Summary
The Court upheld NGT directions against a hotel-cum-restaurant built on forest land diverted only for parking and a bus stand. The original approvals did not authorise different commercial construction, and the Ministry had refused the change. Environmental rule of law required enforcement despite claimed economic benefits and uncertainty about quantifying ecological harm. Demolition was ordered on a specified schedule, while parking and bus-stand use could continue within the original approvals.
Issues
- Whether forest diversion for a parking space and bus stand authorised a hotel-cum-restaurant as an ancillary commercial facility.
- Whether claimed public benefits or lack of quantified environmental harm justified retention.
- Whether reference to planning-law violations undermined NGT jurisdiction.
- What demolition and subsequent-use directions were warranted.
Provisions considered
- Section 2, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980Prior Central approval and its purpose-specific conditions demanded strict compliance; the hotel-cum-restaurant exceeded the approved diversion. (¶¶ 41–45, 62)
- Articles 14 and 21, Constitution of IndiaAccountable environmental governance and protection of environmental health were linked to non-arbitrariness and the right to life. (¶ 46–54)
Held
- Diversion approvals were confined to the specified parking and bus-stand purposes. They did not authorise the hotel-cum-restaurant, and the Ministry had rejected the proposed change. The statutory authority’s involvement and commercial-viability rationale could not cure this illegality. (¶¶ 41–45, 62)
- Environmental rule of law requires transparent, accountable institutions and effective compliance with environmental duties. Lack of scientific certainty about the precise extent of harm does not justify inaction where statutory violations and the manner of construction are established. (¶ 46–58)
- The planning-permission failure implicated environmental obligations. In any event, the jurisdiction objection was academic because the NGT decision rested on violation of the Forest Act, a Schedule I enactment; the judgment did not recognise unrestricted NGT jurisdiction over every planning dispute. (¶ 63)
- The NGT directions were upheld. Demolition of the hotel-cum-restaurant was to begin within two weeks of judgment and be completed by the developer within one month thereafter. On default, the specified forest and district authorities were to demolish and recover costs as land-revenue arrears. (¶ 64–65)
- After demolition, the parking space and bus stand could be used only consistently with the original Ministry approvals, for the respective parking purposes. Retaining the unlawful commercial structure for another use was refused. (¶ 64–66)
Result
Appeals disposed of by upholding the NGT directions and ordering time-bound demolition, with default enforcement and restricted subsequent use of parking and bus-stand facilities.