The Hindu Business Line : The cloud of environment clearance

ONE OF the objections raised by Mr I. M. Chagla, while arguing against the thirty-plus parties before the Bombay High Court was that none of the respondents who have started construction of residential/commercial premises have obtained the mandatory clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), before starting any development.

Mr Chagla was referring to the Ministry's Notification `dated January 27, 1994 (as amended on July 7, 2004)', issued under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the rules thereunder.

According to the Notification, every new project, or expansion or modernisation of any activity (if the pollution load is to exceed the existing load), listed in Schedule I to the said Notification requires `environmental clearance'.

For this, an application has to be made, along with a project report, including an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, an Environmental Management Plan, etc.

The Amendments made in 2004 spoke of "New construction projects" as item No. 31 in Schedule I to the original Notification.

"Under this amendment, new townships, industrial townships, settlement colonies, commercial complexes, hotel complexes, hospitals, industrial estates and office complexes for 1,000 persons or more or discharging sewage of 50 thousand litres per day or more, with an investment of Rs 50 crore or more would be required to obtain environmental clearance from Central Government," notes the text of the Bombay High Court's judgment dated October 17.

It was also clarified that all new construction projects where work had not come up to plinth level as on July 7, 2004 required clearance under the Notification.

Here comes the shock.

"It became apparent during the hearing of the above Petition that despite the publicity given by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to the EIA Notification, not a single application was made for clearance until after the issue was raised in the Petition.

Even thereafter, only five applications for clearance have been received by the MPCB in respect of development in the mill lands," reads the text of the judgment.

Mr Chagla submitted that the Notification is applicable to most, if not all, of the development/re-development projects in respect of the mill land.

"The investment in such construction projects, which would include the cost of land, would almost certainly exceed Rs 50 crore and the other parameters stipulated in the Notification," he argued.

On June 16, 2005, the MoEF wrote to the Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra Government asking for a report of compliance with the EIA Notification in respect of the mill land.

"By that letter the MoEF stated that it is apparent that the development of such prime urban lands will have serious implications on the provision of community facilities, open spaces, transport networks and infrastructural services.

It is stated that some of these constructions have already commenced."

Wonder if the publicity about EIA was not heard loud and clear because of the prevailing noise pollution!

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