Green belts must for residential, commercial complexes: NGT

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 2

The National Green Tribunal (NBT) has asked builders to provide green belts around residential and commercial complexes.

Arun Gupta, Director-General, Town and Country Planning, directed town planners to issue notices to all colonisers/change of land use(CLU) holders, whose building plans had been approved and where the construction work was in progress to comply with the NGT’s directions.The authorities concerned will ensure green belts are in existence before occupancy certificates are issued, the order stated.

“The Station House Officer, environmental engineers, MC officials and regulatory and development authorities responsible for sanctioning plans, granting consent and issuing completion certificates would be responsible for compliance of these directions in the area/areas that fall under their jurisdiction. In the event of default they shall be liable to pay compensation for such environmental degradation or for pollution,” the order warned.

The order said “the authority vested with the power of sanctioning plans, drawings for construction of any commercial, residential and even construction of small plots would impose a clear condition that sanction of plans was subject to the builder complying with directions contained in this order and the Ministry of Environment and Forests Guidelines, 2010.”

Meanwhile, no person, including builder, owner can be permitted to store any construction material particularly sand, on any part of the street, roads in any colony. The construction material stored in the site will be covered in all respects so that it does not disperse in the air.

It stated the construction material and debris shall be carried in the trucks or other vehicles which are fully covered and protected to ensure that the construction debris or the construction material does not get dispersed into the air or atmosphere.

Every worker working on a construction site and involved in loading, unloading and carriage of construction material and construction debris shall be provided with a mask.

The order stated “if any person, owner and or builder is found violating any of the conditions, he will be liable to pay compensation of Rs50,000 per default in relation to construction activity at his site and Rs5,000 for each violation during carriage and transportation of construction material, debris through trucks or other vehicles, in terms of Section 15 of the NGT Act.