The Supreme Court today set a stiff less than 3-month deadline for the Centre for setting up a National Regulator with “offices in as many states as possible” under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 to clear mining and other projects in forest areas. A three-member Green Bench of the SC headed by Justice AK Patnaik clarified that it had directed, not advised, the Centre in 2011 to set up the regulator. The Bench, which included Justices SS Nijjar and FMI Kalifulla, passed the order, dispelling Centre’s doubts on this score. The apex court directed the Centre to submit a compliance report by March 31. The regulator would be responsible for appraising projects, enforcing environmental conditions for approvals and to impose penalties on polluters. The present mechanism under the September 14, 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification issued by the Centre for project clearance “is deficient in many respects and what is required is a regulator at the national level having its offices in all the states which can carry out an independent, objective and transparent appraisal and approval of the projects for environmental clearances.” The regulator could also monitor the implementation of the conditions laid down in the environmental clearances. It could exercise only such powers and functions of the Centre under the Environment (Protection) Act and “obviously cannot exercise the powers of the central government under Section 3 of the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980.” However, the regulator would ensure that the National Forest Policy 1988 was duly implemented as held in the 2011 SC order, it clarified. The court rejected the Centre’s contention that the government alone could act as the regulator and no one could be appointed as a regulator as suggesed by the SC in the Lafarge mining case in 2011.