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Environment Support Group Press Release: February 16, 2006
In a shocking development, Mr.Sadiq, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Bangalore Urban proceeded to hold the environmental public hearing of Mantri Splendor and Mantri Greens in blatant violation of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification enacted under the Environment Protection Act (EP Act).
Despite very categorical requests made to him that, in compliance with the law, the scheduled environment public hearings relating to the above Mantri projects had to be rescheduled till such time the detailed EIA, Environment Management Plan and executive summary were made available in both English and Kannada for public review for at least 30 days prior to the hearing, he refused to do so. When it was highlighted that his actions were in fundamental violation, he argued that it was not required to have the documents available for a period of 30 days.
Additionally, the DC confirmed that Mantri Developers have proceeded to begin construction on their housing and commercial complexes even before obtaining the necessary clearances for which these public hearings were held. He informed members of ESG about these and other objections he raised at the public hearing. This absolute contempt and violation of the law, in itself, should be sufficient reason for rejecting their application for environmental clearance and become a basis for proceedings and the criminal provisions of the EP Act and related legislations.
While the DC refused to cancel the hearings held today for the above two projects, the same officer had no hesitation whatsoever when a similar demand was made yesterday in the public hearing related to M/s Bhoruka Park Pvt. Ltd and M/s Brigade Investments Pvt. Ltd. In a similar situation, documents pertaining to these projects were unavailable to the public even prior to the date of the hearing at the DC's office. Then, accepting the argument that this would construe fundamental violation of the EP Act, Mr. Sadiq had no hesitation whatsoever in postponing the hearings by a month and subjecting the postponed hearing to availability of the documents for a period of 30 days as required by law.
Mr.Sadiq instead turned accusatory for pressing that the law must be abided with. He insisted that our acts were obstructionist to Bangalore's development he insisted that rather than raising procedural violations, we should have availed of the EIA documents for the Mantri projects that were made available yesterday (in response to the objections we raised yesterday) and come prepared to raise environmental objections pertaining to the project. He also questioned our credibility for raising these questions and demanded to see the registration papers of Environment Support Group (ESG) when clearly there is no need at all to justify one's presence in an environmental public hearing and for raising objections at such hearings.
Keeping the above in view, ESG has made a representation to the Mr. Shivakumar, Principal Secretary of Dept. of Forests, Ecology and Environment of Karnataka, Mr. Bhoomananda Manay, Chairman Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, and Mr.Pradipto Ghosh, Secretary, MoEF demanding that these hearings be cancelled and an enquiry be initiated into such blatant violation of law. A copy of the letter submitted to these officials has been annexed with this press release.
Violations such as these defeat the very purpose of EP Act in involving public in decision making and ensuring healthy and environmentally sustainable development of the country, and in this case, Bangalore.
Leo Saldanha Subramanya Sastry
Environment Support Group ®
S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road, S. R. K. Gardens,
Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560041. INDIA
Telefax: 91-80-26341977/26531339/26534364 Telefax: 91-80-51179912
Email: esg@esgindia.org or esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in Web: www.esgindia.org
Enclosed: Copy of letter to Principal Secretary, Department of Forests, Ecology, and Environment, Karnataka
Environment Support Group ®
S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road, S. R. K. Gardens,
`Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560041. INDIA
Telefax: 91-80-26534364/26531339/26341977 Fax: 91-80-51179912
Email: esg@esgindia.org or esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in Web: www.esgindia.org
Principal Secretary,
Department of Forests, Ecology, and Environment
Government of Karnataka,
Bangalore
Bangalore
16 th February 2006
Dear Sir,
Sub: Violation of Environment Clearance Processes in conducting Environmental Public Hearings on 15 th and 16 th February 2006
We are writing this letter to bring to your notice blatant violations of environment clearance procedures in conducing Environmental Public Hearings in Bangalore for various projects. These violations were particularly noticed in Hearings slated for 15 th and 16 th of February 2006.
Over the last two weeks, Environment Support Group (ESG) has been trying to unsuccessfully to access Environment Impact Assessment, Environmental Management Plan, and Executive Summaries for projects required to be cleared under the EIA Notification, per the Environment Protection Act. The documents pertaining to projects for which Hearings were scheduled for the 15 th and 16 th of February 2006, were simply not available till even the day before the hearing.
As you are aware, as per the EIA Notification 1994, read with its amendment of 13 th June 2002 (MoEF Notification: S.O.632(E)), the aforementioned documents have to be made available to the public for 30 days prior to the Environmental Public Hearings in both English and Kannada at various offices as listed, including the DCs office and the State Pollution Control Board. Yet despite several attempts to access these documents at both these places, we were told that these documents would be available on the day of the hearing at the DCs office. Additionally, it has come to our notice that many of these documents had not even been submitted to the authorities by the project developers.
In this background, it is clear that the Environmental Public Hearings should not have at all been held for these projects in the first place. That is to say, that the Pollution Control Board should have taken enough precautions to cause public expenditure by way of advertising, an act that should not have been undertaken when it was clear that such documentation as demanded per law was not available, especially to the public.
In this context, the undersigned representatives of ESG attended the Environmental Public Hearing yesterday for M/s Bhoruka Park Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Brigade Investments Pvt. Ltd. We brought these violations to the notice of the DC and the PCB representative present there and asked that the public hearings be cancelled. Additionally, we also asked for that the public hearings for the 16 th February and such other projects for which documents are not available must be cancelled too, since these are in blatant also in violation of environmental clearance norms. The DC decided to postpone the Hearing of 15 th Feb to 15 th March, but there was no commitment to this effect about other projects that are similarly violative of the law.
While these public hearings must be cancelled, we would like to make the following observations. Firstly, the Pollution Control Board should have noticed the absence of availability of EIA documents and informed the DCs office not to have held the public hearings. Secondly, the DC should have, on his part, noticed these same violations at his office and taken appropriate action. By failing to do so both these agencies have violated EC clearance processes
As we are apprehensive that unless strong action is taken, this would result in a major non-compliance issue of the EIA Notification, to which the Government of Karnataka would be a partner to, we request you to kindly ensure that all such Hearings are postponed that are being held that are not in strict compliance with the said notification, and that fresh Hearings are called only when full compliance can be guaranteed.
In this regard we also urge you to undertake an enquiry about how such blatant violations could be sustained, especially in Bangalore . This does not augur well for Hearings that are held in remote places, in regard to compliance with law.
We are making this request in the hope that these matters would be fully investigated to identify the gaps in compliance and also to ensure that all future project clearances comply with clearance procedures.
Yours sincerely,
Leo Saldanha and Subramanya Sastry
Environment Support Group
Cc:
Chief Information Commissioner, Karnataka State
Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board
Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
District Commissioner, Bangalore-Urban
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