Following a plea seeking remedial action against a housing developer for allegedly flouting environmental norms in Noida, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the State Pollution Control Board and District Magistrate concerned to ensure enforcement of the law.
A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said: “The State Pollution Control Board needs to take further action for stopping illegality and recovering the assessed environment compensation by using coercive measures, including blacklisting and seizing assets of the project proponents.”
Furnish report
“It is also open to the State PCB to take assistance of any other public authority, including the District Magistrate concerned or the Noida Authority for enforcing the law and environmental rights of the affected parties,” the Bench said, while directing the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to furnish an action-taken report by March 23.
Effluents’ discharge
The directions came when the green panel was hearing a plea moved by a group of residents of Sector 77 which alleged that developers Antrikish Kanball 3G, were discharging effluents into a green belt and stormwater drain by flouting environmental norms.
It was also alleged that groundwater was being extracted illegally.
In an action-taken report furnished before the tribunal, the State pollution control board said that an environmental compensation of over ₹3.28 crore was imposed on the developer and that action had been recommended against the directors.