New Delhi, Aug. 6 -- The Supreme Court has upheld a January 29 notification from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, but struck down a contentious clause that exempted certain large building and construction projects from prior environmental clearance.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran on Tuesday ruled that projects with a built-up area exceeding 20,000 square meters, regardless of their purpose (industrial, educational, etc.), cannot be exempted from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006 regime.

The court's decision clarifies that the notification will also apply to the state of Kerala.

In dictating the order, the Chief Justice stated, "It has been consistently hel...