2 min readNew DelhiMay 12, 2026 11:16 AM IST
The Supreme Court recently slammed the practice of filing pleas to stall developmental projects, questioning how the country will progress if such pleas are filed, PTI reported.
“Show us even a single project in this country where these so-called environmental activists have said that we welcome this project,” a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said on May 11.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
The court was hearing a plea against an order of the National Green Tribunal’s western zone bench. The tribunal had dismissed an appeal seeking the quashing of the environmental and coastal regulation zone clearance granted for the expansion and modernisation of the Pipava Port in Gujarat.
‘How country will progress?’
“In this country, the kind of petitions being filed are only to stall development. That is the problem. How the country is going to progress,” the Supreme Court remarked.
The court clarified that it has always been concerned with environmental issues and are critical of anything that affects the environment.
Emphasising the need for development, the court remarked that the it would appreciate it if the environmentalists or activists approached the court with effective suggestions aimed at ensuring sustainable development and protection of the environment.
The court discouraged the attempts to stall the developmental projects. During the hearing, the bench said the NGT has passed a very detailed order in the matter.
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The court allowed the petitioner to file a review plea before the NGT to point out whether or not the issue raised on his behalf was duly considered in the environmental impact assessment report.
The bench has asked the NGT to consider it.
The court also remarked that initially one may have apprehensions when a project is proposed, including genuine ones, regarding the impact on the environment. It added, that the people coming to the courts should not say that everything should be stalled, as it affects the country’s progress.
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