Legal Battle Over Wetland Conservation: Supreme Court's Verdict on Technopark Expansion

The case of Thomas Lawrence vs. State of Kerala & Others centers around the alleged destruction of wetlands within the Technopark Region in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The Supreme Court was called upon to decide whether the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had erred in disposing of a petition challenging the reclamation of land without due consideration of environmental laws.

The petitioner, Thomas Lawrence, contended that the State of Kerala had violated the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, by permitting large-scale construction on wetland areas. However, the government and private respondents argued that all necessary permissions were obtained and that the petitioner’s claims were belated and unfounded.

Background of the Case

The controversy dates back to December 2018, when the NGT passed an order directing the District Collector of Thiruvananthapuram to investigate allegations of wetland destruction inside the Technopark Region. The order emphasized that the directives of the NGT are binding and must be complied with as per the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.

The core issues in the dispute:

Petitioner’s Allegation: The land in question was a wetland, and its reclamation for Technopark’s expansion was illegal under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
Government’s Defense: The Kerala government had granted exemptions under Section 10 of the 2008 Act, permitting the land’s use for public purposes.
NGT’s Ruling: The tribunal disposed of the matter, stating that the issue had already been considered in another environmental clearance case.

Pleadings of the Parties

Petitioner’s (Thomas Lawrence) Arguments

The petitioner contended that:

The land was a wetland, and its reclamation violated the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
The Collector’s order dated 30 April 2019 was inconsistent with environmental laws and failed to uphold the NGT’s directive.
The State failed to preserve wetlands despite the legal prohibition on reclamation.
The NGT had wrongly disposed of the matter by referring to an unrelated case (O.A. No. 71 of 2019), which concerned another project.

Respondent’s (State of Kerala & Private Developers) Arguments

The respondents argued that:

The land in question was already classified as paddy land or dry land and was not listed as a wetland in Kerala’s official records.
The State had granted exemptions for land reclamation for Technopark’s third phase development under Section 10 of the 2008 Act.
The appellant had not challenged the 2019 Collector’s order in time and was attempting to reopen a settled issue.
The wetland allegations were baseless as the State Wetland Authority of Kerala had not listed the site in its official wetlands register.

Supreme Court’s Judgment

The Supreme Court ruled that:

NGT’s Order Stands: The Court upheld the NGT’s decision to dispose of the case, noting that the District Collector had already complied with the tribunal’s earlier order.
Petitioner Can Challenge Collector’s Order: The Court granted the petitioner an opportunity to challenge the Collector’s order of 30 April 2019, provided it was done within eight weeks.
NGT’s Scope of Review: The Supreme Court clarified that once the Collector had acted as per the NGT’s directive, any grievances should be raised in a separate challenge against the Collector’s order rather than through an execution petition.

Key Observations by the Supreme Court

The Court noted:

“Given the fact that the Collector has passed an order pursuant to the NGT’s order dated 19.12.2018, it is clear that the execution application filed before the NGT has become infructuous.”

Further, the Court emphasized:

“It is open to the petitioner to challenge the order of the Collector dated 30.04.2019 in accordance with law. If such challenge is made within a period of 8 weeks from today, the petitioner’s challenge will not be dismissed solely on the ground of delay.”

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s verdict reaffirmed that procedural fairness must be followed in environmental disputes. While the petitioner’s execution application was dismissed, he was given an opportunity to challenge the Collector’s decision directly.

This ruling highlights the importance of timely legal challenges in environmental litigation and clarifies that decisions of government authorities must be contested in the appropriate legal forum.

Petitioner Name: Thomas Lawrence.
Respondent Name: State of Kerala & Others.
Judgment By: Justice R.F. Nariman, Justice Navin Sinha, Justice Indira Banerjee.
Place Of Incident: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Judgment Date: 29-10-2020.

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