The Supreme Court has expressed, in the course of four days, divergent views on whether preservation of the environment should take a backseat when other rights are at stake.
On March 25, Justice Indira Banerjee observed in a judgment that industrial units, which provided livelihood to several thousands of workers and contributed to the nation’s economy, should not be shut down for not getting prior environmental clearance. The case concerned a unit in Haryana that employed 8,000 workers but had not got prior environmental clearance for operations.
Justice Banerjee said the lack of prior environmental clearance was only a "procedural lapse". "The court cannot be oblivious to the economy or the need to protect the livelihood of hundreds of employees and others employed in the project and others dependent on the project, if such projects comply with environmental norms," he reasoned.
