ORDER

1. This Original Application has been filed seeking a direction to the official respondents to shut down the operation of Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 Brick Kilns on the ground that they are operating illegally in violation of the siting criteria set out in the MoEF&CC Notification dated 22.02.2022. 2. The case of the Applicant is that Respondent No.5, Jai Mata Brick Field and Respondent No. 6, Gagan Brick Field are operating in Roorkee, Uttarakhand in violation of the conditions laid down in the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 as amended by notification of MoEF&CC dated 22.02.2022. The Notification G.S.R.143 (E) dated 22.02.2022 provides for a siting criteria for establishing the brick kilns.

3. The allegation of the Applicant is that Respondent No.5, Jai Mata Brick Field is located within 651.178 mtrs from the existing brick kiln i.e. Balaji Brick Field and within 228.219 mtrs of Chaudhary Bharat Singh Junior High School.

4. Further allegation is that Respondent No.6, Gagan Brick Field is located within 500.852 mtrs from Bharat Brick Field, within 555.386 mtrs of Sarkari Aam Ka Bagh, within 707.441 mtrs of Sureshi Devi Public School, within 780.165 mtrs from Nirmala Devi Inter College, within 774.548 meters from Budhpur Jatt Village and within 890.753 mtrs from Chaudhary Sukbhir Sigh Adarsh Junior High School.

5. Further, case of the Application is that Consent to Operate has been granted to Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 brick kilns on 13.01.2023 and 30.01.2023 respectively which is after issuance of the notification dated 22.02.2022, hence, consent has been granted in violation of the notification. Therefore, Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 cannot be allowed to operate in violation of the notification.

6. The Tribunal by order dated 19.05.2023 had constituted an independent committee comprising of State PCB and District Magistrate, Haridwar. The State PCB was the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. There was a direction to the committee to furnish the report within two months.

7. The committee had submitted the report disclosing location of the brick kilns and further disclosing that the Consolidated Consent and Authorization (CCA) was issued by the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board valid upto 31.03.2024 and that no siting criteria of the State Government was fixed prior to issuance of the notification dated 22.02.2022. The report further discloses that for past violations, authority has initiated action.

8. The Tribunal by order dated 18.08.2023 had formulated the following questions involved in the original application:-

“4. The question involved in this application is applicability of the siting criteria for the units which were in operation prior to the issuance of the notification. It is further for consideration as to whether this notification is effective from retrospective effect or from prospective effect and as to whether the conditions of EC are complied with by the unit.”

9. Submission of the Learned Counsel for the Applicant is that the notification dated 22.02.2022 provides for the siting criteria and that in view of the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed in Civil Appeal Diary No. 18213/2021; NCR Brick Kiln Association v. Central Pollution Control Boards & Ors., the said siting criteria is required to be followed. Therefore, in violation of the conditions of the notification dated 22.02.2022, Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 cannot be allowed to operate. He has further submitted that notification dated 22.02.2022 was attracted when CCA dated 13.01.2023 and 30.01.2023 was granted to Respondent Nos. 5 and 6. He submits that this issue is already covered by the earlier judgment of the Tribunal.

10. The Learned Counsel for Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 opposing the original application has submitted that Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 were established in 2020 and 2021, therefore, the subsequent notification dated 22.02.2022 will not be applicable to Respondent Nos. 5 and 6. In support of his submission, he has placed reliance upon the