Jairam flags three ‘urgent’ green flashpoints, urges SC’s suo motu action

Senior Congress leader and former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday called on the Supreme Court of India to take suo motu cognisance of three “urgent” environmental matters, saying they raise foundational questions about conservation, environmental governance and the rule of law.

In a post on X, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) welcomed the court’s decision a day earlier to recall — on its own — the 20 November verdict that had accepted a new, uniform definition of the Aravalli range.

That ruling had triggered a backlash in Rajasthan and Haryana, where critics warned it could expose large stretches of one of the world's oldest mountain systems to mining and construction by narrowing the scope of what legally counts as 'Aravalli'. Ramesh noted that the earlier verdict had been “enthusiastically embraced” by the Modi government, adding that the recall was both necessary and timely.

“Now, three other urgent tasks await the Honourable Supreme Court on environmental matters that should also be taken up suo motu, like the Aravallis matter,” he said.

Ramesh pointed to a 6 August order in which the top court put on hold a proposal by the Rajasthan government and the Centre to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve. The proposed redrawing, he said, would enable the reopening of about 57 mines that had been shut on ecological grounds.

Sariska — once infamous for losing its entire tiger population in the early 2000s and later rebuilt through a high-profile reintroduction programme — is seen by conservationists as a test case for whether protected areas can be steadily nibbled away through boundary changes to accommodate extractive interests. The proposal, Ramesh argued, should be rejected outright.

The Congress leader also flagged the court’s 18 November move that opened the door to reviewing its 16 May judgment barring retrospective environmental approvals. Such approvals, which legitimise projects after violations have already occurred, undermine deterrence and due process, Ramesh said.

“They go against the very foundations of jurisprudence and make a mockery of governance. The review was uncalled for. Retrospective approvals should never be permitted,” he added — echoing long-standing criticism that post-facto clearances reward non-compliance and weaken environmental impact assessment regimes.

Finally, Ramesh said the National Green Tribunal, established by Parliament in 2010 after consultations with and backing from the Supreme Court, has seen its authority steadily diluted over the past decade. Through procedural changes and curbs on jurisdiction, environmental lawyers argue, the NGT’s ability to act independently has been blunted. “The Supreme Court’s intervention is now essential to ensure that the NGT is allowed to function as per law without fear or favour,” Ramesh said.

On Monday, 29 December, the apex court had kept in abeyance the directions in its 20 November ruling on the Aravallis and proposed constituting a high-powered committee of domain experts for an exhaustive, holistic review — an opening that Ramesh now wants the court to extend to what he calls three unresolved and high-stakes environmental questions.

With PTI inputs