‘Serious matter dealt with carelessly’: NGT quashes Ganeshkhind project clearance

NGT pointed to major discrepancies in the quantities of aggregate, cement, steel, stone and sand mentioned in Form-1, Form-1A and the Environmental Impact Assessment report

National Green Tribunal (NGT) Western Zonal Bench has set aside the environmental clearance granted to a commercial project on Ganeshkhind Road, expressing strong displeasure over the manner in which the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Expert Appraisal Committee-III (SEAC-III) handled the case.

SEIAA has been given two months from the uploading of the judgment to take a fresh decision. (HT)

In its order pronounced on October 6, the tribunal said a “serious matter” had been dealt with in a “careless manner” and directed SEIAA, Maharashtra, to reconsider the project afresh in accordance with the law and the procedure applicable to violation-category projects.

A key issue was whether the project had undergone the mandatory scoping exercise and been issued project-specific terms of reference (ToR), as required under the July 7, 2021 office memorandum governing such projects. It found no minutes on record showing that the scoping exercise had been conducted and noted that no project-specific ToR had been issued. Instead, the project proponent received an auto-generated standard ToR through the PARIVESH portal, and it was found defective, as the section meant for project-specific requirements had been left blank. It noted that the proponent had sought clarification from SEAC-III and SEIAA in August 2022 but received no response. Despite the issue being raised again before SEAC-III in September 2023, no corrective action was taken.

Setting aside the clearance, the tribunal directed SEIAA to reconsider the matter under the 2021 Office Memorandum and determine whether additional ToRs or environmental conditions were required. SEIAA has been given two months from the uploading of the judgment to take a fresh decision.

The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Sujit Kumar Bajpayee also expressed “annoyance” that the project had been allowed to progress despite the unresolved procedural deficiencies and eventually obtained an occupation certificate on December 11, 2025.