A public spirited person cannot be "indolent and lackadaisical" and is expected to be diligent in pursuing these matters especially when the issue is likely to jeopardize public work, the National Green Tribunal has said.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said this while dismissing a plea filed by a former professor of IIM Bangalore in which it was alleged that L&T Uttaranchal Hydro Electric Pvt Ltd has started re-construction of Singoli Bhatwari hydro-electric project on river Mandakini without complying with the environment and forest clearance.
The applicant, Bharat Jhunjhunwala, had alleged that the project had suffered severe damage in the disaster that struck Uttarakhand in June 2013 but the reconstruction has started without complying with various safeguards.
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He had told the tribunal that he had come to know about it in July 2014 after which he had filed the application.
"A public spirited person which the applicant claims to be is expected to be diligent in pursuing public cause and not be indolent and lackadaisical, particularly when his action is likely to hinder and jeopardize public work of the magnitude and proportion as the project in question," the bench said.
The tribunal held that the application was "inordinately delayed" and was barred by limitation.
In his application, Jhunjhunwala had alleged that there was "non compliance of the terms of the environment and forest clearances as noted by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC)" in its meetings held in 2010 and 2011 and no permission of the National Board of Wildlife was sought before the land for the project was transferred to the state forest department.
He sought directions to L&T Uttaranchal Hydro Electric Pvt Ltd to seek clearance of National Board of Wildlife and to redesign the project and also to the Government of India to conduct fresh cost-benefit analysis of the project.
The Centre, Uttarakhand government and L&T Uttaranchal Hydro Electric Pvt Ltd, in their counter affidavits filed in the tribunal, had denied all the allegations and have raised preliminary objections on maintainability of the application on various grounds, including that it was barred by law of limitation as prescribed under the NGT Act 2010.
The counsel appearing for L&T Uttaranchal Hydro Electric Pvt Ltd had argued the delay in filing the application was inordinate as the project had commenced on the basis of valid environment and forest clearances given in the 2006, 2007 and 2009.
He had contended that EAC's recommendations and conditions prescribed under other laws were duly complied with.
