Green norms flouted; many builders to face music

The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has prepared a list of 30 projects (residential and commercial) which do not comply with environmental clearance norms, which may result in their cancellation.

The list doesn’t stop at 30. The SEIAA officials are checking all the applications seeking environmental clearance and the list could swell in the days ahead. “We cannot reveal the list as no notices have yet been served on builders. We have also roped in municipalities and issued directions to them,” an SEIAA official told DH.

Officials are obtaining details of all the projects sanctioned and to be sanctioned by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to verify whether environmental clearance was obtained.

The exercise started after the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) opened a window from October 2017 to April 2018 for builders to seek environmental clearance. The opportunity was created for all those who had constructed buildings without obtaining clearance.

“This was like a self-assessment scheme to reduce environmental damage, similar to the government’s Akrama-Sakrama scheme. During this period, and even after it, we received many applications where it was found that environmental clearance for many projects had to be cancelled as they did not comply with the set standards,” an SEIAA official said.

The MoEF had said that clearance could be obtained based on the environmental damage assessment report and public hearing on the project. The ministry had also said that the builder should deposit a penalty for the environmental damages caused.

Apart from this, the SEIAA is also making verification based on the Air and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Environment Rules and National Green Tribunal (NGT) buffer zone orders.

“We are not going to every builder and verifying if they have complied with the norms. We are scrutinising the proposals that have come to us. The project clearance details obtained from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board are also being looked into. It has been found that many builders have not obtained environmental clearance and could face legal action,” the official said.