The middle path | Explaining Supreme Court’s latest verdict on post facto environmental clearances

The Supreme Court quashes the Centre’s 2021 Office Memorandum on ex post facto environmental clearance, ruling that any future amnesty under the Environment (Protection) Act must flow from a statutory notification, not an administrative order, and be confined to projects of supervening public interest under the EIA fra

The Supreme Court’s judgment on Wednesday (July 29) striking down the Centre’s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that allowed retrospective approval for projects that had already commenced construction without environment clearances (ECs), now closes the door on blanket and open-ended regularisation of such projects. It leav