JUDGEMENT|

Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member.

1. The Original Application is filed raising concerns regarding the non-compliance with environmental regulatory norms by several of the medical colleges and their associated hospitals which are located in the State of Kerala, alleging that Respondents No.5 to 17, which are the universities comprising of medical colleges with hospitals, are in operation without obtaining a statutorily mandated prior Environmental Clearance (EC) under the EIA Notification, 2006.

2. It is stated that Respondents No.5 to 17 are operating large-scale medical colleges and facilities with built-up areas exceeding the threshold of 20,000 Sq. Meters. As such projects fall squarely within the scope of Entry 8 (a) of the schedule to the EIA Notification, 2006, they are required to obtain prior Environmental Clearance before the commencement of the construction is undertaken.

3. According to the applicant, none of these respondent institutions has obtained such prior Environmental Clearance but continues to function in blatant disregard to the environmental laws. Since the operation of Respondents Nos.5 to 17 is contrary to the establish