The Supreme Court ordered a stay on a July 2021 office memorandum (OM) of the environment ministry, which had spelt out a standard operating procedure (SoP) for the identification and handling of cases of violations. The stay was ordered on a plea filed by Mumbai-based Vanashakti NGO. The apex court first stayed the July 2021 OM in January 2024, and reiterated its stance this January. In February, the court clarified that pending proposals could be processed, but without granting final approvals.

“…in respectful compliance of the above mentioned orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 06/01/2025 and 19/02/2025, the Ministry hereby directs that all projects that have applied under the provisions of the OM dated 07/07/2021 and which are pending as on 02/01/2024 may be processed pursuant to the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court as mentioned in para 6 above,” the environment ministry’s March 28 OM stated.

“However, final order granting approval/clearance shall not be passed till further orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the ministry’s order added.

The Supreme Court heard the matter again on April 2, and reserved judgment in the matter.

In 2017, the environment ministry rolled out a one-time window amnesty of sorts to grant approvals for projects where work had commenced without obtaining prior environmental permissions under the Environment Impact Assessment notification, 2006. The 2017 amnesty was applicable only for six months, between March and September 2017.

In 2021, the ministry also issued an SOP “for dealing with violation cases,” citing compliance with a National Green Tribunal order. The SoP defined violations as projects that have either started construction work or installation or excavation on site or expanded the production capacity and or project area beyond the limit specified in the environmental clearance without obtaining prior EC.

Last year, The Indian Express reported that the ministry cleared over 100 projects between 2017 and 2023 using the amnesty scheme.