The health of the environment is key to preserving the right to life as a constitutionally recognized value under Article 21 of the Constitution

The Supreme Court has suspended the Environmental Clearance granted for the development of Greenfield international airport at Mopa in Goa. The bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta directed the Expert Appraisal Committee to revisit the recommendations made by it for the grant of clearance. In the area of environmental governance, the means are as significant as the ends. The processes of the decision are as crucial as the ultimate decision said the bench while holding that there were many procedural flaws in the grant of EC. While the need for a public project as significant as an international airport is duly factored into the decision-making calculus, it should be ensured that such development proceeds on a considered view of the importance of the prevailing state of the environment, the court added.