<p>The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has rejected the application of Nitesh Urban Development Pvt Ltd for environmental clearance to its residential apartment project at Bhoganahalli village in Bengaluru South taluk.<br /><br />The developer wants to construct apartments in two parcels of land on a total plot area of 44,880.93 square metres. The SEIAA’s rejection came on October 12.<br /><br />“We refused the environmental clearance because the land where the project has been proposed is lake land. Bengaluru has been witnessing flash floods lately. If such projects are cleared, the chances of flooding will only rise,” Ramachandra, member secretary, SEIAA, told DH.<br /><br />According to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, environmental clearance is mandatory for any large housing and infrastructure project. <br /><br />The developer wants to construct apartments with lower and upper basements, a ground floor and 13 floors and a stair headroom with 297 units each in two parcels of land in survey numbers 22, 23/1, 23/2, 24, 25/2, 26/1f, 26/2, 27, 28, 29/1, 29/2, 29/3 and 29/4 at Bhoganahalli.<br /><br />At the meeting, SEIAA members also noted that the proposed site is in a low-lying area that would be prone to inundation. Therefore, the construction of such a large residential complex will be unsuitable, they stressed. <br /><br />The minutes of the meeting, a copy of which has been seen by DH, mention that the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), too, had taken note of the ambiguity regarding the Bhoganahalli waterbody in Survey No 29 at its meeting on February 27, 2017.<br /><br />The SEIAA noted that section 14 (2) of the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) Act, 2014, bans construction on any lakebed. Both the SEIAA and the SEAC feared the construction would affect the buffer area as the company’s proposal does not show any other approach road to the project site. The SEIAA also stated that the land belongs to the gram panchayat and as per the Supreme Court orders of January 28, 2011, in civil appeal number 1132/2011, the land should be restored to the panchayat for the common use of villagers (locals). <br /><br />On February 23 this year, the SEIAA had refused to give environmental clearance to 28 developers/companies that had been seeking it since 2014. Among the companies were Mantri Techzone Private Limited and Coremind Software and Services Private Limited.<br /><br />DH News Service</p>
<p>The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has rejected the application of Nitesh Urban Development Pvt Ltd for environmental clearance to its residential apartment project at Bhoganahalli village in Bengaluru South taluk.<br /><br />The developer wants to construct apartments in two parcels of land on a total plot area of 44,880.93 square metres. The SEIAA’s rejection came on October 12.<br /><br />“We refused the environmental clearance because the land where the project has been proposed is lake land. Bengaluru has been witnessing flash floods lately. If such projects are cleared, the chances of flooding will only rise,” Ramachandra, member secretary, SEIAA, told DH.<br /><br />According to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, environmental clearance is mandatory for any large housing and infrastructure project. <br /><br />The developer wants to construct apartments with lower and upper basements, a ground floor and 13 floors and a stair headroom with 297 units each in two parcels of land in survey numbers 22, 23/1, 23/2, 24, 25/2, 26/1f, 26/2, 27, 28, 29/1, 29/2, 29/3 and 29/4 at Bhoganahalli.<br /><br />At the meeting, SEIAA members also noted that the proposed site is in a low-lying area that would be prone to inundation. Therefore, the construction of such a large residential complex will be unsuitable, they stressed. <br /><br />The minutes of the meeting, a copy of which has been seen by DH, mention that the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), too, had taken note of the ambiguity regarding the Bhoganahalli waterbody in Survey No 29 at its meeting on February 27, 2017.<br /><br />The SEIAA noted that section 14 (2) of the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) Act, 2014, bans construction on any lakebed. Both the SEIAA and the SEAC feared the construction would affect the buffer area as the company’s proposal does not show any other approach road to the project site. The SEIAA also stated that the land belongs to the gram panchayat and as per the Supreme Court orders of January 28, 2011, in civil appeal number 1132/2011, the land should be restored to the panchayat for the common use of villagers (locals). <br /><br />On February 23 this year, the SEIAA had refused to give environmental clearance to 28 developers/companies that had been seeking it since 2014. Among the companies were Mantri Techzone Private Limited and Coremind Software and Services Private Limited.<br /><br />DH News Service</p>