SC allows UP to set up wood-based industries with Rs 3,000 crore investment

SC sets aside NGT order passed on 'lopsided' view

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to go ahead with its March 1, 2019 decision to set up new wood-based industries in the state, with an expected investment of Rs 3,000 crore and employment generation capacity of more than 80,000 people, especially in rural areas.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna set aside the National Green Tribunal's "lopsided view" taken in quashing the decision by ignoring the state's concerns as well as the Union government's support to the notification.

"We find that for the sustainable development of the state and on account of the availability of the timber, sanction of granting licenses can be permitted to continue. However, as a responsible state, it needs to ensure that environmental concerns are duly attended to," the bench said.

The court said the applicants getting the license should scrupulously follow the mandate in the said notification of planting 10 trees against one and maintaining them for five years.

In its judgement, the bench also told the state government to ensure necessary steps are taken for arresting the problem of declining forest and tree cover.

The court also asked the NGT to look into credentials and bona fide of the applicants in such type of cases which affected rights of many people as the litigation could be at the behest of the existing Wood Based Industries who wanted to avoid competition and continue to get raw material at a cheaper rate.

The court also relied upon a report which showed that approximately five to six lakh metric tons of timber per year is exported to Yamuna Nagar from the western districts of Uttar Pradesh, i.e., Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shamli, Baghpat and Meerut as there is no sufficient market for this produce in the said area.