The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has directed the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation Limited (TANSIDCO) to not proceed with the establishment of an industrial park in Kaverirajapuram village in Tiruvallur district without getting physical possession of the land and without obtaining necessary environmental clearances or permissions.
The bench also directed the Revenue department to not change the classification of the land in the guise of survey for identification of the land to be assigned to TANSIDCO and to demarcate the boundary of the water channel and Odai mentioned in the revenue records, and to provide necessary protection for maintaining the odai and water channel.
The case relates to a proposal by TANSIDCO to establish an industrial park in the village. A joint committee formed by the NGT submitted that a series of survey numbers fell on Anadeenam land and two survey numbers were patta land. Further, a few survey numbers were classified as Odai and Kottai. The committee found that the odai had no demarcated boundary and flowed through a natural sloping terrain joining the Rajalu Chevuru while another survey number was found to be abutting the Dubagunta Lake. However, the Committee found no construction happening in the area.
The applicant had moved the Tribunal arguing that TANSIDCO was planning to establish an industrial park in an environmentally unsustainable manner and destroying the water channels, moat and archaeological monuments (Kottai), agricultural lands, flora and fauna. The applicant further submitted that the revenue department had cut and removed trees and levelled the land encroaching into the Odai.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change submitted that only preliminary surveying and demarcation of the proposed park was under progress and land was not handed over and hence no permissions as required under the EIA notification and other environmental laws were obtained. TANSIDCO submitted that they will not establish the project without obtaining necessary clearances or permissions and certain thorny bushes were removed and levelling done for the purpose of enabling the survey to be conducted.
Passing the directions, the NGT also said if the land was assigned in favour of TANSIDCO, the project can be started only after obtaining clearances that include clearance from the Archaeological department if the Fort was shown to be a protected area.
