The Union Ministry of Environment has instructed both central and state-level expert committees to restart the evaluation of ‘post-facto’ environmental clearance (EC) applications, approximately two months following a Supreme Court decision that allowed the resolution of outstanding, rejected, or returned proposals in accordance with legal standards.
Post-facto environmental clearances pertain to permissions granted by the central government for projects that have commenced, expanded, or upgraded operations without obtaining the necessary prior approvals as required by legislation.
On September 30, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a directive to all relevant appraisal committees, state-level environmental impact assessment bodies, and pollution control boards to begin processing these applications, emphasizing that no new proposals will be accepted at this time.
Projects that are awaiting environmental clearances or those that were previously rejected, returned, or removed from consideration due to interim Supreme Court orders will now be addressed to reach a final resolution.
These applications were made under a post-facto clearance framework that the central government initially established in 2017 and later reiterated in a 2021 Office Memorandum (OM).
The case of Vanashakti vs Union of India has played a crucial role in this context. Although numerous developers have taken advantage of this framework, many applications remained unprocessed due to ongoing legal disputes challenging the validity of the retrospective clearance system, including petitions from the Mumbai-based non-profit organization Vanashakti.
The recent action by the Ministry aligns with the Supreme Court’s ruling delivered on July 29 in the Vanashakti case. The court’s decision annulled the 2021 Office Memorandum and confirmed that projects previously granted post-facto approvals would remain valid. Furthermore, it mandated that pending applications under this clearance mechanism be processed in accordance with the law.
In its July ruling, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that obtaining prior clearance is compulsory unless there is an amendment to the law, while also upholding the 2017 notification as it was specific and time-limited legislation.
The legal discourse surrounding retrospective clearances has undergone several developments. The 2021 Office Memorandum was initially suspended in 2021, and in May 2025, the Supreme Court declared the entire mechanism illegal. However, following a review petition from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), the court re-evaluated the matter and issued its conclusive ruling in July 2026.
The post-facto clearance regime was first introduced in 2017 as a temporary amnesty, offering a six-month period to address ‘violations’ where projects had commenced or been modified without prior environmental clearance as stipulated under the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. This initiative aimed to mitigate potential environmental harm from projects that had already undergone some level of impact assessment.
In 2021, the Ministry also released an Office Memorandum outlining a standard procedure for handling these ‘violations’ cases.
Nikhil Ghanekar, an acclaimed journalist with 14 years of experience, serves as the Assistant Editor for the National Bureau of The Indian Express in New Delhi. His primary focus is on environmental policy, which includes tracking significant decisions and the operations of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also reports on the National Green Tribunal’s activities and discusses the effects of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry, and climate change.
Ghanekar joined The Indian Express in 2024, having previously worked for various publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18, and Indiaspend. His diverse writing portfolio spans topics including sports, current events, urban issues, and governmental policies.
