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NGT CLEARS GREAT NICOBAR PROJECT & SC REFERS DPDP ACT TO CONSTITUTION BENCH

Why in the News?

  • NGT Clearance: National Green Tribunal (NGT) upheld environmental clearance for the ₹92,000 crore Great Nicobar mega project.
  • Data Law Challenge: Supreme Court referred petitions challenging Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, 2023 to a Constitution Bench.

GREAT NICOBAR PROJECT AND ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

  • Strategic Importance: NGT recognised the project’s strategic and defence significance, declining to interfere with the 2022 environmental clearance.
  • Project Components: The mega project includes a transshipment port, international airport, power plant, and township infrastructure.
  • Environmental Safeguards: Tribunal directed strict compliance with Environmental Clearance (EC) conditions, including coral regeneration and shoreline protection measures.
  • CRZ Clarification: High Powered Committee reportedly found no project component within CRZ-IA ecologically sensitive zones, addressing regulatory concerns.
  • Tribal Concerns: Indigenous groups such as Nicobarese and Shompen Scheduled Tribes raised issues regarding forest rights and land acquisition processes.

DPDP ACT VS RTI ACT: CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS

  • Section 44(3): Petitioners argue the provision creates a blanket restriction on disclosure of personal information under RTI, undermining transparency.
  • Amendment Impact: The DPDP provision alters Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, shifting the privacy-transparency balance framework.
  • Proportionality Test: Reference made to 2019 Constitution Bench judgment applying proportionality doctrine to reconcile privacy with information rights.
  • Article 19 Concern: Petitioners claim the amendment imposes unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.
  • Article 14 Issue: Challenge asserts equating privacy of public officials with private citizens violates equality before law.

ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS BALANCING

●      Public Trust Doctrine: Natural resources like coastal ecosystems are governed under principles ensuring public interest and ecological sustainability.

●      Coastal Regulation Zone: CRZ Notifications regulate activities in ecologically sensitive coastal stretches to prevent environmental degradation.

●      Right To Information: The RTI Act, 2005 operationalises transparency as part of Article 19(1)(a) jurisprudence.

●      Right To Privacy: Recognised in Puttaswamy (2017) as intrinsic to Article 21, subject to reasonable restrictions.

●      UPSC Relevance: The issues connect with GS Paper II and III, covering environmental governance, constitutional rights, and judicial review.