[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]D[/dropcap]elhi High Court (HC)’s judgment cancelling the Tata Housing’s project near Sukhna Lake is a slap on the face of all Corporate giants and their crony politicians and bureaucrats. The Bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw found that Tata Camelot’s high-rise township had violated all environmental, town planning and building norms in connivance with the then Punjab Government under the Akali Dal – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime.
The High Court asked the company to approach the Centre for fresh environmental and other clearances required for projects falling under the A category.
The mighty Tata Group faced a challenge from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation and Advocate Alok Jagga. The petitioners alleged that the mammoth high-rise housing project near the catchment area of Sukhna Lake and Wildlife Sanctuary is a danger to environment and violated all norms. Punjab Government’s change of stand helped Tata’s to won the case in Punjab & Haryana High Court (PHHC) in August 2013.
Obviously all sorts of power brokering happened as many powerful politicians –cum – lawyers are on the retainers of Tata Group. But the Supreme Court quashed the PHHC Judgement and directed the Delhi High Court to go into the issue afresh and decide if the controversial project was located in the lake’s catchment area. Tata’s were represented by Gopal Subramanium led battery of lawyers and petitioners were represented by P S Patwalia. After a long hearing, the case was reserved for Judgment in October 2015.
The 169 page Judgment pronounced on April 12, 2017 is published below. The High Court asked the company to approach the Centre for fresh environmental and other clearances required for projects falling under the A category.
This Judgment is a typical instance of how Corporate giants violate the rules and norms with the help of politicians. Many famous vociferous NGOs working in the environmental sector never uttered a word on this controversy related to Tata’s biggest Housing project in the ecologically sensitive Sukhna area. The normally voluble media world also kept quiet, except for publishing the Court news. Some media houses, especially business newspapers even carried covert reports favouring Tata Group and wrote veiled messages to judiciary suggesting they do not decide against India’s biggest Corporate company.
It is nice to see Judiciary come to the rescue of the environment spoiled by the corporate group in connivance with corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
Here is the complete judgment
Camelot Judgment by PGurus on Scribd
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
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Very sad that Tatas known for their concern for public should break all rules for a project especially at a catchment area. Hope Tatas wont take the appeal route to SC but respect the judgement . By this only Tatas can show their CSR. What has Ratan Tata to say on this.
Tata does all frauds. But due to its advertising and PR funds media keep silence. They bribe, lobby, bent rules, even pay money to ultras to get things done.
Many powerful people in BJP,Cong give legal opinions/advice to Tatas when not in power and remain safely neutral saying GOI won’t interfere in business domain (which is convenient for some as well to look the other way) when in power..what do you call this?