Mayawati's Noida project lacks green nod: SC
SC's central empowered committee has dealt another blow to Mayawati govt's plans to raise statues of dalit icons, including one of the CM herself, on a once-lush Noida park by calling a halt to the project till it received environmental clearance.
By Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court's central empowered committee has dealt another blow to the Mayawati government's plans to raise statues of dalit icons, including one of the CM herself, on a once-lush Noida park by calling a halt to the project till it received environmental clearance.
The Rs 685 crore memorial already faces opposition from the ministry of environment and forests which has taken the view that the project needed a green clearance, revising its earlier position that this was not necessary. With the CEC also agreeing, the memorial has hit a big environmental speed breaker.
SC's high-powered CEC said a project of the scope and nature of the one coming up in Noida mandatorily requires environmental clearance from the MoEF and no further work should be carried out till it receives the green light from the ministry.
"If the project is found by the MoEF to be environmentally viable, it may allow the project subject to appropriate safeguards/conditions. This will also imply that pending the environmental clearance, no further work should be carried out," the CEC said in its 39-page report to the court.
After site inspection and hearing detailed submissions of complainants, the UP government and MoEF, the CEC report expressed serious concern over close proximity of the project of massive built-up areas to the eco-sensitive Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
However, it was quick to add that as only mining activity has been forbidden by the apex court within a distance of one kilometre of national parks and sanctuaries without specifying any such restriction for other projects, the installation of statues and building of a memorial just 50 metres from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary would face no such legal impediment.
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But applying the precautionary principle, it has firmly recommended to the SC that the UP government must seek environmental clearance from the MoEF. It also criticised MoEF for changing its stand three times on this issue. "CEC is of the considered view that in the present case, the environmental clearance is mandatory," said the report submitted by member M K Jiwarjika through amicus curiae A D N Rao.
"In the present case, after including the activity area, the total built-up area for the purpose of environmental clearance far exceeds the threshold limit of 20,000 sq metres of built-up area provided in the MoEF notification of September 14, 2006," it said.
The UP government had argued that as the project had less than 20,000 sq metres of built-up area, it did not require environmental clearance as per the 2006 MoEF notification. The CEC calculated the built-up area to be much more than 20,000 sq metres.
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The findings of the CEC are: * The project requires environmental clearance in terms of MoEF notification dated September 14, 2009
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* Till such clearance is obtained from MoEF, no further work to be carried out * The project area does not fall in the category of forest and does not require approval under Forest (Conservation) Act
* Since the eco-sensitive area limits around national parks and sanctuaries are not yet decided/notified, there is no legal bar against implementation of the project on account of being adjacent to Okhla Bird Sanctuary
* If forbidden zones around national parks and sanctuaries had been specified, the project area, in all probability, would have fallen within the eco-sensitive zone
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