The Indian Railways is under no obligation to seek prior permission under the Environmental Protection Act from authorities before laying tracks or undertaking projects within areas in the protected coastal zone, the Bombay high court at Goa has ruled. The court added unless specifically mandated either through law or by the Supreme Court, railway authorities were exempt from virtually all laws under Section 11 of the Railways Act.
The court said this while disposing of a petition of a group of villagers under the banner of Ganv Bavancho Ekvott challenging the power of the railways to commence construction of a second railway line through their village in Goa. The villagers have been opposing the project arguing the line was being expanded to increase the coal carrying capacity.
“If indeed the legislature intended laying of a railway line or other incidental activities to be a prohibited activity within the Environment Protection Act, the 2011 CRZ [Coastal Regulation Zone] notification or even under the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on 14th September 2006 (Environment Clearance notification), such a prohibition could have been included but only after amendment of the Railways Act and not without,” a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and justice M S Sonak said in an order on August 3. The order was uploaded on Monday.
It added if indeed the Supreme Court ever passes an order that a rail line cannot be laid in a CRZ area without environment clearance from the authorities of the relevant Coastal Management Authority, any railway administration would be bound to obtain such environmental clearance.
“However, so long as such a requirement is not expressed in any judicial order, the mere fact that the railway authorities in this case have sought permission from the forest as well as wildlife authorities would not ipso facto impose upon SWR [South Western Railway] and RVNL [Rail Vikas Nigam] the obligation to obtain environmental clearance from the GCZMA [Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority],” the court said.
The Indian railways has undertaken the project to double the 362.73 km line between Hospet in Karnataka and Goa’s Vasco-da-Gama. Officials said 79.23% of the work, mainly in Karnataka, has been completed. Of the 79 km in Goa, 27% of the project work covering 21.49 km has also been completed.
The Supreme Court this year struck down permissions the National Board of Wildlife has issued for the project. It also questioned the need for the project, especially if it was to come at the cost of diverting forests in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
The high court said the Supreme Court order was only applicable for the stretch of the track passing through the protected forests. “…the Supreme Court was not satisfied with the requirement or real necessity for double tracking. However, what the Supreme Court was seized of, is the stretch of 26 kms spread over a national park wildlife sanctuary and not the entirety of the special railway project undertaken by SWR and RVNL,” the high court said.
