Mahuva farmers fined for opposing proposed Nirma cement plant

Following the MOEF decision,the Supreme Court had disposed of an appeal moved by the agitating farmers challenging an order of the Gujarat High Court (HC) that gave a green signal to Nirma project. The apex court had left Nirma with liberty to approach the NGT against the decision of the MoEF and it has accordingly approached the NGT.

On May 28,a bench of NGT comprising of Justice Swatanter Kumar,Justice U D Salvi,Dr D K Agrawal,and Dr G K Pandey passed an order and decided that two of the members – Dr Agrawal and Dr Pandey – would inspect the site in question between June 7 and 9. For passing the order,the tribunal cited four different reports that were produced before appropriate judicial fora on the matter and the “contradictions and ambiguities” among those reports.

It said,“…inspection will not only narrow down the scope of controversies,but also put the matters,being technical in nature,in clear perspective and be in the interest of justice.”

However,operation of this order of the NGT was sought to be stayed by both the farmers’ body Shree Mahuva Bandhara Khetiwadi Paryavaran Bachao Samiti and MoEF through separate applications.

Seeking stay of the NGT order,the farmers’ counsel had inter alia argued that all the reports were unanimous of the view that the land which was the subject matter was a water body.