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The Supreme Court (SC) July 29, 2026 struck down the central government's 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on ex post facto environmental clearance.
Petitions were filed challenging the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 on March 14, 2017 and the office memorandum dated July 7, 2021 issued by MoEFCC. The impugned instruments enabled appraisal and grant of post facto environmental clearance to projects which violate the prior EC requirement under the EIA Notification, 2006.
The bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi said the 2021 OM is invalid and directed that it be quashed with prospective effect.
Regarding ECs already granted or pending consideration under the 2017 Notification/2021 OM, the court directed that ECs granted to project proponents under the 2017 Notification and the 2021 OM till date shall remain valid, unless otherwise challenged on merits. All pending applications made by project proponents under the 2017 Notification or the 2021 OM shall be taken to their logical conclusion in accordance with the law.
Any application dismissed, returned or delisted solely with reference to the stay order, January 2, 2024 and judgment in Vanashakti-I may be reconsidered by the authority concerned in light of the observations made in the SC judgment, judgment, particularly the prospective quashing of the 2021 OM.
No fresh application for the grant of EC under the aforesaid instruments shall be entertained. The government is restrained from issuing administrative orders in future for grant of EC in respect of projects which have commenced in contravention of the prior EC regime under the 2006 Notification, the order said.
The SC made it clear that the EC regime under the 2006 Notification is mandatory and unless amended by an appropriate notification, would not accommodate grant of post facto EC or retention of projects where constructions have commenced or processes begun without a valid EC.
The decriminalisation of the regulatory contraventions under the 1986 Act through the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 reinforces our conclusion that the Central Government has ample power under Section 3 to issue appropriate notifications formulating amnesty schemes with regard to such classes or categories of non-compliant projects whose sustainability is necessary to subserve larger public interest, the order said.
The 2021 OM is an administrative order and envisages a perpetual regime for granting EC to projects undertaken without prior EC. It substantially alters the nature of enquiry as well as the criteria for granting EC under the 2006 Notification.The 2021 OM supplants an earlier delegated legislation through an administrative instruction, which is impermissible in law, the court pointed out.
Even otherwise, being a perpetual amnesty scheme applicable to all permissible projects, it fails to lay down an intelligible differentia for selection of projects for grant of post facto EC having rational nexus to supervening public interest and is thereby ultra vires the object of 1986 Act, namely preservation of environment through a balanced approach between precautionary principle and sustainable development, said the SC order.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) July 29, 2026 directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to levy environmental compensation (EC) on Municipal Corporation, Amritsar for failure to manage waste at Bhagtanwala dump.
The court directed the PPCB to levy EC for the entire period of default excluding the period for the EC has already be levied, if any. The PPCB is directed to file the compliance report before the next date of hearing, October 7, 2026.
The report by PPCB showed that there is continuous violation by the municipal corporation in remediating the legacy waste.
The application was registered suo-moto on the basis of the news item titled “Major fire breaks out at Bhagtanwala Dump" appearing in the Tribune, May 11, 2024.
News item relates to eruption of a major fire at the Bhagtanwala garbage dump. As per the news item, almost all heaps of garbage on the 20 acre dumping ground caught fire which created a panicky situation in localities around the dump. High flames were visible from a distance of 2 km.
The news item highlighted that around 19 metric tonnes of garbage is lying just one-and-a-half kilometre away from the Golden Temple. Regular burning of garbage is polluting the air in the city, but no efforts are being made by the authorities concerned to end this menace.
On July 30, 2026, NGT directed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) to investigate the grievance of severe air pollution from the cement mixing plant (FTC Concrete Private Ltd) near Magnolia Merlion a residential complex in Newtown, Kolkata.
The SPCB was directed to associate the applicant and representative of the concerned project proponent, verify the factual position and take appropriate remedial action in case of environmental violations. This must be done by following due course of law and giving the applicant, concerned project proponents and adversely affected persons an opportunity to be heard, in accordance with the principles of natural justice. The SPCB must submit its report within three months.
The matter concerned severe air pollution from cement mixing plant (FTC Concrete Private Ltd) near Magnolia Merlion. Dense cement dust continuously settles inside residential premises, making it impossible to keep windows or doors open. Air conditioning units are getting choked and damaged due to heavy particulate accumulation, the application stated.
