In Brief
Mantri Techzone and other developers challenged a National Green Tribunal order imposing environmental compensation and buffer zone restrictions on two IT park and mixed-use development projects in Bangalore's sensitive lake catchment area. The developers argued the NGT lacked jurisdiction, the application was barred by limitation and res judicata, and the buffer zones contradicted the statutory Revised Master Plan. The Supreme Court held that the NGT has independent, broad jurisdiction under Section 15 of the NGT Act to order environmental restoration within five years of damage occurring, regardless of prior environmental clearances. The NGT's findings of violations (construction without clearance, encroachment on water bodies, breach of conditions) were sustainable. The Court dismissed the developers' appeals but allowed other appeals by third-party developers and the State, setting aside the NGT's general buffer zone directions insofar as they applied beyond the specific projects.
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