SC to hear plea against NGT order on Godrej apartments

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the validity of an NGT order that cancelled the environment clearance to Godrej apartments coming up near Kaikondanahalli Lake on Sarjapur Road in southeastern Bengaluru.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to the Centre, the Karnataka government and others on a civil appeal filed by Wonder Projects Development Pvt Ltd.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing the developer, contended that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had misunderstood the matter and reproduced its order from another case and stopped the project, though all requisite consents were had been taken for it.

“A joint inspection was set up for Mahadev project on March 11, 2019, and it was wrongly concluded that all the properties were in the buffer zone. The inspection at our project was taken up on February 6 and the order declaring environment clearance as illegal was passed on February 3,” he explained.

Singhvi that said that 80% of the 650 flats had already been sold and alleged the petition was filed in the green tribunal by those who were set up by the rivals of the developer.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing for the other side, contended that the project fell under the buffer zone of the lake. He also opposed a plea for staying the NGT order.

The court, which decided to take up the matter after three weeks, also issued a notice on an application for the stay of the tribunal’s order. It also directed for the filing of the inspection report in the top court.

The tribunal had cancelled the green clearances of Godrej Reflections (phase-1) and Godrej Lake Gardens (phase-2), close to the southern side of the lake on a petition filed by H P Rajanna of Mahadevapura Abhivriddhi Samraskshane Samiti. It was claimed before the tribunal that the environment clearance granted by the Karnataka State Environment Impact Assessment Authority to the housing project was in breach of environmental norms and a violation of buffer zone regulations and municipal laws.