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2022 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 1105
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI Original Application No. 21 of 2021 (SZ)
&
I.A. Nos.181 of 2021 (SZ) & 11 of 2022 (SZ)
(Through Video Conference)
IN THE MATTER OF Anupkrishnan V.
Flat 7173, Tower 7, Prestige Bella Vista, Ayyappanthangal Village, Mount Poonamallee Rd., Kanchipuram District, Chennai- 600056.
...Applicant(s)
Versus
1. Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Represented by its Director, MoEF&CC (SEZ)
HEPC Building, No. 34, Cathedral Garden Road, Nngambakkam, Chennai- 600034.
2. State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Represented by its Member Secretary, 3rd Floor, Panagal Maligai, No.1, Jeenis Road, Saidapet, Chennai- 600015.
3. CMDA Represented by its Member Secretary, Thalamuth Natarajan Building, No.1 Gandhi Irwin Road, Chennai- 600008.
4. M/s Prestige Estates Project Ltd, Represented by Chairman & Managing Director, Falcon House, No.1 Main Guard Road, Bangalore-1 Karnataka- 560001.
5. M/s Prestige Estates Project Ltd, Chennai, Represented by Head of Buisness Operations, Prestige Polygon- Top Floor, 471, Anna Salai, Nandanam Chennai- 600035.
6. The Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, No. 76, Anna Salai, Guindy, Chennai- Tamil Nadu- 600032.
...Respondent(s)
For Applicant(s): Dr. Anupkrishnan V (Party in Person)
For Respondent(s): Mr. G.M. Syed Nurullah Sheriff for R1 & R2.
Ms. Manisha represented M/s. Veena Suresh for R3.
Mr. Sathish Parasaran, Senior Advocate along with Mr. Arjun Suresh, Mr. B. Kishore for R4 & R5.
Ms. Aarti represented Mr. Sai Sathya Jith for R6.
M/s. Rank Associates for R7 & R8.
Judgment Reserved on: 7th March, 2023.
Judgment Pronounced on: 20th July, 2023.
CORAM HON’BLE SMT. JUSTICE PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. SATYAGOPAL KORLAPATI, EXPERT MEMBER
JUDGMENT
Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member.
1. The applicant is one of the owners of the apartment in Prestige Bella Vista project which was developed by the respondent nos. 4 and 5, herein. Alleging certain violations in the Environmental Clearance conditions, the above Original Application is filed seeking direction to respondent nos. 4 and 5 to stop operating the incomplete residential complex and direct them to comply with the conditions stipulated in the Environmental Clearance and take action against them for the non-compliance of the conditions in the environmental Clearance dated 16.10.2012.
2. According to the applicant:
(i) the respondent nos. 4 and 5 had obtained completion certificate for 25 blocks out of the 33 blocks whereas those blocks were having only partial completion certificate which is not legally valid. Eight of the blocks which were mentioned as ready for occupation were already occupied even in the year 2016. There was non-compliance of the condition even with respect to the open car park. It is stated that the Environmental Clearance mandated 3769 car park spaces to be provided in the project whereas the respondent nos. 4 and 5 have provided only less than 2,000 car park spaces in the residential complexes.
(ii) In addition the applicant also complains that there were blatant violations committed by the respondent nos. 4 and 5 which the respondent nos. 1 to 3 did not notice. The respondent nos. 4 and5 had encroached the public road, pedestrian pathways and illegal water treatment plant constructions, emergency DG sets and piped gas lines etc., were not in accordance with the Environmental Clearance granted.
(iii) The project proponent also said to have not provided adequate drinking water for the residential project. It failed to construct adequate borewell to procure 856 KLD of fresh water and establish a water treatment plant with additional RO water treatment facility to filter the drinking water. The respondent nos. 4 and 5 though promised to establish a STP with capacity of 1610 KLD to generate 1133 KLD of treated water, the same is not been done.
(iv) As per the MoM held on 24.03.2019, 04 borewells were working with a yield of 250 KLD water with no RO water treatment facility. The project was getting another 350 KLD of water from Chennai Metro Water, totalling 600 KLD of water instead of 1650 KLD as has been mentioned in the Environmental Clearance. The respondent also had failed to install 26 numbers of 750 KVA DG sets for emergency power back up. The installed only 13 numbers of 500 KVA DG sets.
(v) The open spaces inside the project was converted to car parks, tennis courts or illegal piped gas banks, thus violating the green belt design along the periphery of the plot as per the Environmental Clearance.
(vi) The solar energy water heating is only for top two floors and they were also not working for the last two years. The solar energy was not used at all in the project for illumination of common areas, lighting for gardens and street lighting etc.
(vii) The Environment Management Cell is not established in the residential project.
(viii) The Six monthly compliance report as mandated in the Environmental Clearnce also had not been complied with by the project proponent.
On the above said complaints the Original Application has been filed for taking action against them for not complying with the conditions.
3. This Tribunal on the above said allegations had constituted a Joint Committee comprising of the Director, MoEF&CC, Assistant Environment Engineer, SEIAA, Assistant Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board besides ordering notice to all the respondents.
4. The Joint Committee was directed to find out whether there was any violation in the Environmental Clearance conditions, whether the permission has been obtained for the purpose of establishing ETP or STP and the damage that has been caused on account of the non-compliance of the conditions imposed and also to asses
