NGT allows TANGEDCO to resume Ennore thermal power plant work for four weeks, seeks clearance extension

Published 30 July 2026 · india

The southern bench of the Green Tribunal (NGT) has permitted the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to continue work on Ennore SEZ Thermal

The southern bench of the Green Tribunal (NGT) has permitted the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to continue work on Ennore SEZ Thermal Power Plant at Vayalur in Tiruvallur district for four weeks, modifying its earlier interim order that had halted construction over the absence of a valid environmental clearance. The bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathynarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava, directed TANGEDCO to pursue its application seeking extension of the environmental clearance (EC) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance within the four-week period and obtain the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The original application, filed by Selvaraj Duraiswamy, sought a direction to TANGEDCO to obtain fresh environmental and CRZ clearances for the project.

On July 7, the Tribunal had restrained further work after noting that the utility had not produced valid clearances, with the original environmental clearance having expired on December 31, 2025. During the hearing, TANGEDCO relied on a Ministry Office Memorandum issued on October 30, 2025, which allows the period during which a project remained stalled because of court proceedings to be treated as a “zero period” while calculating the validity of environmental clearance. TANGEDCO contended that about four years and three months spent in litigation before the Supreme Court and the NGT should be excluded while computing the validity of its clearance. The utility also informed the Tribunal that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had extended its Consent to Establish under the Water and Air Acts until March 31, 2030, based on the same Office Memorandum, and that it had applied to the MoEF&CC on July 15, 2026, seeking extension of its environmental and CRZ clearances until 2030.

It argued that the project was a critical public infrastructure initiative intended to meet Tamil Nadu’s power demand and that halting work would adversely affect public interest. The applicant opposed the plea, arguing that an environmental clearance could not be bypassed and that merely applying for an extension did not authorise continuation of the project. Operating without a valid environmental clearance, the applicant contended, could attract penalties under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The bench noted, however, that the project was still at the establishment stage, that there were no allegations of pollution, and that the only objection related to the absence of a formal extension of the environmental clearance. It also recorded the submission of a MoEF&CC scientist that the existing CTE issued by the TNPCB was sufficient to enable continuation of the project pending formal extension of the environmental and CRZ clearances.