VK malls: SC sets Aug 8 deadline for forest ministry
report
Petitioners oppose expert panel's damage-control
stance, seek stay on constructions in Army area
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=194475
yesterday:
--- Gita Dewan Verma <mpisgplanner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> TOI & HT reports about MoEF affidavit.
>
> As per HT it is about army constructions. As per TOI
> it is about what the expert committee said about
> Malls. As per MOEF web, the expert-committee has to
> meet about the malls on 28-29.07.06
>
http://164.100.194.13/allied_envclr/htmls/ncp_agenda%5Cagenda1.htm
> Looks like one of these eminences just had to go (no
> prizes for guessing which one that might have been
> :)
>
http://164.100.194.13/allied_envclr/htmls/DisplayComposition.asp?code=NCP
> btw, this expert-committee looks eminently
> assailable
> in court. yummy food for thought.
>
> =====
>
> 26.07.06: TOI;p.4
> Green Signal to VK malls likely
>
> But Only After Certain Modifications In Plans
>
> Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN
>
> New Delhi: The under-construction shopping malls and
> corporate offices in the Vasant Kunj area,
> cumulatively worth over 1,000 crore and allegedly
> cleared without the mandatory environmental impact
> assessment (EIA), may get the nod after certain
> modifications to their construction plans.
> The Supreme Court had stayed the construction at
> these
> project sites following allegations that the
> projects
> had been cleared without EIA clearance as envisaged
> in
> the July 7, 2004 notification of the Centre.
> Further, it was alleged that these constructions
> posed
> a grave threat to the Ridge, the lung of Delhi where
> concrete jungles have been spreading due to pressure
> on housing.
> The court had asked the ministry of environment and
> forest to examine the matter and report back. The
> expert committee of the ministry held inquiries and
> meetings with the project contractors and found that
> all, except ONGC, had started construction at the
> sites.
> The ministry, informing the court about this through
> an affidavit filed by advocate AND Rao, stated that
> there was little that could be done in these cases
> except taking damage control measures.
> �Except ONGC, all other proponents have already
> commenced construction in violation of the July 7,
> 2004, notification. Therefore, at this stage only
> damage control is possible by effective
> environmental
> management plan measures and systematic
solutions,�
> the affidavit said, reflecting the views of the
> expert
> committee.
> It suggested to the ministry to consider imposing
> penalty on the project owners for commencing
> construction work before obtaining environmental
> clearance. It also said that the ministry could
> consider proposals for regeneration of a forest and
> biodiversity park in the area.
> However, the committee did put the blame on Delhi
> Development Authority (DDA) for not coming out with
> a
> cumulative impact assessment and corresponding
> management/mitigation measures.
> It was of the unanimous view that the biodiversity
> park, adjacent to these huge projects, should be
> conserved and protected at all costs as it noticed
> several lacunae relating to water, traffic and power
> management plans for the projects.
> Of the seven projects, three are shopping malls and
> four are corporate offices. The project owners are
> Maruti Udyog Ltd, Ambience Developers Pvt Ltd,
> Regency
> Park Management Ltd, Beverly Project Pvt Ltd,
> Jasmine
> Project Pvt Ltd and ONGC and ONGC Videsh Ltd.
> During the public hearing, many questions were
> raised
> on thr ole of the Delhi Development Authority and
> Delhi Jal Board (DJB). Giving an example, the
> committee said that there was no guarantee of water
> supply to the project, though DDA said that DJB
> would
> supply the water.
> Mentioning several shortcomings in the sanction of
> plans, the committee was of the view that plots no.6
> and 7 of the Vasant Kunj Shopping Mall site should
> not
> be auctioned by DDA till systemic solutions were in
> place.
>
> 26.07.06: HT: p2
> �MoD building illegally in VK Ridge area�
>
> THE DEFENCE Ministry is engaged in construction
> activities in the eco-fragile Vasant Kunj Ridge area
> of South Delhi in violation of environmental norms,
> the Environment and Forests Ministry has told the
> Supreme Court.
> In an affidavit filed in the court, the Environment
> and Forests Ministry said that Defence Min istry was
> constructing three buildings in the Vasant Kunj
> Ridge
> area which attracted the provisions of Environment
> Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification (as amended on
> July 7, 2004).
> "Even though, they (Defence Ministry) have requested
> that the defence construction projects may be
> treated
> as separate entities and not as any other
> residential/office projects, it is submitted that
> the
> constructions were taken up after July 7, 2004 in
> contravention of the provisions of the EIA
> notification," the Environment and Forests Ministry
> said.
> The Defence Ministry projects under construction in
> the Ridge are - married accommodation for 190
> officers
> (Basant Range), married accommodation for 700 other
> ranks (Shankar Vihar-II) and married accommodation
> for
> 705 JCOs/other ranks (Mahipalpur).
> The affidavit, filed in response to a petition by
> Ridge Bachao Andolan, alleged that DDA and other
> agencies were allowing construction in the area in
> violation of the EIA notification. The court is
> likely
> to consider the affidavit on Wednesday.
> The court had on May 1 stayed the construction of
> five
> shopping mall projects worth Rs 1,290 crore in the
> eco-fragile area.
>
>
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