The Supreme Court on Thursday modified its October 14, 2024 order imposing a moratorium on new industrial activity in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), permitting the TTZ Authority to process around 400 pending applications relating to the establishment, expansion and relocation of non-polluting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), while holding that delays in environmental assessment studies and policy documents cannot indefinitely halt decision-making.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana observed that although environmental protection remained paramount, a blanket prohibition on industrial activity could not continue indefinitely at the cost of livelihoods and economic development.
The Court noted that the delay in completing the cumulative impact assessment study and preparing the vision document for the TTZ could not indefinitely stall the consideration of pending industrial applications. The TTZ, spread across approximately 10,400 square kilometres, was established to protect the Taj Mahal and other heritage monuments in Agra from environmental degradation, and the Court reiterated that only non-polluting industries could be permitted within the protected zone.
The modification came on an application filed by the TTZ Authority, which informed the Court that around 410 applications relating to MSMEs had remained pending because of the blanket prohibition imposed by the Court’s earlier order. The Authority submitted that the embargo had completely halted the processing of applications for small-scale enterprises seeking to establish, relocate or expand their operations within the TTZ.
Appearing for the Union of India, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati submitted that the complete moratorium had severely affected local livelihoods and economic activity across six districts. They informed the Court that the pending applications related only to MSMEs operating on electricity or natural gas, including flour mills, footwear manufacturing and paper production units, and did not involve heavy industries dependent on coal or coke.
The Centre contended that permitting such non-polluting industries was necessary to balance environmental protection with the economic aspirations of the local population.
Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat opposed the plea, contending that the TTZ Authority had previously granted arbitrary approvals to metal, chemical and glass industries in the Firozabad region despite environmental objections raised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). She cautioned the Court against permitting a mechanism that could dilute environmental safeguards.
The Bench observed that a balanced and workable mechanism was required to distinguish genuinely non-polluting industries from polluting ones. Referring to an interim report submitted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) on April 21, 2025, the Court noted that NEERI had advised against adopting a rigid definition of “non-polluting industries” based solely on the standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Instead, the report recommended that the classification should also take into account Agra’s heritage value, legacy industries and Geographical Indication (GI) status.
The Court evolved a modified regulatory framework under which every meeting of the TTZ Authority convened to consider pending industrial applications must include one expert nominated by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and one representative from NEERI, with no meeting to be held in the absence of either expert.
Where the TTZ Authority, the NEERI representative and the CEC expert unanimously conclude that a proposed enterprise qualifies as a non-polluting industry, the application may be processed and taken to its logical conclusion strictly in accordance with law without requiring prior approval of the Supreme Court, it noted.
However, if either the NEERI expert or the CEC representative expressed any objection to the classification of a proposed unit as non-polluting, the application could not be approved without obtaining the Supreme Court’s permission. The Bench emphasised that this safeguard would ensure continued judicial oversight wherever expert opinion was divided.
To ensure transparency and public participation, the Court directed that every approval granted by the TTZ Authority be uploaded on the official website of the CEC to invite objections and suggestions from the public before a final decision was taken. The TTZ Authority has been directed to consider all such objections in consultation with experts from NEERI and the CEC before granting operational clearance.
The Court further directed that every final decision be communicated in advance to the Amicus Curiae, Senior Advocate Liz Mathew, who may approach the Court if any approval required judicial scrutiny. It also directed the TTZ Authority to furnish complete material relating to every proposed industry to the CEC and NEERI sufficiently in advance of each meeting to facilitate an informed technical assessment.
Accordingly, the Bench modified paragraph 27 of the Supreme Court’s October 14, 2024 order to the extent of the revised approval mechanism.
The Court observed that the revised procedure struck a balance between the constitutional mandate of environmental conservation and the need to protect employment and economic activity in the Taj Trapezium Zone, while ensuring that only industries satisfying stringent environmental standards were permitted to operate within the ecologically sensitive and heritage-protected region surrounding the Taj Mahal.
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