In Brief
Citizens for Green Doon challenged Forest Clearances and Wildlife Clearances for a National Highway project in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The National Green Tribunal had declined to entertain the original application, reasoning that appellants were circumventing appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the Tribunal was wrong to reject the challenge under Section 14 of the NGT Act. The Court clarified that the DFO's order for tree-felling dated 27 August 2021 constitutes a reviewable order under Section 16(e) of the NGT Act and Section 2A of the Forest Conservation Act. The Court emphasised the importance of transparency and public disclosure in environmental governance, granted liberty to challenge the tree-felling order before the Tribunal, and imposed an interim stay on further tree-felling until 26 November 2021.
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