No final clearance for projects in Najafgarh drain area: NGT

In a blow to industrial projects located in the Najafgarh drain basin area here, the National Green Tribunal has directed the Centre not to grant any final clearance for any project there.
The tribunal's order came on a plea, alleging that the region is critically polluted and as per the environment ministry's two office memorandums of January 2010 and September 2013, there was a restriction on consideration of development work at heavily polluted places.
In view of the two office memorandums which impose a moratorium on projects in the area, which include Anand Parbat, Naraina, Okhla and Wazirpur Industrial clusters, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the ministry or State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority, whichever is the competent authority, not to grant any final environment clearance for projects located there.

"The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)/ State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) shall not grant any final Environmental Clearance for project located at the Najafgarh drain Basin in accordance with its own office memorandum (OM) of January 13, 2010 and in view of the OM of September 17, 2013," the bench said.
As per the 2010 OM, the MoEF had imposed temporary restrictions (moratorium) on consideration of development projects in clusters or areas having a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) score of over 70 as these are considered to be critically polluted, the petition said.
The ministry prescribes that applications for EC received from development projects in such areas shall be returned to the project proponents, the petition filed by Delhi resident Mahendra Pandey said.

This moratorium which was to initially remain in force only till August 2010 was extended until further orders by the 2013 OM of the MoEF as the CEPI score of the area was above 70, the plea filed through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal said.