In Brief
A lawyer and village resident challenged the allotment of common ponds and canals in Greater Noida to a private industrial company, arguing it violated environmental protections and villagers' communal rights. The National Green Tribunal summarily dismissed the petition based on assurances of alternative water bodies. The Supreme Court held that the State cannot alienate village commons for industrial purposes, even with replacement sites. Common water bodies are protected as fundamental resources sustaining local communities and ecosystems. Destroying existing ponds and creating alternatives elsewhere fails to address cascading ecological harms and violates constitutional duties to protect the environment. The Court set aside the allotment, quashed the industrial permit, and ordered restoration of the water bodies.
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