The Supreme Court's observations in the landmark Lafarge judgment will set the stage for further reforms in environmental governance, the Ministry of Environment and Forests said on Thursday.
“The MoEF will continue to work closely with the judiciary in pursuit of sustainable development,” said the Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, reacting to the judgment.
“The Lafarge judgment puts in place a structure that will make the process of environmental governance more effective. The MoEF is of the view that the judiciary has played a pivotal role in environmental and forest management,” he added.
Further, the MoEF will ensure that the apex court's direction in implementing in letter and spirit the National Forest Policy 1988 together with the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The court said the policy must govern the grant of permissions under the Forest (Conservation) Act as it provides the roadmap to ecological protection and improvement under the Environment (Protection) Act.
On Wednesday, the Apex Court had allowed the French cement major to resume limestone mining in Meghalaya for its plant in Chhatak in neighbouring Bangladesh. The Court had said that the MoEF had followed all statutory procedures while granting the revised environmental and forest clearance to Lafarge for limestone mining in 116.6 hectares in Meghalaya's East Khasi hills.
The court had observed that it was satisfied with the Ministry's due-diligence exercise regarding forest diversion for non-forestry purposes and upheld the revised clearance to Lafarge.
National regulator
Further, the Apex Court had directed the Central Government to appoint a national regulator for appraising projects, enforcing environmental conditions for approvals and to impose penalties on polluters.
The MoEF, Mr Ramesh said, has already on its own accord initiated the process of setting up a regulator and a draft note on the establishment of an independent National Environment Appraisal and Monitoring Authority has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations and will be moved for the Cabinet approval thereafter.