NITI Aayog study to track economic impact of green verdicts

The NITI Aayog — the federal government’s apex thinktank — has commissioned a study that seeks to look at the “unintended economic consequences” of judicial selections which have hindered and stalled big-ticket tasks on environmental grounds.

A perusal of the doc seems to counsel that judgments that negatively impact main infrastructure tasks do not adequately take into account the economic fallout — in phrases of loss of jobs, income. Doing so, it reckons, would contribute to public discourse amongst policymakers for selling an “economically responsible approach by judiciary” in its selections.

The mission temporary, a duplicate of which has been seen by The Puucho, says that it intends to look at 5 main tasks which have been “impacted” by judicial selections of the Supreme Court or the National Green Tribunal. It plans to do that by interviewing individuals who’ve been affected by the closure of the tasks, environmental campaigners, consultants and assessing the enterprise impact of closure.

Projects to be analysed embody the development of an airport in Mopa, Goa; cessation of iron ore mining in Goa and, the shutting down of the Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The others are selections by the NGT involving sand mining and building actions within the Delhi National Capital Regions.

“These have been some of the most significant cases in the recent past that have caused substantial damage to the economy,” the temporary notes.

The study is to be undertaken by the Jaipur-headquartered CUTS (Consumer Unity and Trust Society) Centre for Competition, Investment and Economic Regulation, that additionally has a world presence.

“The judiciary needs to take into account environment, equity and economic considerations while deciding cases, and needs to institutionalise a mechanism for it,” the temporary notes. “The absence of ex-ante (before an event) analysis of the economic costs associated with a decision is further exacerbated when judicial activism by courts and tribunals is also in play.”

Vikrant Tongad, Uttar Pradesh-based environmentalist and Founder, SAFE (Social Action for Forest and Environment) was amongst these whom CUTS reached out to, as an knowledgeable, as a result of of his involvement in campaigns towards sandmining operations.

He informed The Puucho that he discovered the study “surprising” in its intent. “Does the government now want to train judges not to give such judgments? Is the government forgetting that due to their negligence, courts have been forced to give strict orders. Will the NITI Aayog also study how much damage will be done if the courts do not give such orders,” he requested.

Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar stated the study was a purely economic train.

“The intent of this study is to analyse the cost and benefit of certain judicial decisions. It doesn’t question judicial intervention. I was, for example, happy to see how Supreme Court’s intervention led to the adoption of CNG (compressed natural gas, in transport vehicles in Delhi) and the economic benefits from it.”

In the case of the Mopa airport, Goa, the Supreme Court, on March 2019, had suspended the environmental clearance to the mission as a result of the federal government’s environmental appraisal course of was defective. In January 2020, nevertheless the Supreme Court allowed the mission, below environmental oversight by the CSIR-National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a authorities funded environmental appraisal physique.

In the case of Sterlite Copper, Vedanta, which owns the unit, has been petitioning the High Court and Supreme Court to reopen the plant, that has been accused of producing metallic toxins and polluting water for years the years.