 |
|
Govt cancels CLU approvals for mega-housing projects Chandigarh, April 2 On March 26 the department issued letters to promoters of the Ansal Mittal project Bathinda, Ansals project Mohali, Unitech project Mohali, Taneja Developers (TDI) project, Mohali, Bajwa Developers project Mohali, Acme project Ludhiana, Tewari Gangahar Infrastructure project Amritsar and Satish Estates Amritsar that the CLU approval granted to them earlier stood revoked following the withdrawal of the no objection certificate (NoC) from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). The CLU approval granted to Parsavnath Developers Mohali had been revoked earlier.
The PPCB has recently revoked NoCs granted to over 40 promoters of housing projects in the state following directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. (First reported in The Tribune on February 23) Promoters of many other mega-housing projects, who had applied for CLU approvals, which were under consideration of the government, have also been put on hold as a result. The CLU approval is the final nod given by the state government to the promoter for his project following which he is free to advertise the project and sell plots. This move will directly affect not just the promoters concerned but also thousands of buyers, who have already invested heavy amounts in these projects. Many banks, which have an exposure in these projects, too face an uncertain future regarding their loans. These eight companies have already invested at least Rs 1500 crore in the state and paid over Rs 150 crore to the government either as conversion charges or external development charges (EDC). When the CLU approvals were granted by the government last year, these companies had publicly thanked the government by issuing full-page advertisements in newspapers. In many cases construction is on in full swing at the project sites, which will now have to stop immediately. “An NoC from the PPCB is essential for the grant of a CLU approval for housing projects. Now when the PPCB had revoked the NoCs we have no option but to revoke the CLUs,” said Mr Arun Goel, Secretary Housing and Urban Development. Out of the total 77 mega-housing projects given the nod by the previous regime, 13 had been issued the CLU approvals. Sources added that the Amarinder government had already signed agreements with these 45 companies and they were in the process of getting CLU approvals from the government. Out of these the projects whose NoCs have been revoked by the PPCB, have also been put on hold. While this decision has send investors in a frenzy, the move is being seen as a result of the change in government by land promoters, some of who even went to the extent of saying that the High Court orders were being misused to harass those promoters whose projects had been okayed by the previous regime. Others were blaming the PPCB for the situation.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cancellation of developers’ NOCs Chandigarh, April 2 Not concerned that thousands of people have invested crores of rupees in these colonies and will want to know the future of the project they have invested in, the board authorities blatantly refuse to hand out the list. PPCB chairman Yogesh Goel today categorically told the TNS that the list would not be given out. He refused to elucidate the reasons. He said the list could be made available only if an application under the Right to Information Act was submitted to the PPCB. In view of the fact that there is complete confusion regarding which colonies have been told to stop their operations following the cancellation of the NOCs from the board, the air is rife with rumours. While some sources in the board said the board had compiled the final list of 31 colonies, another source put the number at 50, adding that the number was changing with each day, as field officers were still filing reports from various zones in the state. The fact, however, remains that at least 20 developers have already been issued letters stating that the NOCs granted to them by the board have been revoked. The board is not even giving out the names of these developers. The board action against these developers comes in the wake of a Punjab and Haryana High Court order. The court had taken strong objection to a circular issued by the board in 2006 that allowed residential colonies to come up next to industrial units. Earlier, the board had set a 100-metre radius limit for the setting up of residential colonies from an industrial unit (This was a gradual watering down of its own rules, as according to the original rules followed by the PPCB no residential colony can be established within a radius of 500 metres of an industrial unit). Doing away with even the 100-metre limit, the board ordered on January 17, 2006 that residential colonies could come up near industrial units but with a green belt buffer separating the two. The orders further stated that residents of such colonies would, however, have no right to complain against pollution being caused by the unit. A clause to this effect was proposed be added in the registration of sale deed when the developers sold their plots. Taking up a petition filed by residents of Mubarakpur village, Patiala, on January 30 this year, a division bench of the High Court stayed the implementation of the January 17, 2006 circular. The Bench noted that all norms had been thrown to the winds by the board. “To say the least, the board instead of controlling pollution is encouraging pollution by relaxing norms,” stated the Bench, adding that no authority or state has the power to pass an order taking away the rights of the citizens to make a complaint in case of intensity or increase of pollution. |
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
