Bengaluru: In a major twist to the row over the closure notice issued to sugar and distillery factory associated with BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has approached the Supreme Court stating that the Karnataka High Court was misled to issue an order in favour of the factory.
The KSPCB issued closure notice to the sugar factory in Chincholi run by Siddhasiri Souharda Sahakari Niyamit (SSSN), a co-operative bank presided over by Yatnal.
The factory had begun crushing sugarcane without getting Consent for Operation (CFO) from the board which had found violation of rules in the unit between February 2023 and January 2024.
The SSSN challenged the notice before the High Court stating that the company was not granted CFO though it received environment clearance (EC) from the expert appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) environment ministry in
November 2023.
The High Court cited the provisions in Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 to note that since the KSPCB did not object to the EC within 45 days, the factory is deemed to have received the necessary clearance.
Violation of SC order
In its submission before the Supreme Court, the KSPCB noted that the expert committee granted EC to SSSN based on a office memorandum of the MoEF&CC that allowed industries without prior EC to get post-facto EC. However, since the said memorandum was stayed by the apex court, the EC does not qualify for consideration.
The SSSN did not follow the rules of the EIA notification of 2006 to get prior EC before beginning operations. Having not followed the rule in the notification, the SSSN does not have the right to seek the provision of the same notification that allows deemed EC, it said. Further, it said that the high court has failed to consider that the SSSN’s application was filed for post-facto EC under violation category.
“The court failed to consider that mandamus lies only when the applicant has a ‘legal right’
to seek legal remedy. However, in the present case, SSSN having no prior EC, has ostensibly misled the honorable high court into erroneously presuming the existence of a legal right,” the KSPCB said.
The issue had turned political last week after Yatnal staged a protest in the KSPCB office and accused Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre of vendetta politics.
To a question, Khandre said a legal matter was unnecessarily politicised by Yatnal.
“It is a fact that the Supreme Court has stayed the memorandum under which EC was granted to the SSSN factory. If we allow one violator to get post-facto clearance, it will open the door for many others. Ultimately, the apex court will hold us accountable for the violations. It is our job to ensure that we follow the legal procedure. If we allow the operations, we will be violating the apex court orders,” he said. Sources said the apex court is likely to take up the case on September 6.