Tannuka Juneja
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed a fine of Rs 33.75 crore on Kumar Urban Development Pvt Ltd (KUDPL) and Rs 2 crore on Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for environmental damages and environmental violation at the “Kumar City” project site in Wadgaon Sheri.
On May 13, a four-member bench headed by NGT Chairman Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel prevented the project developer (KUDPL) from conducting any construction on the project land “unless and until requisite statutory NOCs, consent and clearances are obtained from the respective competent authority in accordance with law”.
Lawyer Nitin Munot, representing the claimant, told Times Of India, “The PMC was sanctioned for not acting against the violations and not supporting the project.”
The green court ordered KUDPL to pay Rs 33.75 crore as environmental compensation and Rs 2 crore to the PMC to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) within three months. “The above amount shall be spent for remediation and restoration of environmental damage in the area in question,” the bench said.
The project has come up over a 1.63 lakh sq m area. It involves three residential schemes: ‘Kumar Kruti’, ‘Saffronia’ and ‘Cerebrum’, besides a commercial mall on a plot, which according to the applicant, was marked for amenity space.
