The Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered the state government to stop the construction of the Ganga Expressway from Noida to Ballia.
The court directed the state government not to proceed with the 8-lanes expressway unless and until prior environmental clearance was obtained in accordance with Environmental Protection Act and Environmental Protection Rules, 1986.
A Division Bench comprising of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Arun Tandon quashed the state’s Environmental Impact Assessment Authority’s 2007 order, which had given clearance for the project.
The court said there was serious violation of statutory provisions in obtaining the clearance certificate for the expressway project.
The court gave this judgment while allowing the Public Interest Litigation petitions filed by Ganga Mahasabha of Varanasi and Mahant Narendra Giri of Allahabad. A Mirzapur NGO, too, had filed a petition on the issue.
The petitioners claimed the project would disturb the ecological balance of the area.