Jairam Ramesh attacks Centre over post-facto environmental clearances

• Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticises the Modi government over the resumption of processing pending post-facto environmental clearance proposals

• Ramesh highlights shifting Supreme Court rulings on retrospective clearances and says allowing pending cases to proceed dilutes the latest judgment’s impact

• He argues that retrospective approvals encourage a “start first, seek clearance later” approach and says ignorance of environmental laws should not excuse violations

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised the Modi government over the issue of retrospective environmental clearances, saying the “ecologically damaging saga” was continuing.

Ramesh's remarks came after reports that the Union Environment Ministry had directed its central and state-level expert bodies to resume processing pending proposals for post-facto environmental clearances. The move follows the Supreme Court's 29 July 2026 judgment directing that pending applications under the earlier mechanism be taken to their logical conclusion in accordance with law.

Sharing a media report on X, Ramesh said, “The ecologically damaging saga of retrospective environmental clearances continues.”

Ramesh pointed to a series of Supreme Court rulings on retrospective environmental clearances. He said the apex court's 16 May 2025 judgment had rejected the mechanism, describing the ruling as “bold” and “100 per cent right”.

However, on 18 November 2025, a three-judge bench recalled that judgment by a 2:1 majority while considering review petitions. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissented from the majority decision.

The issue returned to the Supreme Court in 2026. On 29 July, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant struck down the Centre's 2021 Office Memorandum that had provided for retrospective approval of projects that had commenced without environmental clearance. At the same time, the court allowed pending applications to be processed and existing approvals to remain unaffected.

Ramesh welcomed the latest judgment but argued that allowing pending cases to proceed diluted its impact. He said the ruling effectively addressed past violations while closing the door to blanket retrospective clearances in the future.

Ramesh also criticised the rationale behind seeking retrospective environmental approvals, arguing that such applications were not generally the result of ignorance of environmental laws.

“It has always been the standard operating practice to start a project and seek environmental approvals later,” he said, describing this as a “baad mein dekha jayega” approach.

He further argued that ignorance of the law, whether genuine or deliberate, should not be grounds for exemption from accountability.

The environment ministry's latest direction follows the Supreme Court's July ruling, under which pending post-facto clearance applications can be considered in accordance with the law. The court, however, has closed the door on a blanket and open-ended system of retrospective regularisation, leaving only limited scope for government action under statutory powers.

With PTI inputs