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SC-appointed green watchdog tells Chandigarh, Punjab to act against 6 projects for operating without wildlife clearance
The projects, which include commercial, industrial as well as residential sites, reportedly fall within the 10km radius of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and the City Bird Sanctuary in Sector 21, both eco-sensitive zones
The Supreme Court (SC)-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Thursday directed Punjab and Chandigarh to take action against six mega projects – four in Mohali and two in Chandigarh, for operating without wildlife clearance.
The projects, which include commercial, industrial as well as residential sites, reportedly fall within the 10km radius of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and the City Bird Sanctuary in Sector 21, both eco-sensitive zones.
The four Punjab-based projects include the group housing, commercial, and industrial sites in Sector 88-89 in Mohali, The Medicity Phase-1 & Phase-2 project in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, Mohali, ‘The Palm’ commercial project in Mullanpur Garibdas village in Mohali, Galaxy Heights by M/S Janta Land Promoters Limited (JLPL), along with Super Mega Mixed-Integrated Industrial Park in Sector 82, 83, and Sector 66A, Mohali. JLPL is promoted by AAP MLA from Mohali, Kulwant Singh.
The two projects in Chandigarh are the ‘Berkeley Square’ by Berkeley Realtech Limited and Godrej Eternia by Godrej Estate Developers Private Limited, both in Industrial Area-Phase 1.
The six projects came into existence between 2017 and 2023, without a Wildlife Clearance Certificate (WCC).
Notices to be issued to projects
A senior officer from Punjab, who attended the CEC meeting, said the committee has asked the officers to act against the projects violating wildlife norms. Most of the projects have applied for wildlife clearances but have not received approvals yet. “We will issue notices to them, and in the next meeting, scheduled for July 25, all documents pertaining to the projects and high court judgments will be placed before the committee,” he said.
Another officer of the Chandigarh administration said, “The committee directed that issues pertaining to the projects should be sorted out, failing which it will lead to contempt of the court.”
The CEC was constituted by the SC in September last year to flag cases of non-compliance of conservation-related orders. It reports to the Environment Ministry.
The committee also directed Punjab to establish its eco-sensitive zone on the lines of Haryana and Chandigarh.
In December last year, the director general of audit (DGA), Chandigarh, had asked the UT wildlife and forest department for a reply on how these projects came into existence without wildlife clearance. It also asked the department to explain in what capacity can it issue clearances to the projects coming up Mohali.
Last October, Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit had also written to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, pointing out that the ‘Super Mega Mixed Use integrated Industrial Park” in Sectors 82-83 and 66-A, Mohali, and Galaxy Heights by M/s Janta Land Promoters Limited are in violation of environmental regulations.
Last August, the UT administration had issued show-cause notices to Berkeley Square and Godrej Eternia Project for alleged violation of environmental norms. UT had even sealed the Berkeley Square complex for 25 days and it was de-sealed on September 27 last year, after the Supreme Court ordered the building’s de-sealing within 36 hours.
