A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir, while issuing notice to the ministries of commerce, and environment and forest, the Gujarat government, Mundra Ports and Special Economic Zone, the Adani group and others also directed the parties to maintain status quo on all activities taking place in the area.
Mundra SEZ is proposed to come up in about 6,000 acres of land with a total investment of Rs 7,400 crore.
The Centre and the Gujarat government had accorded approval to the Adani Group to develop, operate and maintain an SEZ at Mundra in Gujarat on February 12, 2004.
The SEZ is proposed to provide integrated infrastructure encompassing all infrastructure relating to business, living, learning, as well as recreation facilities so as to make the zone self-sufficient.
The PIL moved by a group of seven fishermen has alleged threat to their livelihood and damage to the flora and fauna of the region due to the project.
They said that permission given by the Central government without clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notifications for the SEZ was illegal and violative of the Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act as well as of Right to Life of the petitioners under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
"In sanctioning the scheme, the central government has not only failed to consider the land put in for SEZ purpose but also the fact that no EIA clearance was obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forest on lands having thousands of mangroves amd miles of forest area," the petition stated.
Besides, the government had also failed to access the impact of the scheme on the livelihood of thousands of fishermen living in the area, it said, while seeking to appoint a committee of eminent environmentalists to ascertain the damage done to the coastal zone of Mundra taluka villages.
Senior counsel Rakesh Khanna and Shakil Ahmad Syed, appearing for the fishermen, argued that the state government had allotted its entire environmental treasure -- marshy and Gavchar land, salt land, big and small creeks and even notified forest area - to this big industrial house.
While stating that they had no option but to approach the apex court, the fishermen said that "the Adani group is so rich and powerful that administrative officials turn a blind eye towards their action" and they should be asked not to harass fishermen.
They also alleged that some unidentified people were threatening them to leave the place and the SEZ's permanent boundary wall had restricted them from accessing the sea, thus badly affecting their livelihood.
The fishermen also stated that work on the SEZ had started in June 2006 by cutting mangrove trees and filling of creek areas and till now a major portion of reserved forest areas and mangrove trees have been cut without taking the necessary clearance from the authorities concerned.
To develop SEZ, Adani had started cutting mangroves and filling creeks, thus disturbing environmental conditions, the petition said, adding that the Fisheries Act, 2003 of the state government bans destruction or collection of mangroves.
