The Congress has been issued a notice by the court of the Financial Commissioner of Delhi, acting on an application by an environmentalist alleging violation of pollution-control norms during construction of the party’s new office on Kotla Road.
On February 1, the court issued notices to the Indian National Congress through its General Secretary (Admin), the Delhi government through the Chief Secretary and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) through its member secretary to appear on April 9.
Environmentalist Vikrant Tongad, who had filed the case, said he had moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) first, but that the Tribuanl had transferred the case to the appellate authority, the Court of the Financial Commissioner.
‘No clearance’
“The Congress is constructing its new headquarters near ITO in Delhi without any environmental clearance or consent to establish. Also, in the project, groundwater is being used and trees have been cut without clearance as per our information,” Mr. Tongad alleged on Friday.
Mr. Tongad’s application stated that the DPCC’s order on July 16, 2018 that the Congress office would have a built-up area of less than 20,000 sqm and therefore did not require consent was “baseless”, as it was not based on an inspection report.
The application stated that even if the Congress office was being built on half of the 2-acre plot allotted to the party, it would mean the built-up area would be 24,000 sqm.
Red category
The application further said that office complexes with built-up area of more than 20,000 sqm come under the “red category”, which requires both a consent to establish and consent to operate under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The application also raised concerns about the impact on the groundwater since an underground parking facility was also being made at the site.