This story is from June 25, 2016

UDF govt tried to circumvent law: HC

UDF govt tried to circumvent law: HC
Kochi: Environmental clearance is mandatory for all quarrying operations in the state, the Kerala high court held on Friday.
Environmental clearance is mandatory for all quarrying operations in the state, the Kerala high court held on Friday. By allowing quarrying without such clearance, state government acted against the principle of sustainable development, the court said.
Justice K Vinod Chandran issued the ruling after considering three petitions filed by those residing near quarries, The court said there had been a “tacit attempt“ on the the government's part to renew short-term permits despite prohibition by the Su preme Court, the high court, and the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

The tacit attempt by issuing three government orders (in November and December 2012 and January 2014) citing shortage of raw materials in the construction sector was contrary to the theory of sustainable development and public trust doctrine, the high court said.
The attempts were also against the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2006, apex court's 2012 decision in Deepak Kumar vs State of Haryana, and MoEF's office memorandum of May 18, 2012. The government orders were also held to be illegal by the high court in the case filed by All Kerala River Protection Council, the judgment stated.

The government had issued two notifications in May and October last, amending Minor Mineral Concession Rules of 2015 to the effect that environmental clearance was not required for quarries generating granite or building stone. With the amendment, Supreme Court's decision in Deepak Kumar case had no further effect, government argued, but the court disagreed.
Further, the Supreme Court had ordered for maintaining status quo in renewing quarry licences on October 30th last year.
Pointing out that the amendments were illegal, the court said: “...it is incomprehensible as to how an undertaking made by the state before the SC would override the authoritative pronouncements made by that court.“
Any renewal of quarry permits after the apex court ordered status quo on October 30 last year made on the basis of the undertaking of the state could only be deemed to be a licence to flout law, as the quarry owners would seek to interpret. The mandate for environmental clearance hence survives the attempts made by the State to circumvent the law, the court said.
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