Trilegal successfully represented Digital Edge and One Boat in appeals before the National Green Tribunal
The leading Indian law firm Trilegal successfully represented Digital Edge and One Boat (“Project Proponents”) in appeals challenging the validity of Environmental Clearances (EC) granted to the Project Proponents before the Hon’ble National Green Tribunal and secured a favourable order.
A batch of appeals was filed challenging the validity of ECs accorded by the State-Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, Maharashtra (SEIAA) to various projects, including the projects undertaken by the Project Proponents. The principal ground for the challenge was that the ECs were issued after the expiry of SEIAA’s tenure, and therefore, SEIAA had no authority to grant the same.
The Hon’ble National Green Tribunal disposed of the appeals with a common order, finding no illegality in the validity of the ECs. While the SEIAA’s decision to grant the ECs was communicated after the expiry, the ECs were granted during its tenure, and hence, SEIAA had the requisite authority. The Tribunal also prescribed strict mandatory timelines for SEIAA’s functioning: the SEIAA is required to upload Minutes of Meetings (MoM) conducted in consideration of proposals within 3 days and communicate its decision to grant or reject the EC within 7 days from the date of upload of the MoM. Accordingly, the batch of appeals was dismissed.
The Trilegal Dispute Resolution team advising on the matter was led by Rajat Jariwal (Partner), with support from Gaurav Sharma (Senior Associate), Prerna Singh (Senior Associate), and Dev Chand (Associate).
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