NGT asks Karnataka to execute restoration of Kaikondrahalli lake in one year

The NGT quashed the environmental clearance granted to a high-rise luxury project and ordered for demolition of the construction

The National Green Tribunal on Friday asked the Karnataka government to prepare a restoration plan for the Kaikondrahalli lake at Kasavanahalli, Varthur Hobli in Bengaluru in two months and execute the work within one year.

The NGT which quashed the environmental clearance (EC) granted to a high-rise luxury project by Godrej Properties Limited and Wonder Projects Development Private Limited and ordered for demolition of the construction, directed that restoration plan shall be executed by State Wetland Authority and BBMP which may also be overseen by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB).

The Principal Bench of the NGT headed by its chairperson Adarsha Kumar Goel imposed a penalty of Rs 31 crore on the project developers.

It also said the penalty shall be utilised by preparing a restoration plan by the said authority with the assistance of the BBMP, KSPCB and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

If the amount is found to be deficient, the deficiency will be made up by BBMP. If any question remains unresolved, the National Wetland Authority is directed to resolve the same, the bench said.

The tribunal said the confidence of the project proponent in proceeding ahead at different levels without caring for Statutory Provisions, Procedures and Environmental Laws, supported by some of the statutory authorities is evident by the conduct of senior officers of various departments who were appointed members of the Committee by Tribunal and Environment Ministry, yet they defied the same.

It appears that in a concerted way, some officials have acted to somehow justify patent illegality and bold defiance of law on the part of the project proponent, the bench said.

"Clearly, there is an evident lack of bonafide on the part of the officials and this conduct deserves to be strongly condemned. We will request the Secretary, MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forest) to look into the matter and take appropriate action against such erring officials," the bench said.

The tribunal said the committee which made three inspections and submitted reports is not the one which was constituted by it and the Environment Ministry.

It said the officials, who were actually appointed members, chose on their own to send their sub-ordinates or officers lower in rank and they are signatories to the report.

The green panel had ruled that the construction would fall within the buffer zone of the Kaikondrahalli lake and, therefore, is violative of the zoning laws.