Wood-based industries: India
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SE reverses NGT decision on wood based industries/2022
Dhananjay Mahapatra, Oct 22, 2022: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court reversed a National Green Tribunal judgment quashing the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to grant 1,215 licences to wood-based industries to consume timber available from trees outside forest areas and ruled that importance of environment protection must be weighed with employment and livelihood of thousands of persons.
In handing down this verdict, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna also sounded a caution for all judicial and quasi-judicial forums like NGT to test the credentials of petitioner NGOs, masquerading as environment protectors without doing any field work, before entertaining their pleas against projects and industries. Writing the 75-page judgment, Justice Gavai said, “It is necessary that, while protecting the environment, the need for sustainable development is also taken into consideration and a proper balance between the two is struck.”
The UP government had issued new licences for establishment of wood-based industries in the state after the Forest Survey of India (FSI) submitted a district-, species- and diameter-wise survey of timber available from trees outside forests in the state. Based on the FSI report, the state-level committee considered availability of timber and fixed the maximum number of licences to be issued.
On the petitions of two NGOs – Uday Education and Welfare Trust and Samvit Foundation – NGT had quashed the licences. SC found that except filing some PILs, these two had not done any field work for environment protection. It apprehended that the petitions by them before NGT could be at the behest of existing timber industries which do not want more competition.
The SC said, “We would request NGT that when credentials and bona fides of such litigants are seriously raised, while entertaining the grievances of such litigants, which is likely to adversely affect the rights of many, it should ensure the credentials of such litigants.”
Justices Gavai and Nagarathna took note that UP setting up new wood-based industries would attract an estimated investment of Rs 3,000 crore, ensuring employment to 80,000 persons and assuring more remunerative price to agroforestry farmers as well as preventing transportation of nearly one lakh tonnes of timber per year from the state to Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar-based wood industries.
While permitting new wood-based industries, the SC put the UP government to strict terms by asking it to ensure that the forest cover in the state is increased and not reduced.
