India. The notification indicates that there are four experts who are constant members of the Authority for the next three years. The remaining eight members can change and theoretically it is possible that in every meeting a different combination may participate. This is hardly conductive to an effective functioning of the Regulatory Authority.
It would be appropriate, as suggested by learned counsel for the petitioners, that the concerned officers be named so that there is continuity in the composition 6 of the Regulatory Authority without any frequent change in the participation.
Learned Additional Solicitor General says that he would like to take instructions in this regard and see to what extent the suggestion of learned counsel for the petitioners can and should be complied with. With regard to the steps taken to preserve the Ramsar sites and the accounts of funds, we had clearly mentioned in our order dated 8th February, 2017 followed by the order dated 3rd April, 2017 that we would like to know the specific steps taken with regard to the funds made available, their utilization and impact of the utilization of those funds.
We had noted in our order dated 3rd April, 2017 that the amount spent seems to be to the extent of Rs.945.95 crores. This is a huge amount and unless there is proper utilization of this amount with audited accounts, it will not serve any purpose.
Learned Additional Solicitor General informs us that despite several letters having been written to the various State Governments there is no effective response from most of the States except perhaps from two States. This is an extremely unfortunate situation and a matter of concern for preservation of wetlands which are absolutely necessary for the preservation of the environment and water resources as well. At the instance of learned counsel for the 7 petitioners as well as learned Additional Solicitor General, we direct the Chief Secretaries of all the States to look into the entire issue and inform the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change the amount that has been received by the State Government towards wetlands preservation till date along with audit reports and indicate the impact of the expenditure incurred. We expect this to be done by all the Chief Secretaries within a period of four weeks from today failing which we will have no option but to require the presence of the concerned Chief Secretary given the seriousness of the issue that has been raised both by learned counsel for the petitioners as well as by the learned Additional Solicitor General. With regard to the furnishing of brief documents as well as rectification of deficiencies in the brief documents and protection of the wetlands under Rule 4 of the existing Wetlands Rules, we have been informed by learned Additional Solicitor General that there is no effective response from the State Governments. We have already expressed our dissatisfaction and now our disappointment at the lack of interest shown by the State Governments in this regard, particularly when it concerns the environment and preservation of water resources in the country. We, therefore, require the Chief Secretary of each State to comply with all the requirements of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and 8 Climate Change and to furnish all necessary information. Information is required with regard to the brief documents, removal of deficiencies in the brief documents as well as identification of wetlands in the State. We need not emphasise again and again about the importance of the wetlands for the purposes of the environment and for the purposes of conserving and preserving water resources of the country. We expect the Chief Secretaries to comply with this direction within a period of four weeks from today.
We had already by our order dated 3rd April, 2017 requested the Chief Justices of 15 High Courts to look into the matter of maintenance of Ramsar sites. We have received no intimation whether the documents have been furnished by the Registry of this Court and whether they have been received by the concerned High Courts and whether a public interest litigation has been registered on receipt of the documents.
We require the Secretary General of this Court to coordinate with the Registrar General of the concerned High Courts and let us have the information on or before the next date of hearing.
We have been informed by the learned Additional Solicitor General that the Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad has some time in 2010-2011 identified 1,75,740 wetlands (area greater than 2.25 hectares) excluding rivers/streams which are about 25,763. About six or 9 seven years have gone by since then. Given the state of affairs, we will not at all be surprised to know that many of the identified wetlands have disappeared or shrunk.
We require the learned Additional Solicitor General to take instructions from the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad and inform us how much time it will take to ascertain whether and how many of the 1,75,740 wetlands exist today. We are not presently concerned with shrinkage of the wetlands but we are certainly concerned with the existence of wetlands and whether they have disappeared or not. Necessary information will be provided by learned Additional Solicitor General within four weeks from today.
We expect the Chief Secretaries of the State Governments to cooperate with the Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change as well as the Government of India in providing the requisite information and data.
List the matter on 4th October, 2017.
Liberty is granted to learned Additional Solicitor General to file additional documents/affidavit.
(SANJAY KUMAR-I) (MADHU NARULA)
AR-CUM-PS COURT MASTER