CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has allowed the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) to continue construction of its Ennore SEZ thermal power project in Vayalur in Tiruvallur for four weeks, modifying its earlier interim order that had halted work over the absence of a valid environmental clearance (EC).
A bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava directed Tangedco to pursue its pending application before the Union environment ministry for extension of its environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances and obtain the necessary approvals within the four-week period.
The tribunal had on July 7 restrained the utility from proceeding with construction after noting its environmental clearance had expired on December 31, 2025. The original application, filed by Selvaraj Duraiswamy, sought directions to Tangedco to obtain fresh environmental and CRZ clearances before continuing the project.
Seeking modification of the interim order, Tangedco relied on a ministry’s Office Memorandum dated October 30, 2025, which permits the period during which a project remained stalled because of court proceedings to be treated as a “zero period” while calculating the validity of an environmental clearance.
The utility argued nearly four years and three months spent in litigation before the Supreme Court and the NGT should be excluded while computing the validity of its EC.
Tangedco also submitted the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had extended its Consent to Establish until March 31, 2030, and that it had applied to the ministry on July 15, 2026, seeking extension of its EC and CRZ clearances until 2030.
While the applicant argued construction without a valid EC violated environmental law, the tribunal observed the project was still at the establishment stage and that no pollution had been alleged.
It also recorded the ministry’s submission that the existing Consent to Establish was sufficient to permit continuation of the project pending a decision on the extension applications. The matter has been posted for August 24, 2026.
