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Therefore, the respondent company had to obtain NOC from the A.P. Pollution Control Board.

According to the A.P. Pollution Control Board (the appellant), the respondent company could not have commenced civil works and construction of its factory, without obtaining the clearance of the A.P.Pollution Control Board - as the relaxation by government from location restriction as stated in their letter dated 28.11.1995, was subject to such clearance. On 8.3.1996, on receipt of the 2nd Interim Report of the Expert Committee of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department issued GO No.111 on 8.3.1996 reiterating the 10 k.m. prohibition as contained in the GO 192 dated 31.3.1994 but making some concessions in favour of residential development.

(2) The proposal to set up this unit was rejected at the pre-scrutiny level during the meeting of CDCC/DIPC held on 24.5.1996 in view of the State Government Order No.111 dated 8.3.1996."

Aggrieved by the above letter of rejection, the respondent company appealed under section 28 of the Water Act. Before the appellate authority, the industry, filed an affidavit of Prof. M.Santappa Scientific Officer to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in support of its contentions. The appellate authority under section 28 of the Water Act, 1974 (Justice M.Ranga Reddy, (retd.)) by order dated 5.1.1998 allowed the appeal of the Company. Before the appellate authority, as already stated, an affidavit was filed by Prof. M.Shantappa, a retired scientist and technologist (at that time, Scientific Advisor for T.N. Pollution Control Board) stating that the respondent had adopted the latest eco-friendly technology using all the safeguards regarding pollution. The appellate authority stated that Dr.Siddhu, formerly Scientific to the Government of India and who acted as Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and who was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of this Company also filed an affidavit. The Managing Director of the respondent company filed an affidavit explaining the details of the technology employed in the erection of the plant. Prof. M.Shantappa in his report stated that the company has used the technology obtained from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology of (IICT), Hyderabad which is a premier institute and that he would not think of a better institute in the country for transfer of technology. The said Institute has issued a certificate that this industry will not discharge any acidic effluents and the solid wastes which are the by -products are saleable and they will be collected in M.S. drums by mechanical process and sold. The report of Dr. Shantappa also showed that none of the by-products would fall on the ground of the factory premises. He also stated that all the conditions which were proposed to be imposed by the Technical Committee on the company at its meeting held on 16.7.97 have been complied with. On the basis of these reports, the appellate authority stated that this industry "is not a polluting industry". It further held that the notification dated 1.2.1989 of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, whereby industries manufacturing Hydrogenated Vegetable oils were categorised as "red category"

industries, did not apply to the catchment areas of Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar lakes and that notification was applicable only to the Doon Valley of UP and Dahanu in Maharashtra. The appellate authority accordingly directed the AP Pollution control Board to give its consent for establishment of the factory on such conditions the Board may deem fit as per GOMs 153 dated 3.7.1997 (as amended by GO 181 dated 7.8.1997). Before the above order dated 5.1.98 was passed by the appellate authority, some of these public interest cases had already been filed. After the 5.1.98 order of the appellate authority, a direction was sought in the public interest case W.P.No.2215 of 1996 that the order dated 5.1.1998 passed by the appellate authority was arbitrary and contrary to interim orders passed by the High Court in W.P. 17832, 16969 and 16881 of 1997. The respondent company, in its turn filed WP No.11803 of 1998 for directing the A.P. Pollution Control Board to give its consent, as a consequence to the order of the appellate authority dated 5.1.1998. As stated earlier, the A.P. Pollution Control Board contends that the categorisation of industries into red, green and orange had already been made prior to the notification of 1.2.1989 by Office Memorandum of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India dated 27.9.1988 and that in that notification also "Vegetable oils including solvent extracted oils" (Item No.7) and `Vanaspati Hydrogenated Vegetable oils for industrial purposes (Item 37)" were also included in the red category. It also contends that the company could not have started civil works unless NOC was given by the Board. The Division Bench of the High Court in its judgment dated 1.5.1998, held that the writ petitioners who filed the public interest cases could not be said to be having no locus standi to file the writ petitions. The High Court observed that while the Technical Committee of the A.P. Pollution Control Board had, some time before its refusal, suggested certain safeguards to be followed by the company, the Board could not have suddenly refused the consent and that this showed double standards. The High Court referred to the order of the Appellate authority under Section 28 of the Water Act dated 5.1.98 and the report of Dr.Sidhu, to the effect that even if hazardous waste was a by-product, the same could be controlled if the safeguards mentioned in the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 were followed and in particular those in Rules 5,6 and 11, were taken. The Rules made under Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical (MSIHC) Rules 1989 also permit industrial actively provided the safeguards mentioned therein are taken. The Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules 1991 supplement the MSIHC Rules, 1989 on accident preparedness and envisage a 4-tier crisis management system in the country. Therefore, merely because an industry produced hazardous substances, the consent could not be refused. It was stated that as the matter was highly technical, interference was not called for, as "rightly" contended by the learned counsel for the respondent company. The High Court could not sit in appeal over the order of the appellate authority. For the above reasons, the High Court dismissed the three public interest cases, and the writ petitions filed by the Gram Panchayat. The High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the respondent industry and directed grant of consent by the A.P. Pollution Control Board subject to such conditions as might be imposed by the Board. It is against the said judgment that the A.P. Pollution Control Board has filed the five appeals. One appeal is filed by SPEQL. In these appeals, we have heard the preliminary submission of Shri R.N.Trivedi, learned Additional Solicitor General for the A.P. Pollution Control Board, Shri M.N.Rao, learned senior counsel for the respondent company, and Sri P.S.Narasimha for the appellant in the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No.13380 of 1998 and others. It will be noticed that various issues arise in these appeals concerning the validity of the orders passed by the A.P. Pollution Control Board dated 30.7.97, the correctness of the order dated 5.1.98 of the Appellate Authority under Section 28 of the Water Act, the validity of GOMs No.153 dated 3.7.97 by which Government of A.P. granted exemption for the operation of the 10 k.m. rule in GOMs 111 dated 8.3.1996. Questions also arise regarding the alleged breach of the provisions of the Act, Rules or notification issued by the Central Government and the standards prescribed under the Water Act or rules or notifications. Question also arises whether the "appellate" authority could have said that as it was a highly technical matter, no interference was called for. We are just now not going into all these aspects but are confining ourselves to the issues on the technological side. In matters regarding industrial pollution and in particular, in relation to the alleged breach of the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, its rules or notifications issued thereunder, serious issues involving pollution and related technology have been arising in appeals under Article 136 and in writ petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution of India filed in this Court and also in writ petitions before High Courts under Article 226. The cases involve the correctness of opinions on technological aspects expressed by the Pollution Control Boards or other bodies whose opinions are placed before the Courts. In such a situation, considerable difficulty is experienced by this Court or the High Courts in adjudicating upon the correctness of the technological and scientific opinions presented to the Courts or in regard to the efficacy of the technology proposed to be adopted by the industry or in regard to the need for alternative technology or modifications as suggested by the Pollution Control Board or other bodies. The present case illustrates such problems. It has become, therefore, necessary to refer to certain aspects of environmental law already decided by this Court and also to go into the above scientific problems, at some length and find solutions for the same. Environment Courts/Tribunals - problems of complex technology:

A question has been raised by the respondent industry that it may be permitted to make trial runs for atleast three months so that the results of pollution, could be monitored and analysed. This was opposed by the appellant and the private respondent. We have not thought it fit to go into this question and we have informed counsel that this issue could also be left to the said Authority to decide because we do not know whether any such trial runs would affect the environment or cause pollution. On this aspect also, it shall be open to the authority to take a decision after hearing the parties. Parties have requested that the authority may be required to give its opinion as early as possible. We are of the view that the Authority could be requested to give its opinion within a period of three months from the date of receipt of this order. We, therefore, refer the above issues to the above-said Appellate Authority for its opinion and request the Authority to give its opinion, as far as possible, within the period above-mentioned. If the Authority feels any further clarifications or directions are necessary from this Court, it will be open to it to seek such clarifications or directions from this Court. The Company shall make available photo copies of the paper books filed in this Court or other papers filed in the High Court or before the authority under section 28 of the Water Act, 1974, for the use of the Appellate Authority. The Registry shall communicate a copy of this order to the Appellate Authority under the National Environmental Appellate Authority Act, 1997. Matter may be listed before us after three months, as part-heard. Ordered accordingly. In the context of recommendations made for amendment of the environmental laws and rules by the Central Government and notifications issued by the Central and State Governments, we direct copies of this judgment to be communicated to the Secretary, Environment & Forests (Government of India), New Delhi, to the Secretaries of Environment & Forests in all State Governments and Union Territories, and to the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi. We further direct the Central Pollution Control Board to communicate a copy of this judgment to all State Pollution Control Boards and other authorities dealing with environment, pollution, ecology and forest and wildlife. The State Governments shall also take steps to communicate this judgment to their respective State Pollution Control Boards and other authorities dealing with the above subjects - so that appropriate action can be taken expeditiously as indicated in this judgment.