Blanket EC Exemption for Ordinary Earth in Linear Projects Struck Down as Arbitrary: Supreme Court

The 2006 EC notification requires prior environmental clearance for listed projects (paras 2-3). On 28.03.2020 the Centre substituted Appendix-IX and added item 6, exempting the extraction, sourcing or borrowing of ordinary earth for linear projects (para 4). The appellant challenged item 6 before the NGT, which held that the exemption needed safeguards on the process of excavation and quantum and directed the Ministry to revisit the notification within three months (paras 6-7). While the appeals were pending, the Centre amended item 6 on 30.08.2023 to make it subject to standard operating procedures and safeguards (paras 5, 8).

Sub-rule (4) of Rule 5 of the EP Rules, which lets the Centre dispense with notice inviting objections, is an exception that can be invoked only on grounds of public interest (para 19). Citizens are major stakeholders in environmental matters, and their participation cannot be prevented by casual use of that power (para 22). The Ministry gave no reasons and produced no record of its satisfaction about public interest, so the decision was taken without application of mind, vitiating the decision-making process (para 23). Issued two days after the COVID-19 lockdown, when linear projects had halted, the notification showed undue haste (para 24). An exception to the clearance requirement must be specific; item 6 set no limit on quantity or area, left 'linear projects' undefined and laid down no process, so it was a blanket exemption violating Article 14 (para 25). The 2023 amendment only made item 6 subject to SOPs and safeguards, without naming the authority to issue them or any means of enforcement, and suffered from the same vice (para 26). The SOP relied upon created no regulatory machinery and did not refer to item 6 (para 29). The challenge to item 7 was not entertained (para 30).