The Supreme Court on Monday stayed any construction relating to a proposed airport in Silchar, Assam, citing the alleged uprooting of 41 lakh tea bushes and violation of environmental guidelines.

It deplored the “complete abdication of duty” by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the matter.

“At this stage, it would prima facie appear that approximately 41 lakh tea bushes have been uprooted…. The nature of activities carried out at the site (was) of extensive nature,” the bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said in an order.

“Thus, we hold that there was complete abdication of duty by the National Green Tribunal. NGT should have verified the authenticity of the grievance and instead just dismissed the OA (original application).”

The bench said the authorities had “acted in violation of the notification by carrying out extensive clearance at the site in absence of environmental clearance”. It directed that “no activity shall be carried out in breach of notification of 2006 (relating to prior environmental clearance)”.

“Assam says the need was to set up a civilian airport. The decision where the airport should be is a matter of policy but when the law prescribes specific norms for carrying out activities… the provision of law has to be complied with and no environmental clearance has been issued till date. We allow appeal and set aside NGT orders,” the bench said.

Tapas Guha, a resident of Jadavpur in Calcutta, had alleged large-scale uprooting of tea bushes and eviction of Dolu tea estate dwellers for the construction of the proposed airport in breach of environment impact assessment guidelines. He was represented by civil liberties advocate Prashant Bhushan.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Assam government — represented by solicitor-general Tushar Mehta — had questioned the Calcutta-based petitioner’s locus standi in a matter concerning Assam.

On April 22, the apex court sought a report from the Cachar district legal services authority on the petitioner’s allegations. Monday’s order came after the district body, headed by a district judge, submitted a detailed report on the illegal uprooting of bushes.

Mehta had denied any uprooting of bushes. But Bhushan read out from a purported statement made in the Assam Assembly by a minister that listed the uprooting of tea bushes and displacement of a large number of tea estate workers and others as the steps taken towards building the new airport.

Mehta had submitted that the AAI was building the airport as no private player
was willing. He had alleged that the petitioner had ulterior
motives.

The Centre and the Assam government had decided to build a civilian airport on 870 acres of land. Silchar has an existing airport but it is manned by the air force.