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ARTICLE · 13 OCTOBER 2025

Judicial Clarity On Environmental Impact Assessments: The Vanshakti Judgment

IndiaLaw LLP
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In a significant judgment on environmental governance, the Supreme Court in Vanshakti v. Union of India (2025 INSC 961) upheld the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's (MoEF&CC) notification...

IndiaEnvironment
Aditya Suryavanshi
Aditya Suryavanshi

Introduction

In a significant judgment on environmental governance, the Supreme Court in Vanshakti v. Union of India (2025 INSC 961) upheld the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's (MoEF&CC) notification dated 29th January 2025, which clarified the applicability of general conditions to building and township projects under the 2006 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification.

The petitioner, NGO Vanshakti, challenged the 2025 notification and a subsequent Office Memorandum dated 30th January 2025, contending that they diluted environmental safeguards by excluding the "General Conditions" for certain construction and area development projects. The Court, however, ruled that the 2006 notification itself never applied such conditions to projects under Entries 8(a) and 8(b), and thus, the 2025 clarification did not amount to any dilution.

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