{"id":80403,"date":"2026-07-30T17:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=80403"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:12:54","slug":"retrospective-environmental-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-07-2026\/retrospective-environmental-clearance","title":{"rendered":"SC Restricts \u2018Retrospective\u2019 Environmental Clearances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court <strong>quashed <\/strong>a 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) granting<strong> ex post facto environmental clearances to infrastructure projects.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The 2021 Office Memorandum (OM)<\/strong> allowed<strong> retrospective approval for projects <\/strong>that had already commenced construction <strong>without environment clearances (ECs).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The court held that<strong> ex-post facto ECs cannot be created through an OM,<\/strong> but recognised that the government may, in exceptional circumstances and in public interest, <strong>provide such a mechanism through a statutory notification<\/strong> issued under delegated legislative powers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The judgment has sought to <strong>strike a middle path in its evolving environmental jurisprudence,<\/strong> distinguishing between the <strong>source of executive power and the limits of regularisation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Office Memorandum and Statutory Notification<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>An OM <\/strong>is an<strong> administrative instruction <\/strong>issued by a ministry or department and does not have the force of law.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A statutory notification,<\/strong> by contrast, is issued under authority granted by a statute \u2014 the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in this case \u2014 and notified in the Gazette.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>EIA can be defined as the <strong>study to predict the effect of a proposed activity\/project on the environment.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>EIA systematically examines both beneficial and adverse consequences<\/strong> of the project and ensures that these effects are taken into account during project design.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also <strong>proposes measures to mitigate adverse effects.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance:<\/strong> Protection of environment, optimum utilisation of resources and saving of time and cost of the project.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also lessens conflicts by promoting community participation, informing decision makers, and helping lay the base for environmentally sound projects.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>EIA in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1994:<\/strong> The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986<strong>, made Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>EIA 2006 Regime:<\/strong> It is the governing legal instrument to grant green clearance for establishment or expansion of an industry <strong>on the basis of the expected environmental impact of the project.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It made it <strong>mandatory <\/strong>for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure and industries to get environment clearance.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, unlike the EIA Notification of 1994, the new legislation has <strong>put the onus of clearing projects on the state government<\/strong> depending on the size\/capacity of the project.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal and Institutional Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>EIA Notifications: <\/strong>Issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) using powers under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Categorisation of Projects<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Category A:<\/strong> National-level projects with significant impacts (e.g., large dams, major highways).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Category B1:<\/strong> Moderately sized projects with regional impact.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Category B2: <\/strong>Small-scale projects with less impact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Authorities:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Central Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC): <\/strong>For Category A projects (national level).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEACs): <\/strong>For Category B projects (state level).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs):<\/strong> Grant environmental clearance at state level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One positive of the 2006 EIA notification is its<strong> dynamism to accommodate changes in its provisions and processes<\/strong> as per the requirement of the changing times.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, this characteristic of the legal instrument seems to have been exploited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over 110 changes were made in just 5 years, most of them without public consultation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c3d2e0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-261.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-80404\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c3d2e0; width:453px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-261.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-261-300x194.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>This flexibility has been misused <\/strong>and industries get approvals, even if they pollute or harm the environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Best Practices to Improve EIA Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Create an independent EIA authority to avoid conflict of interest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen public consultation, especially in local languages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure scientific and transparent baseline data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regularly update the list of exempted projects based on environmental concerns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/supreme-court-quashes-2021-om-granting-centre-others-power-to-grant-retrospective-environmental-clearances\/article71280247.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Supreme Court quashed a 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) granting ex post facto environmental clearances to infrastructure projects. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) allowed retrospective approval for projects that had already commenced construction without environment clearances (ECs). <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The court held that ex-post facto ECs cannot be created through an OM, but recognised that the government may, in exceptional circumstances and in public interest, provide such a mechanism through a statutory notification issued under delegated legislative powers. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-07-2026\/retrospective-environmental-clearance \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80403"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80409,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80403\/revisions\/80409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}