13th Sept., 2017

Legal reform was one of the most prominent commitments made by the current government in 2014. Besides laws on energy and finance, a specific area targeted for change is the dense legal framework of Acts, regulations, notifications and guidelines that govern environmental approvals to projects. The government started environment law reform as early as August 2014 by setting a High Level Committee to recommend changes to six main environmental laws that regulate development.

While evidence-based reform that draws on the experience and outcomes of decades-old environmental regulation is welcome, this government has given enough proof of turning this process into a narrow opportunistic exercise. It seeks to gain political benefits by stretching law to accommodate the government’s growth plan. It is no surprise, therefore, that the courts are having to reinstate legal standards by holding off these changes proposed by the government.

A recent example of the legal backlash faced by the Environment & Forests (MoEF) is in the case of a controversial notification it put out this year.

Read full story here