New Delhi: In the wake of Adarsh Housing
scam, the Environment Ministry has issued a set of guidelines for
the states to enforce before clearing any construction
proposal pertaining to coastal zones to avoid repeat of such
incidents in future.
The ministry has instructed the states and Union
Territory Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) to enclose
the check-list when forwarding the proposal before it for
seeking approval.
The decision to issue guidelines came after the
Environment Ministry concluded that no approval was taken by
Adarsh Housing Society for construction of the 31-storey
building at Colaba in Mumbai, which had come up in "blatant"
violation of the CRZ norms.
The Adarsh Housing Society has been slapped with a
15-day show cause notice by the Environment Ministry which has
sought razing down of the high-rise structure built in the
Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) II.
It was originally meant to be a six-storey building to
house Kargil War heroes and widows. The CRZ II norms put
several restrictions on vertical construction.
To check reoccurrence of such violations, the Ministry
has asked the project proponents to ensure certain mandatory
norms such as preparation of maps by the authorised agencies
as per the Environment Ministry's guidelines.
The Environment Ministry has asked the SCZMAs to
ensure that "if the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA)
examined the project in accordance to the CRZ Notification,
1991 and the approved CZMP."
In case of construction (new/reconstruction/expansion
of existing authorised buildings) projects falling in CRZ-II,
the SCZMA should ensure that the proposed construction is as
per CRZ notification 1991, the checklist says.
For the projects that attracts Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 and CRZ Notification,
1991, it said that clearance shall be obtained from the state
green panels or Union Environment Ministry as the case may be.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 15, 2010, 19:59