Kolkata: The All India Institute of Professional medical Sciences (AIIMS) in West Bengal’s Kalyani, which Key Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to dedicate to the nation on Sunday, is allegedly working without having an environmental clearance (EC), officials of the condition air pollution manage board said on Saturday.
In accordance to the recommendations of the Union ministry of surroundings, forest and weather improve (MoEFCC), any project much larger than 20,000 sqm needs to consider a prior environmental clearance.
“The development company, which is making the AIIMS at Kalyani, 1st utilized to the Condition Atmosphere Influence Assessment Authority (SEIAA) on Oct 6, 2022, as a result of the Centre’s Parivesh portal. The application was beneath the ‘violation’ category as the building system had by now started in advance of the application was made,” Kalyan Rudra, chairman of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), stated on Saturday.
“We can’t challenge EC to AIIMS Kalyani at this stage. The Supreme Court docket has recently issued two orders associated to projects which have used for EC below the violator class on the Parivesh portal. Our hands are tied,” Rudra informed media folks.
On Sunday, PM Modi is scheduled to almost dedicate to the nation 5 new AIIMS at Rajkot, Rae Bareli, Bathinda, Mangalagiri and Kalyani to cater to the super speciality and tertiary health care care.
AIIMS authorities could not be contacted. Calls and messages to Dr Ramji Singh, the govt director of AIIMS Kalyani, went unanswered.
On Oct 19, next the MoEFCC and Supreme Court’s guidelines, the State Amount Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) imposed an environmental effects destruction expense and a penalty of Rs.15 crore.
“As the challenge cost was all-around Rs.1000 crore, an environmental affect damage expense of .5% was imposed. A penalty of 1% was also imposed. They (AIIMS Kalyani authorities) were being requested to deposit a total quantity of Rs.15.1 crore,” Rudra mentioned.
Nevertheless, AIIMS Kalyani used for an exemption, contending that it was a health and fitness facility and for that reason, did not need an environmental clearance. “In September 2023, they used for an exemption to the SEIAA, and as it was a huge undertaking, the SEIAA requested for an impression from the MoEFCC, to which the ministry reported that getting an EC was mandatory”, explained Rudra.
The Supreme Courtroom on January 2, 2024, and February 2, 2024, passed two orders in which it stayed an workplace memorandum of the MoEFCC issued in May perhaps 2022, which authorized assignments to apply in the violation group.
“Hence, at this stage, following the apex court’s orders, we cannot problem any environmental clearance to AIIMS Kalyani or for that make a difference to any other project applied under the violator classification. There are at minimum 25 other projects throughout West Bengal which have been hit since of the apex court’s orders. The arms of all state pollution command boards are tied now,” extra Rudra.
