E-Paper
‘False info’ provided for green nod: Chandigarh admn sends notice to business complex
The development has come as a shock for business owners who purchased office spaces at the site from Godrej over the years
Over 14 years after the Union environment ministry accorded environmental clearance for Godrej Eternia project, a commercial complex located in Industrial Area, Phase 1, the UT administration has now issued a show-cause notice against the site for obtaining the certificate through misrepresentation of facts.
The development has come as a shock for business owners who purchased office spaces at the site from Godrej over the years.
Godrej Eternia, an expansive business office complex spanning around 5 acres, had come up in 2015. Subsequently, the landowners transferred ownership to individuals and diverse business entities, fostering a thriving centre of commercial activity.
As per the show-cause notice by the UT director of environment, allegations suggesting intentional misrepresentation have come to light regarding acquisition of the environmental clearance certificate by Godrej in 2009.
Concurrently, the UT Estate Office has also sent out notifications disclosing initiation of a show-cause notice by the State Environment Assessment Authority against the site, owing to violations and non-compliance with stipulated regulations, aggravated by the absence of a wildlife clearance certificate.
Consequently, the environmental clearance procured in 2009, alongside the application for the Occupation Certificate, appears to be invalidated.
The building plan sanctioned in 2009 and its subsequent revised iterations, culminating in the 2015 Occupation Certificate, are alleged to have been secured through distortion and concealment of critical information, the notice states.
“Godrej procured the environmental clearance certificate from the Union ministry of environment and not from the UT environment department. We will send the certificate to the ministry for confirmation,” said TC Nautiyal, director, environment, UT.
On whether the certificate issued by the ministry was valid, he said they were looking into how the ministry issued it.
Meanwhile, proprietors of various businesses in the complex said around 75% of the site space had been sold to individuals by the landowners, accompanied by assurances of meticulously verified clearances by the UT administration.
Raghujeet Madan, an office owner, expressed astonishment, underscoring the fact that the UT had repeatedly renewed these clearances on six separate occasions. So, its scepticism towards documents that originated from their own authorities was paradoxical.
Amit Singla and Deepak, also office proprietors, alleged a calculated collusion between the UT Estate Office, the Chandigarh environment department and the original landowners.
