NE LEGAL BUREAU
CHENNAI, JULY 24
The Madras High Court was on Friday informed by the Tamil Nadu government that it has rejected Sun Pharma’s expansion plan in the protected Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary area as the company has failed to get clearance from the central wildlife board.
“Though the state government is the authority to sanction such applications for expansion. Such industries must obtain clearances from the central environmental authority and the central wildlife board, Additional Advocate General S R Rajagopalan said.
Sun Pharma has failed to obtain clearance from the wildlife board and the company’s application for expansion has been returned as not considered, he said. The Additional Advocate General made the submission while responding to a public interest litigation of T Vennila.
She said the principal chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden had proposed to reduce the buffer zone to the bird sanctuary from 5 km to 2 km radius. “The move has been made in an attempt to favour expansion of Sun Pharmaceutical which has its manufacturing unit adjoining the existing buffer zone,” the petitioner said.
The Environment Act and regulations prohibiting any such industrial development in the zone was cited, by the petitioner. Contending this, Rajagopalan said the petitioner is trying to adopt a back-door approach to stop the re-demarcation proposal made by the state.
“The Maduranthakam tank and temple is located in the buffer area and a national highway runs abutting the area. The proposal was made in view of difficulties in desilting the tank and expansion of highway since they fall under the buffer zone,” he contended.
To this, a Division Bench of Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy wondered how a tank or a temple could cause environmental disturbance. “It is the industries that cause harm to the environment, the Bench added.
