Mainstream Media goes silent: SC order slams NGT

The mainstream media (the MSM) reported prominently when the NGT stayed Auroville Foundation from felling trees to complete an arterial road essential for Auroville City development. “NGT orders Auroville Foundation to stop tree felling”, was the headline of The Times of India news report dated 10th December 2021. “NGT stays ring road plan in Auroville amid protests”, was the title of Hindustan Times report dated 11th December 2021. “Auroville Foundation restrained from felling trees to lay road”, announced The New Indian Express report dated 11th December 2021.

The NGT, after hearing arguments from the Auroville Foundation and the group of residents opposed to the tree felling led by Navroz Mody, in its order on 28th April 2022 allowed the Auroville Foundation to complete the critical road (Crown Road) according to directions given by a committee appointed by it but banned any further development until an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was done and Environmental Clearance obtained by the Auroville Foundation. The term "deemed forest" was mentioned 8 times in its report - in the allegations by petitioner Navroz & ORS. claiming violation of Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 by AV Foundation, in the contesting arguments by AV Foundation, and in the Court's statement upholding the petitioner's claim of Auroville as a deemed forest.

Auroville Foundation complied with the order and carried out some works towards completing the critical road as per the report submitted by the NGT-nominated Committee headed by the Viluppuram District Collector and also consisting of a Forest Officer of the rank of Conservator of Forests, and a Chief Wildlife Warden. A news report on the NGT Committee report shows saving the forest was more important to the petitioners and the NGT than building the planned city. Excerpts from the New Indian Express report dated 21st September 2022:

"A joint committee, constituted by the National Green Tribunal to study the controversial Auroville Crown Road Project, has recommended construction of a much narrower road so that fewer trees get affected."

"Also, considering that the dense wooded area requires connections between habitats and animal population inhabiting the area, the report also suggests creation of amphibian/reptile cross for arboreal and semi-arboreal species and water troughs on either side of the road."

It must have become practically clear to the Auroville Foundation that it would be impossible to develop the city with NGT breathing down its neck prompted by the extreme environmentalists in Auroville. The city was already designed to have 50% green and open spaces according to its masterplan and the NGT was unfortunately backing the extreme environmentalists who are in a wrong place. Auroville Foundation finally chose to appeal at the Supreme Court against the NGT Order, on 10th August 2022.

Three significant events unfolded in the following 16 months that took the wind out of the sail of Auroville Greenies' protestations and litigations. Prime Minister Modi appointed Shri Venkataramani as its top lawyer, the Attorney General on the 1st of October 2022. The eminent Supreme Court advocate was born in Pondicherry in 1950 when Sri Aurobindo was still living there. There could not have been a more suitable person to understand the forces blocking Auroville's development. Secondly, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav visited Auroville in August 2022 and in the following months initiated steps to amend the Forest Conservation Act (FCA 1980). It culminated in the passing of the amended Act by the Parliament in July 2023 and approval by the President of India on 4th August 2023. According to the amended Act, only forests in the govt revenue records would be treated as forests and so the Auroville city area could not be treated anymore as a 'deemed forest'.

Attorney General Shri R Venkataramani. Image source: The New Indian Express

There were 6 hearings for admission of the appeal by Supreme Court Benches from August 2022 to March 2023. Then after a gap of 8 months, on 21st November 2023, a Supreme Court Bench admitted Auroville Foundation's appeal against the NGT Order. The third significant event happened then. The Chief Justice of India assigned Ms Justice Bela M. Trivedi to the Bench. Born in Gujarat in 1960, she worked as a Law Secretary to the Govt. of Gujarat and then as a judge in Rajasthan and Gujarat High Courts before being appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court in 2021. Gujarat became one of India's most developed states by overcoming legal challenges from extreme environmentalists and there could not have been a more suitable judge to look into the extreme environmentalists' case against Auroville.

On 7th December 2023, the Bench called forth the Auroville Foundation's Ex-Parte's Stay Application against the NGT pending since the registration of the case on 23rd August 2022. On the next hearing date 13th December 2023, the Bench promptly stayed the NGT order requiring AV Foundation to obtain Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Clearance (EC) before developmental works by terming these requirements beyond the jurisdiction of the Green Court. It has scheduled the next hearing on 12th January 2023.

Surprisingly, even several days after the Supreme Court’s big stay on the NGT Order the mainstream media has not published the news. 

Mainsream media on the Supreme Court's stay order on the NGT judgement. Image for representative purpose only.  

Meanwhile, the rebel Working Committee in Auroville announced on 18th Dec: “Now that the Supreme Court has issued an interim stay to the NGT order of April 2022, some clearing for the Crown Road is currently happening near Center Field and might also happen in different parts of Auroville”. It was accompanied by a lamentation that it was a top-down authoritarian way and a request for residents to record and document the tree-clearing works. The Greenies worked the public opinion using such "documentation" in the past in the months leading to their winning their case in the NGT in April 2022 but with events narrated above pulling the rug from under their feet it is unlikely that they may contemplate such a course again. Even if they did it is unlikely that the SC will go back on its strong stand against the NGT Order and it may very well boomerang on the tree huggers.

Although the Supreme Court has not touched the NGT's advice to the Auroville Foundation to go by its committee report regarding the completion of the Crown Road, in the light of the Supreme Court's stricture against the NGT and the fact that Auroville is no more a deemed forest according to the amended Forest Conservation Act, the Auroville Foundation may not be obliged to accept any order from the NGT or suggestions from its Committee regarding Auroville City development hereafter.