S.P.Muthu Raman v. The Secretary

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 03.10.2024

CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SUBRAMANIAN and THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI and W.M.P.(MD)No.19821 of 2024 S.P.Muthu Raman ... Petitioner -vs1.The Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jorbagh Road, Aliganj, New Delhi-110 003.

2.The Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, No.76, Mount Salai, Guindy, Chennai-600 032.

3.The District Environmental Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, No.318/46-A, Water Tank Road, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District-629 001.

4.The Chief General Manager, IREL (India) Limited, Manavalakurichi, Kanyakumari Dsitrict.

...Respondents

PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, to issue a

Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents 2 and 3 to hold the public hearing in the eight villages Keezhmidalam - A, Midalam - A, Enayamputhenthurai, Ezhudesam-A, Ezhudesam -B, Ezhudesam -C, Kollencode-A, Kollencode - B independently at the project site itself while considering the case of the 4th respondent with regard to the grant of prior environmental clearance for their proposed activities of mining the atomic energy in the said villages. For Petitioner :

Mr.R.Anand For R-1 :

Mr.K.Govindarajan, Deputy Solicitor General of India For R-2 & R-3 :

M/s.Vijayakumari Natarajan For R-4 :

Mr.Krishna Srinivasan, Senior Counsel For Mr.Muthusaravanan

ORDER

[Order of the Court was made by R.SUBRAMANIAN, J.] By consent of both parties, this writ petition is taken up for final hearing, at the admission stage itself.

2. The prayer in the writ petition reads as follows: "To issue a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents 2 and 3 to hold the public hearing in the eight villages Keezhmidalam - A, Midalam - A, Enayamputhenthurai, Ezhudesam-A, Ezhudesam -B, Ezhudesam -c, Kollencode-A, Kollencode - B independently at the project site itself while considering the case of the 4th respondent with regard to the grant of prior environmental clearance for their proposed activities of mining the atomic energy in the said villages."

3. The petitioner wants a public hearing to be conducted in the land which

is sought to be mined, the reliance is placed upon the environmental impact assessment notification which reads as follows: "Procedure for conduct of Public Hearing 1.0. The Public Hearing shall be arranged in a systematic, time bound and transparent manner ensuring widest possible public participation at the project site(s) or in its close proximity District-wise, by the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or the Union Territory Pollution Control Committee (UTPCC)."

4. A very reading of this provision would show that the conduct of public hearing in the site is not mandatory. The public hearing is to be conducted at the project site or in its close proximity. It is for the authorities to decide that. If the public hearing is conducted 100 Kms away from the site, the petitioner can very well question the same.

5. Hence, the writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed. [R.S.M., J.] [L.V.G., J.] 03.10.2024 NCC : Yes/No Index : Yes/No Internet : Yes Sml To The Secretary, Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change, Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jorbagh Road, Aliganj, New Delhi-110 003.

R.SUBRAMANIAN , J.

and L.VICTORIA GOWRI , J.

Sml 03.10.2024