Comment on park probe report, Centre tells Maya

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said his ministry has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to comment on the findings of the inspection team, which reported that the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Museum project in Noida has violated Central environmental laws.

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said his ministry has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to comment on the findings of the inspection team, which reported that the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Museum project in Noida has violated Central environmental laws.

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“There would be no unilateral action. We have asked the state government to comment on the report,” Ramesh told reporters
on the sidelines of a meeting on Saturday. “Action would be taken only after we receive their comments.”

Sources said the ministry might issue a notice soon.

A letter was sent to the Mayawati government on Friday night soon after the probe team submitted the report, the minister said. “The inspection report does mention that there are certain problems with the state government’s stand on the environmental assessment,” he said.

On Saturday, HT had reported that a team from the Ministry of Environment and Forests led by UP’s Chief Conservator of Forest Azam Zaidi inspected the museum site and submitted the report to the ministry suggesting the issuance of “stop work notice/s” for the project.

The report said the project needed clearances from the ministry that were not taken.

A source in the ministry said the report has also warned that the “kind of illumination/lighting network that the 33 hectare park will have would seriously disturb, scare and disrupt the movement patterns of the migratory birds that flock here during the winters”.

The source said the report also pointed out that the concrete and rock structures would affect the birds’ habitat and noise pollution, including noise of construction work, will also have an adverse impact.

The report has also recommended the ministry to procure satellite images of the project’s site where five parks had existed before construction began in January last year.