NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has recommended an environmental compensation of ₹ 10 lakh against a developer in Sector 134 for alleged violations of dust-control norms at its construction site despite the prevailing GRAP Stage-I restrictions, officials said on Saturday.
They added that the action follows a complaint filed by a Sector 134 resident via social media. Following this, a UPPCB inspection team visited the construction site — comprising plots B-31, B-32, B-33 and B-34 in Jaypee Greens Wishtown — on October 28. During the inspection, the team found multiple environmental violations, including the absence of green nets, water sprinklers and a tyre-washing facility, officials added. The officials found that excavated soil and building materials were stored in the open, both inside and outside the project premises, leaving them exposed to wind and vehicular movement. Further, building materials were found dumped in the open near the ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant. The team also found that water sprinklers had not been installed near the plant to prevent dust from spreading. “The violations were noticed during the inspection, and the matter has been taken up with the concerned authorities.
Construction activity was underway despite the prevailing GRAP Stage-I restrictions, while several mandatory pollution-control measures were found missing, according to officials. “During the inspection, several deficiencies in the implementation of prescribed dust-mitigation measures were observed,” said regional officer; UPPCB, recommending that ₹ 10 lakh in environmental compensation be levied against the project under the NGT’s July 20, 2016, order in the Vardhaman Kaushik versus Union of India case. Officials said that inspection findings have also been forwarded to the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate and the Noida authority’s civil and environmental departments, seeking necessary action against the project. A recommendation for environmental compensation has also been sent,” said Kishan Singh, assistant engineer, UPPCB Noida.
