The government's Executive Enclave project, which includes construction of a new Prime Minister's Office (PMO), on September 1 received Environmental Clearance (EC) from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Delhi (SEIAA-Delhi).
In a letter to the Central Public Works Department, the SEIAA said it approved on August 31 the recommendation of the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), which had given EC to the project on August 29.
The SEIAA laid down conditions for the clearance, including the use of an anti-smog gun and other environment-friendly dust control measures, and compensatory plantation of 10 times as many trees as would be cut.
In its recommendation on August 29, the SEAC observed that the tree survey was not incorporated into the design and planning phase of the project.
The SEAC approved the proposal for the second time, after approving it on April 9. The SEAC had sent the proposal to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), which referred it back to the SEAC on April 19 for a re-look vis-à-vis the implementation of the Delhi Government’s Tree Transplantation Policy, 2020.
Having considered the matter again and visited the site on August 27, the SEAC recommended the project for clearance by the SEIAA on Monday, according to the minutes of the meeting issued on Tuesday.
The project would include removal of 487 of the 807 trees on the site near South Block. During a meeting on August 6, the SEAC had asked the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to re-examine the site plan, including “shifting of helipad location which in the opinion of the committee would retain additional trees”. However, after the site visit, the CPWD architect explained to the committee about “the constraint of shifting” the helipad. A source said the CPWD cited security reasons for the same.
While assessing the project vis-à-vis the Tree Transplantation Policy, which states that the felling of existing trees should be prevented through “careful planning, design”, the SEAC noted it was informed by the CPWD that “the tree survey was undertaken around September 2021 onwards. The design consultant was given the project at least a year prior. Hence the tree survey could not be incorporated in the planning and design phase of the project”.
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During the meeting, the CPWD said it would take further steps to “save the trees by exploring the possibilities of shifting the excavation line of the proposed buildings”. The project was approved by the SEAC with certain conditions, including that the Tree Transplantation Policy should be implemented in letter and spirit. A total of 4,870 trees would be planted as compensatory afforestation elsewhere and 634 additional trees would be planted on the site.
The ₹1,381 crore-project would be spread over five buildings with 90,000 square metres of built-up area. The PMO would be spread over 13,822 square metres, along with a conference facility named India House (2,647 square metres), the National Security Council Secretariat (3,295 square metres) and the Cabinet Secretariat (3,295 square metres).
