NOC process hampering pace of development in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, July 22

Various development projects in the city and the district seem to have become a victim of the delay regarding the issuance of the No Objection Certificate (NOC). This comes as a hurdle for some of the projects connected with basic amenities, such as sewage and water supply, according to officials.

The proposal of the construction of around 45 new tubewells by the civic body to enhance or augment the water supply is claimed to be one of such projects, which has failed to get off due to lack of the NOC from the Forest Department, according to sources.

“Though the proposal of constructing new tubewells along the Gurugram canal here had been prepared and submitted about a year ago, the Forest Department is yet to approve the same,” sources in the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) claimed.

As the application to get the NOC needs to be submitted online on the designated portal of the department concerned, certain technical issues and lacunae connected with the process involved stand unresolved leading to a delay in permission for proceeding ahead on the project costing around Rs 6 crore. The tubewells have been proposed to supply an additional 36 MLD of drinking water in several areas with supply crisis.

The process of acquiring the NOC for the projects requiring the usage of the land falling under the jurisdiction of the Forest and Environment Department had been complicated and cumbersome resulting in overall delays, said an official. He said the MCF had to wait for around four years to get the NOC from the Uttar Pradesh government and its departments for the project of laying around 8-km of sewage pipeline along the Agra canal. He said though the approvals have been accorded finally after a long wait, the work remains stuck due the contractor leaving it midway in the wake of the NOC delay. The project is slated to supply 25 MLD of sewage to the STP at Mirzapur village here. The civic body is also awaiting a similar NOC for construction of a 10 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) near Lakadpur village falling in the Surajkund area of the district, for a year now, according to sources.

MCF Executive Engineer Nitin Kadian said the process of getting the NOC for the tubewells and STP was on. District Forest Officer Sunil Kumar claimed that while no application had been pending in his office, NOC applications need to be lodged on the online portal (Parivesh) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as the usage of the forest land comes under the Forest Conservation Act. He said there was no delay on part of his office.

Cumbersome process

• As the application to get the No Objection Certificate needs to be submitted online on the designated portal of the department concerned, certain technical issues and lacunae connected with the process involved stand unresolved, leading to delay in permission for proceeding ahead on the project costing Rs 6 crore.
• The process of acquiring the NOC for the projects requiring the usage of the land falling under the jurisdiction of the Forest and Environment Department had been complicated and cumbersome, resulting in overall delays.