From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court seems dissatisfied at not getting
the real environmental status of the Sardar Sarovar Project
despite the Gujarat Government's day-long submissions on
Wednesday to show how every aspect has been taken care of.

Gujarat counsel Harish Salve referred to so many studies
undertaken to repeatedly examine the environmental impacts of
the dam being built on the Narmada, but the 3-judge bench
remained unimpressed. The judges even doubted if anybody had
looked into these studies to take the remedial steps.

They kept asking for the "reasoned report" of the Union
Environment Ministry to know what Justice S. P. Bharucha, an
active judge on the Bench, described as "pros and cons to make
us decide whether the project should go on or not."

The presiding Chief Justice Dr A S Anand interrupted Salve to
point out that "OK studies were done, but were the reports of
these studies made available to the Environment Ministry and did
anybody in the Ministry look into them and permitted to carry on
the project expressly or implicitly."

The judges refused to be impressed by Salve's argument that the
Secretary and four other officials of the Environment Ministry
were very much on the environmental sub-group created in the
Narmada Control Authority (NCA) at the Centre to continuously
monitor and clear from time to time various environmental issues
concerning the project.

Salve sought to point out that the minutes of the environmental
sub-group was the best proof to show how clearances were granted
only after intense grilling at every stage which also showed
that those from the Environment Ministry had gone through
various studies to raise objections at the sub-group meetings.

But high on the judges' mind appeared to be earlier submissions
of petitioner Narmada Bachao Andolan last month, seeking
environmental review by an independent agency on the ground that
NCA's internal assessment cannot be relied upon.

This was evident from the Chief Justice as well as Justice
Bharucha and Justice B N Kirpal repeatedly asking for the
Envornment Ministry's clearances and not the clearances of the
NCA's sub-group, no matter somebody from the Ministry had been
attending these sub-group meetings.

In an attempt to counter the NBA's claim that many environmental
issues have been never examined, Salve cited from the Narmada
Tribunal Award the references to affirm that the Tribunal had
itself examined thoroughly, with the assistance of experts, the
issues like hydrology, seismic impact and othe environmental
effects.

The environmental clearance was not required statutorily in 1987
but still the Planning Commission insisted on the Envornment
Ministry's clearance before allowing the project to start, Salve
said and referred to a score of studies undertaken to ensure
that no adverse environmental impact is missed.

Counsel also affirmed that the NBA was also wrong in claiming
that nobody had examined the cost-benefit ratio. In the case of
projects like reservoirs and dams some benefits are "invisible"
and as such they cannot be scrutinised at par with any industry,
Salve said while pointing out that first the Tribunal and then
the Planning Commission had very much gone into the cost-benefit
aspect.

As regards various environmental aspects, Salve said
consequences of such a big project cannot be avoided but they
are taken care of, be it concerning forest and wild life, fauna,
siltation, fisheries, catchment area treatment or anything else.
"All aspects were considered, mind applied and informed
decisions were taken" which the NBA sought to overlook, Salve
said.

He was the first to be caught by Justice Bharucha during his
arguments, which remained inconclusive even on the second day on
Wednesday, when he referred to the cut-off date of 1989 given by
the Planning Commission for securing all clearances of the
Environment Ministry and how a schedule was drawn up to
undertake studies and satisfy the Ministry on each aspect.

"Where is the schedule? What are the details? What conservation
steps were to be taken," Justice Bharucha asked and then went on
to affirm that "the answer seems to be that politics has
overridden the environment concerns."

The Chief Justice followed suit, insisting on Salve tell the
court as to what details were supposed to be made available to
the Ministry and whether it was done or not.

Salve pleaded that all details could be checked from the minutes
of the NCA's environment sub-group which found everything
allright and the very fact that the Environment Secretary was
part of the sub-group should satisfy that nothing was
overlooked. Instead of NCA sending every report to the
Environment Ministry for its clearance, it had involved the
Ministry in its own functioning for speedy clearance, Salve said.

He said minutes of the sub-group would show that the Environment
Ministry officials asked questions and this means they had gone
through reports of various studies undertaken to examine the
environmental aspects.

Towards the end of the day's hearing, the Chief Justice said
1987 or 1989 were irrelevant as all that the Court wanted to
find out whether or not the environmental problems cited during
the hearing had been taken care of even today and this question
still remains unanswered. END.
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