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The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging a public notice issued by the GPCB for a consolidated public hearing for environment impact assessment (EIA) for eight different projects by Adani Enterprises, scheduled for April 30.
The PIL was moved by Kheti Vikas Seva Trust through its president Naran Bharu Seda Gadhvi. The trust, comprising farmers, fishermen, and local villagers in Kutch, has submitted that the GPCB’s notice for a consolidated hearing for eight different Adani projects is “oblivious to the requirement” that “there cannot be consolidated public hearing for different projects” as per a Delhi High Court judgment of 2009.
A division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice AJ Shastri issued notice to the CPCB) and GPCB, while the state government and the Kutch district Collector have also been made parties to the litigation along with the Union of India and Adani Enterprises.
The court, while issuing notice, added that “any decision taken by the respondents would be subject to the result of
this petition”. According to the petitioner, a public notice was issued on March 18 for a public hearing on April 30 for eight projects by Adani Enterprise.
The eight projects include manufacturing of a semi coke unit, calcium carbide unit, acetylene unit, VCM unit, PVC unit, caustic soda unit, ethylene glycol unit and cement plant, near two villages — Vandh and Tunda — in Mundra, Kutch, averred as ‘Category A’ projects.
The public notice requested all affected local residents to remain present at the hearing or send their responses in writing to member secretary of GPCB before the hearing date, noting that the public hearing is scheduled to be held at 11 am, on April 30, at Tunda village in Mundra, Kutch.
The petitioner’s advocate Siraj Gori pointed out on Tuesday that the venue for the public hearing has been fixed at only one of the two villages where the proposed projects are planned.
Gori also argued that a similar case for public hearing of more than one project, with Adani Enterprise as a respondent, had cropped up before HC in 2010, and the court had ruled that public hearings will have to be held phase-wise and not in one day.
Senior advocate Mihir Joshi, appearing on behalf of Adani Enterprises, however, pointed out that the “main distinction” between the judgments being relied on by the petitioner, and the present case was in the case of the former, project proponents were different whereas the public hearing for eight projects which has been recently challenged before the Gujarat HC, “is an integrated project”.
Senior counsel Joshi also pointed out that the petitioner trust is approaching the court more than a month after the public hearing notice was issued.
The matter is expected to be taken up for further hearing on June 20.
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