Bhubaneswar: The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has now ordered a joint inspection of the private unit at the Jajpur Logistic Hub— which was under the lens— for alleged violation of environmental laws and working without adequate approvals.
In a recent order of the green tribunal, it has asked the district administration, forest department and other officials from the state government to undertake a joint inspection. The court has directed that the team needs to find out the truth behind the plea made by the petitioners about the violation of the guidelines and submit a report to the NGT within a fixed time period.
The tribunal, in its order said, “We direct the District Collector, Jajpur, the Divisional Forest Officer, Jajpur and the Odisha Pollution Control Board to jointly inspect the area in question, verify the factual position from the site and submit a report. The Odisha Pollution Control Board shall be the nodal agency for coordinating and for providing logistic support.”
The court also directed the team of high level officials to submit an ‘action taken’ report by the team on the alleged erring unit which is said to be flouting the established norms in its operation in the Logistic Hub. The tribunal also added, “If the allegations are found to be correct, appropriate action may be instituted against the firm in accordance with law. Action taken report in this regard shall also be filed.”
The applicant, in this case, had alleged that constructions for development of a logistics hub— for handling of material in relation to adjoining industries— by the said firm on a forest land in the Dasamania Mouza in the Manitira region of Jajpur district was undertaken without approval as required under Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
It also alleged that consent to operate have not been obtained under the Air and the Water Acts and no environmental clearance has been obtained under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. Extraction of ground water without any approval of the concerned department has also been alleged.
The lawyer from the petitioner’s side, Shankar Prasad Pani said, “We pleaded before the NGT to direct demolition of the structures like boundary wall, electric polls and transformers installed on forest land. We also pleaded to impose exemplary penalty for violating environmental laws. We also requested for criminal proceedings against the errant unit and also to create plantation over the said land to bring back green cover on the land in question.”