SC slams Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for moving after 2 yrs against order in favour of Isha Foundation

SC questions delay in Tamil Nadu PCB challenging Isha Foundation’s construction

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for moving after two years against an order that quashed a show cause notice issued against Jaggi Vasudev‘s Isha Foundation for allegedly flouting environmental norms. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh termed the petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) as a “friendly match” played by bureaucrats wanting the apex court’s stamp on the petition’s dismissal.

“Mr. Advocate General, what prevented the authorities from approaching the court on time? There is a delay of 637 days in filing this petition, which is nearly two years. This is actually a friendly match where the bureaucrats want the stamp of the Supreme Court and the High Court on dismissal of the petition,” the bench said. The show cause was issued to the foundation for constructing buildings between 2006 and 2014 without reportedly obtaining mandatory environmental clearances but the Madras High Court quashed it.

Justice Surya Kant further told the State’s law officer, “When the State comes belatedly, we become suspicious. We start reading between the lines. How can you say a yoga centre is not an educational institution? If they are not going as per plan, then you can challenge the non-compliance but you can’t be allowed to demolish the structure constructed in over a lakh yards. It is not some kind of hutment.”

The top court told State Advocate General P S Raman that now that Isha Foundation had constructed a yoga and meditation centre in Coimbatore district’s Velliangiri, the state must ensure environmental compliance. “Now that a yoga centre has been constructed and you are not saying that it is dangerous, then your concern must be to ensure that all environmental parameters are complied with like sunlight, greenery, sewage treatment plant. You can raise those issues. Everybody is obligated to comply with these norms,” it said.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Isha Foundation, urged the top court to hear the matter after Shivratri, saying a major function was scheduled to be held there. “We have all necessary approvals. They are talking only about environmental clearance. The yoga centre is 80 percent green. It’s one of the best centres in India,” he said.

The Madras High Court, said the court, was right in its view on the claim of Isha Foundation that it is covered under the notification of the Centre for an educational centre. When asked about the delay, Raman said the matter was stuck between two State departments. The bench posted the matter for hearing post Shivratri.

On December 14, 2022, holding that the facilities set up by Isha Foundation in Coimbatore would fall under the education category, the High Court set aside the TNPCB notice. The High Court quashed the notice dated November 19, 2021, and allowed the plea of Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation. The show cause notice was over construction of buildings in the foothills of Velliangiri without prior environmental clearance. The Centre had informed the High Court that the foundation was imparting yoga lessons aside from running a school and it fell under the education category.

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.

The post SC slams Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for moving after 2 yrs against order in favour of Isha Foundation appeared first on PGurus.