ORDER

1. The applicant, a trust registered with the Sub-Registrar, District Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh under registration no. 362 of 2013 has filed the present application under section 18 (1) read with section 14 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 through Sanjeev Kumar, its authorized signatory for quashing of the impugned Clarification dated 22.03.2022 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India in respect of the Wood Based Industries (Establishment & Regulations) Guidelines, 2016 (WBIER Guidelines 2016) as being violative of the orders passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 titled as T.N.

Godavarman Thirumulkpad versus Union of India and others.

2. The applicant has mounted his challenge to the validity of the aforesaid clarification on the averments of facts and the grounds mentioned in the application. Briefly stated the applicant has submitted as under:-

2.1 The Hon’ble Supreme Court passed order dated 12.12.1996 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 titled as T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad versus Union of India and others wherein the Hon(cid:146)ble Supreme Court defined the word "Forest’ in Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and held that the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 shall apply to all Forests irrespective of the nature of ownership or classification thereof. The Hon’ble Supreme Court further directed that the ongoing activities within any forest in any of the state shall cease forthwith and running of Saw Mills of any kind including Veneer or Plywood mills are non-forest purposes and any such activity is in violation of the provision of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and is not permissible without prior approval of the Central Government. Hon’ble Supreme Court directed the State Governments to discharge their duties and obligations to regularize the Saw Mills, Veneer and Plywood Units and file a report within two months regarding:

(i) the number of saw mills, veneer and plywood mills actually operating within the State, with particulars of their real ownership;

(ii) The licensed and actual capacity of these mills for stock and sawing:

(iii) their proximity to the nearest forest;

(iv) their source of timber.

2.2 The directions were issued in order to regulate the Wood Based Industries in India, to evaluate the number of Wood Based Industries and their capacity for consuming the timber so that a balance may be created and the pressure on the Forest may be reduced in order to protect the environment.

2.3 Since the State Governments were not acting towards protection of the environment and failed to follow the objects provided under Environment Protection Act, 1980, Hon’ble Supreme Court again vide order dated 04.03.1997 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 titled as T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad versus Union of India and others issued directions to States of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to the effect that "all unlicensed saw mills, veneer and plywood industries in the State of Maharashtra and the State of U.P. are to be closed forthwith and the State Government would not remove or relax the condition for grant of permission/license for the opening of any such saw mill, veneer and plywood industry and it shall also not grant any fresh permission/ license for the purpose(cid:148).

2.4 The aforesaid order was extended to all other States in India as it was found that the illegal and unlicensed wood based industries are being operated without any check and balance. The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 29/30.10.2002 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 titled as T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad versus Union of India and others accepted the Monitoring Report of the Central Empowered Committee and directed that no State Government or Union Territory will permit the unlicensed Saw Mill, Veneer Plywood Industry to operate and they are directed to close all such unlicensed units forthwith. No State Govern