The NGT-appointed committee has issued a show-cause notice to Jaypee Infratech and the insolvency resolution professional (IRP) dealing with the embattled realtor’s insolvency case, asking why an environmental compensation of Rs 5.47 lakh should not be imposed for violation of green norms in the Kensington Park-1 project.
The move comes in the wake of a resident’s complaint over violations of green norms, including sewer overflow from manholes, across several blocks of Kensington Park-1 in Sector 133. Kensington Park has several independent houses as well as residential towers. Some 19 towers are under construction while 811 plots have been allotted.
Officials said the show-cause notice was issued after an inspection by the NGT-appointed committee, comprising officials of the district administration and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), was held on February 3 and a report was submitted to the tribunal on February 10.
Praveen Kumar, regional officer of UPPCB, said, “During the inspection, it was observed that the project proponent has not maintained arrangements to control dust at the construction site as per the rules. No proper water sprinkling, physical barricading of the area, and other dust mitigation measures were taken into account.”
According to the residents, occupancy was allowed in the project in 2015 before its completion.
“The residents complained that due to lack of proper disposal of domestic effluents generated from their houses, the same overflows through the manholes, causing inconvenience. During the inspection, manholes of the project were observed but overflow was not there,” said Nitin Madan, ADM (administration).
During the inspection, officials said, the developer told the committee members that it would take more than six months to complete the installation and operation of the sewage treatment plant (STP).
“We were informed that as an alternative arrangement, sewage generated from the project is being disposed of through tankers. However, no evidence was given by the project proponent in this regard,” said Kumar.
The complaint, Nishant Bhargava, said that in the past too, he wrote a letter to the CEO of the Noida Authority about the builder failing to provide the necessary amenities. “In September 2022, I approached the NGT after getting no response from the Authority. We, residents, are facing a lot of issues due to the lack of an STP.”
The developer’s representatives could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.