Allowed

Jadvaji Raviji Vekariya v. 1. State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Gujarat

NGT13 Feb 2026Appeal No. 434/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The Court allowed the appeal against the rejection of an Environmental Clearance. It held that a certificate from the Road and Building Department proving the road is private rendered the impugned order erroneous. The Court set aside the order and remanded the matter for re-appraisal.

What did the court decide?

Impugned order set aside; direction to SEIAA to re-appraise EC within one month after hearing.

Jadvaji Raviji Vekariya vs 1. State Environment Impact… — Environment and Pollution | NGT (2026)

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Item No.11

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(Pune Bench)

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BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL WESTERN ZONE BENCH, PUNE

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[THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING (WITH HYBRID OPTION)]

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APPEAL NO.434 OF 2025 (WZ)

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Jadvaji Raviji Vekhariya

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…..Appellant

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Versus

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SEIAA, Gujarat & Ors.

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….Respondents

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Date of hearing: 13.02.2026

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CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. SUJIT KUMAR BAJPAYEE, EXPERT MEMBER

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Appellant : Mr. Saurabh Kulkarni, Advocate along-with Dr. Prashant Bhat and Mr. Adwait Gokhale, Advocates. Respondents : Mr. Maulik Nanavati, Advocate along-with Ms. Manvi Damle, Advocate for R-1/SEIAA, Gujarat Mr. Pushkal Mishra, Advocate for R-2/MoEF&CC

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ORDER

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We are passing this order in continuation the earlier order dated 12.01.2026, in which inadvertently, we had directed learned counsel for Respondent No.1- SEIAA, Gujarat to obtain response from the Range Forest Officer, Kutch District, instead of directing them to ask for the reply from the Road and Building Department with respect to the clarification as to whether road passing through the lease area is public road or private road. Therefore, to that extent, that order should be treated to be erroneous. But despite that error, a Certificate dated 31.01.2026 has been obtained from Road and Building Department, i.e. Deputy Executive Engineer’s Office, Panchayat R & B Sub.-Division, Bhuj, Kachh, which is annexed at page no.225 of the paper book with the additional reply affidavit dated

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Page 1 of 2

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11.02.2026 of the appellant, in which it has been recorded that “road constructed is private at his own cost and also for his own purpose and that the same is not found in Government record also”.

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A perusal of the impugned order dated 22.05.2025 would indicate that the EC in question was rejected after the re-appraisal on the ground that lease area falls in No Mining Zone of the approved DSR and falls within 200 mtrs. from the public road, which is not complying with the distance criteria suggested by the CPCB and accepted by the Principal Bench of this Tribunal vide orders dated 21.07.2020 and 18.01.2023 in Original Application No.304 of 2019 and the order dated 30.09.2020 passed in Original Application No.85 of 2019 (WZ).

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Above finding of Respondent No.1- SEIAA, Gujarat is found to be erroneous in light of the above-mentioned Certificate received from the Deputy Executive Engineer’s Office, Panchayat R & B Sub.-Division, Bhuj. Therefore, we allow this appeal and set aside the impugned order with a direction to the SEIAA, Gujarat to make re-appraisal of the EC in light of the said Certificate within a period of one month from the date of uploading of this order after giving an opportunity of hearing to the parties concerned.

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Dinesh Kumar Singh, JM

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Dr. Sujit Kumar Bajpayee, EM

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February 13, 2026 APPEAL NO.434 OF 2025 (WZ) P.Kr.

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Jadvaji Raviji Vekariya v. 1. State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Gujarat

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Jadvaji Raviji Vekariya v. 1. State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Gujarat

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Cases cited

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Coram

Case details

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