Sri City township project in trouble
EC expired two years back and no attempt was made to apply for extension
Chennai: The mega integrated township – Sri City – located 55 km north of Chennai along Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh border is facing trouble. The Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to its parent company Sri City (P) Ltd, whose registered office is at Mylapore in Chennai, expired two years back and no attempt was made by the company to apply for a fresh EC or extension before Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) here, which heard a petition filed by a city advocate M. Manibalan, on Tuesday cautioned that it would pass injunction orders restraining the company from carrying out any activity “There shall be no activity without valid environmental clearance”, the Bench, comprising Justice P. Jyothimani and R. Nagendran, told counsel for Sri City (P) Ltd. Documents show that Sri City was granted clearance by MoEF on October 16, 2008, which expired on October 15, 2013.
The EC was granted for land to an extent of 2,185 hectares, acquired from 14 villages in Sathyavedu and Varadhapalem mandals in Chittoor district and Tada mandal in Nellore district bordering Tamil Nadu. Petitioner’s counsel argued that the company was operating outside its allotted land and was indulging in indiscriminate felling of trees without obtaining permission causing irreparable environmental damage. It claimed nearly 2,000 mango trees, which are 20-25 years old, had been felled. It was also alleged that proper demarcation of the project site was not done.
When Justice Jyothimani sought an answer for the allegation, the respondent’s counsel admitted that around 700 trees were felled and promised that his client would compensate by planting more number of trees. However, the Bench was not satisfied and just stopped short of passing interim orders.On request, the court gave a day’s time for the company’s counsel to come out with a proper reply. The case was posted for further hearing on Wednesday. In 2006, Government of Andhra Pradesh signed MoU with the Sri City (P) Ltd to establish a mega integrated township, which included setting-up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) along with Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).