CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will not monitor residential building projects whose built-up area is less than 1.5 lakh square metres, according to sources in the State Environment and Forest department.
This comes after the TNPCB is to be empowered to monitor conditions set in environmental clearance issued by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
Sources said that as per norms, residential projects having up to 1.5 lakh square metres’ built-up area have to get environmental clearance from local authorities and a Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change notification says, ‘No consent to Establish and Operate under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981’ will be required from the State Pollution Control Board. Sources said TNPCB has sought remarks from State Housing and Urban Development department in this regard. Meanwhile, TNPCB will not monitor environmental clearances for mining of minor minerals, and Coastal Regulation Zone clearance.
This comes after more than thousands of files that have been cleared by the SEIAA and the District Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) have been pending with the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change here.
It is learnt that the MOEF has written to the State Environment department to identify suitable agency to monitor stipulated conditions while issuing environmental clearance.
Interestingly, as per the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006, there is no provision for the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to monitor the EIA conditions. Its primary duty is to conduct public hearing and forward the proceedings to the regulatory authority within 45 days of a request from the project proponent.
Sources indicated that TNPCB has agreed to monitor projects falling under Schedule-I of the EIA notification, 2006 as amended except mining activity of minor minerals and sand mining for which CRZ clearances have been issued.
It is learnt that a permanent member of the TNPCB in the rank of chief environment engineer or additional chief environmental engineer will be posted in the SEIAA to represent the views of the TNPCB while granting environmental clearance to projects as suggested by the Central Pollution Control Board in February 2, 2017.