No Construction Without Clearance: NGT Cracks Down in Noida

The National Green Tribunal has halted construction projects in Greater Noida and Noida lacking environmental clearances. The directive comes after a plea exposed unauthorized building activities violating environmental norms, with realtors accused of illegal topsoil extraction and operating unauthorized borewells, impacting over 20,000 hectares of land.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has put the brakes on construction projects lacking the necessary environmental clearances in the bustling regions of Greater Noida and Noida. This decision emerged from a plea exposing rampant unauthorized building activities violating crucial environmental norms.

Justice Prakash Shrivastava, chairperson of the NGT, along with judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, ordered local authorities and the state pollution control board to ensure no construction proceeds without the mandated clearances. The tribunal highlighted ongoing activities without Consent to Establish (CTE), Consent to Operate (CTO), and Environmental Clearance (EC).

Petitioner's counsel Akash Vashishtha pointed out extensive illegal developments, citing evidence like photographs of illegal colonies with electricity poles and borewells without no-objection certificates. The plea filed by BJP leader Rajendra Tyagi underscores how this issue affects around 20,000 hectares of fertile farmland across Noida and Greater Noida.

(With inputs from agencies.)