http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_govt-woos-mayawati-says-noida-project-does-not-violate-law_1374526
Govt woos Mayawati, says Noida project does not violate law Rakesh Bhatnagar / DNAFriday, April 23, 2010 2:35 IST New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s dream of dedicating a 50-hectare public park to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar seems to be coming true. In an attempt to woo the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, who only a day earlier accused the Congress-led UPA government of framing false and politically motivated cases against her through CBI, the Centre said on Thursday the controversial park project was not in a reserved forest area. The inauguration of the park was stayed by the Supreme Court (SC) a year ago after concerned residents accused the Mayawati government of denuding greenery to put up concrete structures (statues of Dalit leaders). The ministry of forest and environment said the park was neither recorded as forest, nor was it deemed forest. Additional solicitor general Indira Jaising told a bench of chief justice KG Balakrishnan and justices SH Kapadia and Aftab Alam that it was actually an urban tree park, thus construction in the area does not attract provisions of the Forest Conservation Act. The bench asked the Centre to inform it about the steps to be taken for afforestation of the area. It will hear the case in July. The court-appointed central empowered committee’s counsel Harish Salve said even if it was accepted that 6,000 trees were cut to set up the concrete park and it was not part of a natural forest, the Centre could have undertaken environment impact assessment (EIA) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. He said trees were a part of the afforestation financed by tax-payers. Petitioner Ravi Kant’s lawyer Jayant Bhushan said 6,000 trees were cut in secrecy by first constructing boundary walls and then putting up high shields, thereby hiding all activities in the park from the public. When Bhushan said the court should not pass an order allowing the state government to go ahead with the completion of the park, CJI asked him if he was suggesting dismantling the Rs350-crore project. To this, the lawyer asserted that the park should be done away with and trees replanted. The government said constructions on 20,000 sq m or more areas alone attracted the EIA notification, 2006. Jaising said the project area of the park was 33.43 hectares, including the built-up area of 9,542 sq m. She said since the total plot area was less than 50 hectares and the built-up area less than 20,000 sq m, the Noida Park Project was not covered under the EIA notification. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
