STATE OF WEST BENGAL versus HOWRAH GANATANTRIK NAGARIK SAMITY & ORS.

Citation: [2011] 10 S.C.R. 871 · Decided: 12-09-2011 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.V. RAVEENDRAN · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2011] 10 S.C.R. 871 
STATE OF WEST BENGAL 
v. 
HOWRAH GANATANTRIK NAGARIK SAMITY & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 7785 of 2011) 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 
[R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND A.K. PATNAIK, JJ.] 
Environment Laws: 
A 
B 
Public Interest Litigation -
To protect and preserve C 
Victoria Memorial Hall and its green surroundings - Bus 
terminus situated at Esplanade at the end of about 2 kms. 
of the green surroundings - Re-location of bus terminus -
On recommendations of expert bodies including the National 
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEER/), 
D 
direction by the High Court 'that the bus terminus at 
Esplanade be shifted to a distant place within six months -
. On· appeal held: Shifting of the bus terminus at Esplanade 
· area was suggested by NEER/ as a long.;term measure and 
not as an immediate measure - Bus terminus, where /akhs E 
of people arrive and depart through different buses, if shifted 
immediately, would cause a lot of inconvenience to the 
traveling public -
Moreover, before the bus terminus is 
shifted from Esplanade, another suitable place has to be 
found out to which the bus terminus, which can be shifted . F 
and various conveniences have to be provided for the 
traveling public at the new bus terminus - All this cannot be 
done within a peri9d of six months -
Thus, the direction 
passed by the High Court not justified - Recommendation 
of the NEER/ that auto exhaust is the most important 
causative factor polluting the atmospheric environment G 
around Victoria Memorial Hall is emphatic -
Thus, the 
recommendation by NEER/ that the bus terminus should be 
shifted from Esplanade area as a long-term measure to 
871 
H 
872 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2011] 10 S.C.R. 
A protect and preserve the Victoria Memorial Hall deserves 
serious consideration, not only to preserve the monument 
but to de-congest the city - The impugned order of the High 
Court is modified and the State Government is directed to 
consider and take appropriate action on the NEER/ report 
B recommending relocation of the bus terminus away from the 
Esplanade. 
c 
M.C. Mehta v. Union of India and Ors. (1997) 2 SCC 
353: 1996 (10) Suppl. SCR 973 - referred to. 
Case Law Reference: 
1996 (10) Suppl. SCR 973 
Referred to 
Para 9 
D 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 
7785 of 2011. 
E 
From the Judgment & Order dated 28.09.2007 of the 
Calcutta High Court in W.P. No. 7987 (W) of 2002. 
WITH 
SLP (C) No. 1135-1136 of 2009. 
Avijit Bhattacharjee, Sarbani Kar, Debnjani Das 
F Purkayastha, Bidyabrata Acharya, Pranab Kumar Mullick for 
the Appellants. 
G 
Respondent-In-Person Dharam Bir Raj Vohra for the 
Respondents. 
The Order of the Court was delivered by 
A. K. PATNAIK, J. 1. Delay condoned. Leave granted. 
H 
2. This is an appeal against the order dated 28.09.2007 
STATE OF WEST BENGAL v. HOWRAH 
873 
GANATANTRIK NAGARIK SAMITY [A.K. PATNAIK, J.] 
:of the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Writ A 
Petition No. 7987 (W) of 2002. 
3. The facts very briefly are that during the British rule, 
Victoria Memorial Hall was built in the memory of Queen 
Victoria in Central Kolkata. 
After independence, this 8 
/monument continues to be known for its beautiful architecture 
1 and green surroundings. To the north of the Victoria Memorial 
Hall is a huge stretch of land known as 'the Maidan' which is 
covered by green grass and interspersed with a large number 
of trees, bushes and shrubs. At the end of about 2 kms. of C 
this greenery is the Esplanade where another monument 
known as the 'Sahid Minar' stands, and by the side of the 
Sahid Minar is a bus terminus. To protect and preserve the 
Victoria Memorial Hall and its green surroundings, a public 
interest litigation (Writ Petition No. 7987(W) of 2002) was filed 0 
in the Calcutta High Court by the respondent nos. 1 to 5. 
4. After hearing all concerned parties and considering the 
concerned affidavits and counter-affidavits as well as 
recommendations of expert bodies including the National 
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (for short E 
'NEERI'), the High Court inter alia directed in the impugned 
order that the bus terminus at Esplanade be shifted to a 
distant place within six months. Aggrieved by this direction 
in the impugned order, the State of West Bengal is in appeal 
before us. 
F 
5. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the 
High Court could not have issued directions to the State 
Government to shift the bus terminus located at Es
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