Chennai Salem High way Case

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What is the issue?

  • Chennai-Salem highway case gains significance as it will test the judiciary’s assessment of environmental and economic interests.
What is the case about?
  • The case relates with acquisition of land for the proposed eight-lane expressway ,part of the “Bharatmala Pariyojana”, a centrally sponsored highway programme ,connecting Chennai to Salem in the state of Tamil Nadu.
  • It is aimed chiefly as a corridor for more efficient freight movement with a cover of more than 250 KM.
  • The project could have given a harmful impact on the forests, the surrounding water bodies and the wildlife of the region.
  • Given this, the key contention is the debate over the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before land acquisition of a project.
  • The Supreme Court too had already denied the National Highway Authority of India’s urgent request for a stay of the judgment in line of judgement of Madras High court.
What is the government’s stance?
  • The TN government argued that its power to acquire land under the National Highways Act, 1956 was unconditional and there was no law mandating an EIA before efforts are made to acquire private land.
  • Government also says that a notification under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 requiring EIA did not call for such an assessment for the purposes of securing the land.
How did the idea of sustainable development emerge?
  • Recognising the state of deteriorating environment, in 1987, a UN-backed committee led by the former Norwegian PM Gro Brundtland proposed some measures and they gave a long-term strategy which called for sustainable development, among other things.
  • The core idea of the theme was to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.
What is the concern here?
  • The prominence accorded to sustainable development as an ideal modelmay be laudable here.
  • In effect, a project which may not be beneficial for the environment may be justified under the utilitarian calculations.
What does the Chennai-Salem highway issue imply?
  • Going by the utilitarian argument, the project could be justified by the government as it would economically benefit many the people.
  • But it is a greenfield project where an altogether new road will be constructed on virgin land so to avoid an EIA before land was obtained would have created irreversible effects.
  • This would have had a bearing not only on the environment, but also on the social and economic life of the landowners along with wildlife.
  • The highway may further make way for new establishments, poaching of endangered species, illicit felling and transportation of valuable timber, etc.
What is the way forward?
  • The idea of sustainable development will be truly beneficial only if the environment is seen as valuable for its own sake and its application of the country’s environmental laws ought to outweigh those of procedural laws concerning acquisition of land.
  • This is largely because the protection of environment takes prominence over the economic interest.
  • The Madras High Court ruling had rightly established this, and now, the Supreme Court will have to uphold the environmental principles.
  • Going ahead, the state should be made to look beyond exercises of balancing, and to see nature as intrinsically more valuable.

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