JUDGMENT

K. S. RADHAKRISHNAN, J.

1. Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), a State of Orissa Undertaking, has approached this Court seeking a Writ of Certiorari to quash the order passed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) dated 24.8.2010 rejecting the Stage-II forest clearance for diversion of 660.749 hectares of forest land for mining of bauxite ore in Lanjigarh Bauxite Mines in Kalahandi and Rayagada Districts of Orissa and also for other consequential reliefs.

2. OMC urged that the above order passed by the MOEF has the effect of neutralizing two orders of this Court passed in I.A. Nos. 1324 and 1474 in Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995 with I.A. Nos. 2081-2082 (arising out of Writ Petition No. 549 of 2007) dated 23.11.2007 reported in (2008) 2 SCC 222 [hereinafter referred to as ‘Vedanta case’] and the order passed by this Court in I.A. No. 2134 of 2007 in Writ Petition No. 202 of 1995 on 08.08.2008 reported in (2008) 9 SCC 711 [hereinafter referred to as the ‘Sterlite case’]. In order to examine the issues raised in this writ petition, it is necessary to examine the facts at some length.

FACTS:

3. M/s. Sterlite (parent company of Vedanta) filed an application on 19.3.2003 before MOEF for environmental clearance for the purpose of starting an Alumina Refinery Project (ARP) in Lanjigarh Tehsil of District Kalahandi, stating that no forest land was involved within an area of 10 kms. The 4th respondent – Vedanta, in the meanwhile, had also filed an application on 6.3.2004 before this Court seeking clearance for the proposal for use of 723.343 ha of land (including 58.943 ha of reserve forest land) in Lanjigarh Tehsil of District Kalahandi for setting up an Alumina Refinery. Noticing that forest land was involved, the State of Orissa submitted a proposal dated 16.08.2004 to the MoEF for diversion of 58.90 hectare of forest land which included 26.1234 hectare of forest land for the said ARP and the rest for the conveyor belt and a road to the mining site. The State of Orissa, later, withdrew that proposal. The MoEF, as per the application submitted by M/s Sterlite, granted environmental clearance on 22.9.2004 to ARP on 1 million tonne per annum capacity of refinery along with 75 MW coal based CPP at Lanjigarh on 720 hectare land, by delinking it with the mining project. Later, on 24.11.2004, the State of Orissa informed MOEF about the involvement of 58.943 ha of forest land in the project as against “NIL” mentioned in the environmental clearance and that the Forest Department of Orissa had, on 5.8.2004, issued a show-cause-notice to 4th respondent for encroachment of 10.41 acres of forest land (out of 58.943 ha for which FC clearance proposal was sent) by way of land breaking and leveling.

4. The State of Orissa, on 28.2.2005 forwarded the proposal to MOEF for diversion of 660.749 ha of forest land for mining bauxite ore in favour of OMC in Kalahandi and Rayagada Districts. The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in the meanwhile, addressed a letter dated 2.3.2005 to MOEF stating that pending the examination of the project by CEC, the proposal for diversion of forest land and/or mining be not decided.

5. Vedanta, however, filed an application I.A. No. 1324 of 2005 before this Court seeking a direction to the MoEF to take a decision on the application for forest clearance for bauxite mining submitted by the state Government on 28.2.2005 for the Refinery project. The question that was posed by this Court while deciding the above-mentioned I.A. was whether Vedanta should be allowed to set up its refinery project, which involved the proposal for diversion of 58.943 ha. of forest land. CEC had, however, objected to the grant of clearance sought by Vedanta on the ground that the Refinery would be totally dependent on mining of bauxite from Niyamgiri Hills, Lanjigarh, which was the only vital wildlife habitat, part of which constituted elephant corridor and also on the ground that the said project would obstruct the proposed wild