Notice to 120 builders in Gurgaon, Faridabad

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has served notices to 147 builders, including 120 in Faridabad and Gurgaon, for failing to get environmental clearance for their housing projects.

Initiated under Section 15 of Environment Protection Act 1986, 74 prosecutions were lodged in the environment courts  of Faridabad and Kurukshetra this month itself. Out of these, claim HSPCB officials, 70 relate to private housing and commercial projects in Gurgoan alone, three to projects in Sonepat and one to Faridabad-Ambience and MGF shopping malls.

"All the major colonizers, like TDI, Ansals, Omaxe and DLF, are among those against whom prosecutions have been recommended. They have erred on starting the projects before getting environmental clearance under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Act. Instead, they started the projects after applying for clearance. The proceedings have been initiated for their past violations,'' HSPCB chairman Ajaib Singh Chahal said on Wednesday.

As for future course of action, there's still a long way to go, the board chairman added, "The final verdict lies with concerned environment courts.'' According to the board, any project which is worth over Rs 50 crore or so and has a covered area of more than 20,000 sq metres, is required to get environment clearance under EIA Act.

10 Dec 2008, 2333 hrs IST, TNN