FIVE projects in the country are under review as per the recent Supreme Court order directing the Central government to appoint separate scientific teams to verify the environmental viability of Cogentrix in Karnataka and four other projects. The apex court asked the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute's director P Khanna to select teams to review the Goshree project in Kerala, Sinarmas and Bandra-Kurla projects in Maharashtra and Sanghi Industries project in Kutch, Gujarat.

The teams will submit their recommendations to the court, which will arbitrate again in the first week of December. Earlier, the Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action had filed a petition claiming that several projects had been passed without environmental clearance. However, work on the projects would continue. The Goshree project proposes to develop a commercial complex on 362 ha reclaimed from the sea. The Bandra-Kurla project consists of a commercial complex within the coastal regulation zone, while the Sanghi Industries' cement plant threatens large areas in a wildlife sanctuary.