Sangrur, March 31 -- The Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP) has officially cancelled the change of land use (CLU) status granted to Shree Cement North Pvt Ltd for its project in Sangrur district in the wake of a Supreme Court (SC) ruling citing public health and environmental concerns. In a letter dated March 20, the housing and urban development department under the PBIP mentioned that the CLU was earlier approved for 47.82-acre land in Deh Kalan village on December 13, 2021, but in light of the SC judgment on February 13 this year, the approval stood cancelled. The case was filed by Harbinder Singh Sekhon and others. The letter reads, "The court also holds that the approval recorded on January 5, 2022 could not lawfully cure the defect in the CLU dated December 13, 2021, and it is not capable, in law, of operating as an alteration or amendment of the Master Plan under the PRTPD Act." The top court mentioned in its ruling that it was necessary to underscore, in clear terms, the constitutional balance that must govern questions of development and environmental protection. "Economic development and industrial growth are legitimate and important objectives of the state. However, in a constitutional framework founded on the rule of law, development is not an abstract or absolute goal. The Constitution does not permit a trade-off where civilian life and health are exposed to foreseeable harm on the assumption that economic benefit or industrial facilitation justifies such exposure. Articles 14 and 21 do not tolerate a regulatory calculus that treats environmental safety as negotiable," it stated. The ruling further mentioned, "Equally important is the recognition that environmental harm, once caused, is often irreversible or incapable of fullremediation."...