M A I N   N E W S

Punjab CPS’s firm booked for violating green norms
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 18
Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Industry and Commerce, and SAD MLA NK Sharma is in soup as his firm M/s VN Sharma Builders Private Limited has been booked in a criminal case for violating Provisions of Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1986 while developing its Savitry Greens project with the Punjab Pollution Control Board filing a case under in the court of Senior Divisional Judge, Dera Bassi, yesterday.

VN Sharma Builders have been charged with starting construction at his 11-acre mega housing project Savitry Greens in Bishanpura village without getting a mandatory environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He has been charged for violating the EPA under sections 15 and 16. Senior functionaries of the Pollution Control Board confirmed the development.

Sharma, who is one of the five Directors of VN Sharma Builders Private Limited, was required to seek environment clearance as his projects falls under Schedule 8A following a notification of the MoEF (dated: September 14, 2006) as his project has a built-up area of more than 20,000 square meters. For this purpose a State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has been set up which clears all such projects.

Sharma, however, started construction work in 2011. More than 650 flats have already been constructed.

The case was filed through the PPCB regional office, Mohali, on the complaint of SDO Major Singh, following the directions of Secretary, Science and Technology Department, Seema Jain after chairman, SEIAA, AN Dogra wrote to the state government.

During investigations, the project site was visited by an Assistant Environment Engineer on August 22 who found that construction of eight towers was completed up to eight floors, two towers up to six floors, one tower up to two floors and basement level of remaining five towers and 40 per cent finishing work of six towers was completed.

During the visit, general manager of the project said they had applied to SEIAA for environment clearance but it was yet to be granted. The case got delayed because they had to get the building plans of the project approved again as the height of the towers had to be reduced from 58 meters to 45 meters in keeping with the government norms.