SC Strikes Down Perpetual Post-Facto Environmental Clearance Regime

On 30th July 2026, the Supreme Court struck down the 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that had created a continuing mechanism for granting post-facto environmental clearances (ECs) to projects that began construction without obtaining mandatory prior clearance.

  • The Court held that prior environmental clearance remains the mandatory rule under the 2006 EIA Notification.

What is Post-Facto Environmental Clearance?

  • Prior EC: Projects requiring environmental clearance must obtain it before construction or operations begin, allowing environmental impacts, public objections and safeguards to be assessed beforehand.
  • Post-facto EC: Allows a project that has already commenced ....
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