Land acquisition for industry proceeds parallel to environmental clearance; construction deferred until clearance granted.

ORDER

Being aggrieved by the ongoing acquisition of lands for the 1^st Respondent SIPCOT’s proposed industrial park in Sanaputhur Village, Gummidipoondi Taluk, Thiruvallur District without prior environmental clearance under EIA Notification, 2002, the petitioners have filed this Writ Petition.

2. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that SIPCOT is in the process of acquiring the petitioners’ lands without obtaining prior environmental clearance, which is mandatory. He relied upon the Judgment of this Court in the case of M.Velu Vs. The State of Tamil Nadu &

Ors., reported in 2010 SCC Online Mad. 2736.

2.1. Further he would submit that the petitioners submitted a detailed representation to the respondents to cease further acquisition proceedings until environmental clearance is obtained. As the same did not evoke any response, the petitioner has come forward with this writ petition seeking for the aforesaid relief.

3. The issue involved in this Writ Petition, is no longer res integra, as it has already been decided by this Court in a batch of Writ Petitions, in W.P.Nos.1294 of 2025, etc., batch dated 21.07.2025. For better appreciation, the operative portion of the said decision is extracted hereunder:-

“12.4 (a) In cases, wherever the Environmental Clearance was issued and no stay was obtained, there is no prohibition for the SIPCOT to commence the work or preparation of land.

(b) In cases, where enter upon permission as well as alienation order was issued and Environmental Clearance is granted, against which stay order is obtained, the SIPCOT shall defer the commencement of work until the vacation of said stay order.

(c) In all other cases, the SIPCOT can commence the work after obtaining Environmental Clearance. As held by the Hon'ble Apex Court at paragraph No.79 of PV Krishnamurthy case, the lands can be entrusted to the SIPCOT. However, the SIPCOT has to wait for the purpose of commencement of construction work until the receipt of Environmental clearance. Therefore, as stated above, all the acquisition process, including the entrustment of land to SIPCOT, shall go on, but the commencement of construction work and other developmental activities shall be deferred until the receipt of Environmental Clearance. 12.5 Further, it is made clear that the order passed in the appeals, pending before the NGT, is only pertaining to the issue of Environmental Clearance and the same will not stall the acquisition process since the process of acquisition and the process of obtaining Environmental Clearances are parallel procedures until the stage of commencement of construction work. Therefore, mere pendency of appeals before NGT will not be a bar for acquisition process but the construction work and other development activities shall commence after the receipt of Environmental Clearance. 13.Result:

For all the reasons stated above, this Court is not inclined to entertain the present batch of cases. Therefore, all these writ petitions are dismissed as devoid of merits. All the interim stay/injunction orders granted in these writ petitions stand vacated. No cost. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petitions are also closed.”

4. Thus, following the aforesaid decision, the present Writ Petition is also disposed of on the same lines. No costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.