NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has instructed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to reassess the environmental clearance for a group housing project expansion in Gurugram’s Sukhrali village.
The directive came during a hearing in which the resident welfare association (RWA) contested the granting of environmental clearance (EC) by the Haryana State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for the project’s expansion.
A bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and member expert A Senthil Vel observed that a three-member expert committee was established in 2021 to re-evaluate the project’s environmental impact and submit findings to the SEIAA.
The bench noted, however, that the SEIAA’s term had lapsed without the formation of a new authority.
It stated, “In the absence of a constituted SEIAA, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) must undertake this assessment as per the environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification.”
“We require the MoEFCC to comply with the tribunal’s order dated May 31, 2021, revisiting the environmental clearance and issuing the appropriate decision, whether to grant the clearance or impose additional conditions,” the bench added.
Granting the ministry eight weeks to conduct this review, the tribunal has scheduled the next hearing for January 30, 2026.
