PANAJI
All the proposed educational institutions, including private universities such as MIT World Peace University planned at Tivim -- with a built-up area of more than 20,000 sq mts but less than 1.5 lakh sq mts -- will now be required to obtain prior Environmental Clearance.
Taking a note of the fact that nowadays education has become a “flourishing industry”, the Supreme Court struck down the contentious clause 8 of the January 29 notification, issued by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) which granted exemptions to industrial sheds, schools, colleges, and hostels with built-up areas up to 150,000 square meters from obtaining prior EC under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2006.
A follow-up office memorandum on January 30 expanded the scope of exemptions to include private universities, warehouses, and industrial sheds housing machinery or raw material.
The Apex Court bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai, while maintaining that no Central government nod will be required, empowered State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to decide on the matter.
The Court said that if any construction activity in any area more than 20,000 sq mts is carried out it will have environmental impact even if it's for industrial or educational purposes and discrimination cannot be made with similar such institutes. It also said that no exemption can be granted to the education sector in this regard.
"Nowadays education has also become a flourishing industry and thus no reason to exempt such projects from the 2006 notification," the CJI said.
Until the notification was issued, construction projects or buildings with a built-up area of 50,000 sq mts and more required prior EC.
A PIL was filed by Mumbai-based NGO Vanashakti, challenging the notification and argued that the exemption diluted the EIA's safeguards and threatened eco-sensitive zones.
While granting exemption, the Ministry had said that all such buildings shall ensure sustainable environmental management, solid and liquid waste management, rain water harvesting and may be recycled materials such as fly ash bricks.
A senior official said that going as per the order, the private universities or education institutions or industrial sheds with built up area of 20,000 sq mts and above will now require to obtain prior EC from the SEAC of the Ministry.
