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

Ennore Thermal Power Station. File | Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

The South Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has allowed the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to continue work on the Ennore SEZ thermal power plant at Vayaluru in Tiruvallur district for four weeks, reversing its earlier interim order that stopped construction due to absence of valid environmental clearance.

A bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathynarayana and Expert Member Prashant Gargava directed TANGEDCO to proceed with its application for extension of Environmental Protection (EC) and Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearances and obtain necessary clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) within a four-week period.

The original application filed by Selvaraj Duraiswamy sought direction to TANGEDCO to obtain fresh environmental clearance and CRZ for the project. On July 7, the Tribunal restricted further work after noting that the company had not issued valid permits, with the original environmental permit expiring on December 31, 2025.

During the hearing, TANGEDCO relied on the ministry’s office memorandum issued on October 30, 2025, which allows the period during which the project was suspended due to legal proceedings to be considered as “zero period” when calculating the validity of the environmental clearance. TANGEDCO argued that about four years and three months spent in litigation before the Supreme Court and the NGT should be excluded while calculating the validity of its permit.

The power company also informed the tribunal that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had extended its establishment consent under the Water and Air Acts to 31 March 2030 based on the authority’s memorandum and that it had applied to the MEF & CC on 15 July 2026 in an attempt to extend the validity of its project for the environment and CRZ to critical status203. initiative to meet Tamil Nadu’s demand for power and that stopping the work would adversely affect the public interest.

The plaintiff opposed this plea, arguing that the environmental permit could not be circumvented and that the mere filing of an extension application did not entitle the project to proceed. Operating without a valid environmental permit, the applicant argued, could attract penalties under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

However, the bench noted that the project was still in its establishment phase, that there were no allegations of pollution and that the only objection was to the absence of a formal extension of the environmental clearance. It also recorded the submission of the MEF&CC scientist that the existing CTE issued by the TNPCB is sufficient to allow the project to proceed pending the formal extension of the environmental clearance and CRZ.

In the main application, the bench suo motu promoted TNPCB as the next respondent and directed both the MEF&CC and the Pollution Control Board to file reports before the next hearing. The matter was published on August 24, 2026.

Published – 30 Jul 2026 16:43 IST