Notices to two commercial complexes: Biz owners decry ‘pick and choose’ treatment by Chandigarh admn

Aggrieved business owners alleged that the Chandigarh administration was adopting a pick-and-choose policy

Days after the UT administration issued show-cause notices to Godrej Eternia and Berkeley Square, two prominent commercial complexes in city’s Industrial Area, over environmental clearance violations, owners of several businesses in these complexes met the UT administrator and deputy commissioner over the issue.

(The Chandigarh administration had issued notices to two business owners over environmental clearance violations.)

The aggrieved business owners alleged that the UT administration was adopting a pick-and-choose policy, as there were 19 more commercial complexes that did not have wildlife clearance on the day of obtaining the environmental clearance (EC).

EC is required to secure the occupation certificate, which is automatically rendered cancelled if EC is not valid.

The owners met UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday and submitted their representation, while they met deputy commissioner (DC) Vinay Pratap Singh on Thursday, when another meeting was scheduled for August 26.

Meanwhile, Godrej, in its reply to the notice, stated that the UT administration was relying on a Supreme Court order, dated December 4, 2016, in the Goa Foundation case, while no such order from that date existed.

Even after repeated attempts, DC Vinay Pratap Singh could not be contacted for comments.

Deepak Sharma, one of the business owners at Godrej Eternia, questioned why was the Estate Office targeting only Godrej Eternia and Berkeley Square, while 19 more buildings in Industrial Area had no wildlife clearance.

Another office owner, Raghujeet Madan, said around 75% of the site space at Godrej Eternia had been sold to individuals by the landowners, accompanied by assurances of meticulously verified clearances by the UT administration.

Godrej Eternia, an expansive business office complex spanning approximately 5 acres, came up in 2015. Subsequently, the landowners transferred ownership to individuals and diverse business entities.

Berkeley Square, another commercial complex in the Industrial Area, is constructed on around 5 acres. The complex is owned by RSA Motors, a firm promoted by Ranjeev Dahuja. Around 50 business houses are operating their offices from the multi-tower complex, employing 400-500 employees.

As per the show-cause notice by the UT director of environment, allegations suggesting intentional misrepresentation have come to light regarding acquisition of the EC certificate by Godrej in 2009.

“We always follow prescribed guidelines for development. The EC was granted prior to development of the project under the then applicable norms. The occupation certificate and consent to operate were also granted in 2015 by the competent authorities. We are confident of our compliances and are in contact with relevant authorities to address this matter appropriately,” said a spokesperson for Godrej Eternia.

The show-cause notice issued to Ranjeev Dahuja on July 20, said, “Non-compliance of violation conditions of EC granted to your project has been observed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Chandigarh.”

The notice lists out violations, such as changing/enhancing of scope of work than what was mentioned in the clearance granted in 2015.