Kariyawasam vs Central Environment Authority and Others – sllr 2019 volume 3 page 021

In the case between Kariyawasam (petitioner, on behalf of Chunnakam residents) and the Central Environmental Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, and Northern Power Company (Pvt) Ltd., the court addressed whether the expansion of the 8th respondent’s thermal power station without required environmental approvals and licenses breached statutory and constitutional mandates. It was held that the failure of regulatory bodies to enforce requirements under Part IVC of the National Environmental Act, including the need for Environmental Impact Reports and Environmental Protection Licenses, resulted in environmental contamination and the violation of the fundamental rights of local residents. The judgment reaffirmed princi