Mount Vernon Mini Hydro Power Project (Pvt) Ltd v. Central Environmental Authority & Others – CA- WRT 129/20-2022

In the case between Mount Vernon Mini Hydro Power Project (Pvt) Ltd (Petitioner) and the Central Environmental Authority, K.P. Welikannage (Provincial Director, Central Province, Central Environmental Authority), Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, and others (Respondents), the central legal issue concerned the lawfulness of the Central Environmental Authority’s refusal to grant, and subsequent affirmation of refusal, for environmental approval of a mini-hydro power project. It was held that the Court lacked competence to resolve scientific disputes regarding environmental conditions, such as the required environmental flow (e-flow), and that even if the respondents’ refusal was quashed, the outcome would be futile given the petitioner could not comply with the required condition. The