The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped a fine of Rs 45 crore on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for causing environmental damage in three villages in Haryana while constructing a part of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
The NGT order, passed on February 13, came in response to a petition filed by a resident of Hajipur village in Gurugram district, who alleged that NHAI had filled up a pond and cut hundreds of trees in Kiranj village in Nuh district, and also violated environmental laws in Paroli village in Palwal district.
The NGT bench of Justices Prakash Shrivastava and Sudhir Agarwal directed NHAI to deposit the environmental compensation with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) within three months. The bench also said that if NHAI fails to pay the fine, it will have to restore the damaged pond, pasture land, and drains to their original condition, under the supervision of the Chief Secretary of Haryana.
The NGT further said that if NHAI pays the environmental compensation, it will be used for the restoration and rejuvenation of the environment. A joint committee will prepare a plan for this within three months of the deposit, and the amount will be utilized within six months thereafter.
The NGT also asked the Chief Secretary of Haryana and the Member Secretary of the HSPCB to submit a compliance report to the tribunal by November 15, 2024.
The petition was filed by Prem Mohan Gour, who claimed that NHAI had encroached upon a water body and other violations at Kiranj village in Nuh district, where a pond surrounded by a large number of trees was filled up to construct the NH-148NA, a six-lane access-controlled highway from DND Maharani Bagh to Junction to near KMP Expressway with NH148N Delhi-Vadodara Expressway.
The petition also alleged that NHAI had executed the project in blatant violation of environmental laws within a stretch of about 3.5 kms of length falling in three villages namely Paroli, Hajipur, and Kiranj. The petitioner said that NHAI had cut 241 trees without permission at Hajipur village, and a large number of trees on private land in Kiranj village without paying compensation.
The NGT order said that NHAI had acted illegally by covering even some part of the pond land and raising construction over it, and that such violations were not in the public interest and public welfare. The order also said that NHAI had flouted the fundamental rights of the people by violating the environmental laws, and that NHAI should have been more careful and watchful in such cases.
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