The National Green Tribunal (NGT) levied ₹1 lakh penalty on Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for issuing a building permit to MRF in Thiruvottiyur without proper checks.
MRF has been asked to pay ₹12 lakh for violating green laws.MRF had proposed to construct a tyre testing unit and warehouse adjacent to its factory.
As this is close to the shoreline, it warrants Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearance. Since CMDA did not insist on it before approving the building permit, it is equally liable for the damages caused to the environment, said justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Satyagopal Korlapati.
“Concerned officials have to be more vigilant in ensuring that permission is not granted in CRZ areas without clearance,” the tribunal said, directing the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to conduct an enquiry with a CMDA official to arrive at the final penalty amount of not less than ₹1 lakh.
After Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) intervention, CMDA revoked the building permission. However, MRF went ahead with construction work for 232 days. Therefore, the joint-committee, constituted by NGT to look into the complaints filed by the petitioner, a local fisherman KR Selvaraj Kumar, asked the company to pay ₹12 lakh.
Subsequently, the manufacturer got the CRZ clearance and CMDA restored the approval ratifying the construction carried out in the premises. So, the tribunal said that MRF’s activities can’t be held illegal now.
Also, from now on, SCZMA has been directed to examine proposals submitted before them and make necessary recommendations either to SEIAA of union environment ministry instead of granting CRZ clearances at their level.