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New Delhi: In a significant departure from one-size-fits-all penalty approach, the SC has said bigger companies bear higher responsibility towards protection of environment and it would be justifiable to impose higher penalties on mega firms for environment damage caused by them, reports Dhananjay MahapatraThis decision by Justices Dipankar Datta and Vijay Vishnoi was given while dismissing appeals against orders of NGT imposing Rs 5cr penalty on Rhythm Country and Rs 4.47cr on Key Stone Properties for constructing residential and commercial projects without green clearance in Pune. Justice Datta rejected the arguments of the two realtors that the penalty imposed was disproportionate.Bigger operations signify a bigger footprint, says SCThe court also rejected the arguments that NGT did not have the jurisdiction or power to arbitrarily impose such high environmental damage compensation charges.Justice Datta said through the NGT Act the legislature has deliberately given the tribunal discretion to grant relief based on the seriousness of environmental harm.The core of appellant’s arguments was that turnover or project cost cannot be taken as a metric for determination of environmental compensation. “We are unable to accede to such a submission. Neither NGT Act nor the jurisprudence of this court calls for the adoption of a uniform formula for the quantification of environmental compensation,” the bench said.The Supreme Court further said that: “In cases relating to protection of environment, linking a company’s scale of operations (like turnover, production volume, or revenue generation) to the environmental harm can be a powerful factor for determining compensation.” “Bigger operations signify a bigger footprint. Larger scale means more resource use, more emissions, more waste leading to more environmental stress. If a company profits more from its scale, it is logical that it bears more responsibility for the environmental costs. Linking scale to impact sends a message that bigger players need to play by greener rules,” it said.
