NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a stay on penalty of `139.85 crore imposed on two Bengaluru-based firms by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for illegal and unauthorised construction in the vicinity of the Agara lake in the city.
The NGT had imposed `117.35 crore and `22.5 crore as damages on Mantri Tech Zone Pvt Ltd and Coremind Software and Services Pvt Ltd respectively for degrading the environment.
A Vacation Bench consisting of Justice A K Sikri and Justice U U Lalit, besides staying the levy of fines, asked the Tribunal to decide the pleas on merits.
Senior counsels Gopal Subramanium and Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of the companies, said that they did not get a proper hearing and that the NGT had considered the arguments on its merits.
“It has been submitted that the Tribunal has allowed construction only on payment of aforesaid penalty. We leave it open to the Tribunal to decide it,” the Bench ,while disposing of pleas of Mantri Tech Zone Pvt Ltd and Coremind Software and Services Pvt Ltd.
The Tribunal had also directed the Centre to stop sanctioning any venture on wetlands and catchment areas of water bodies in the city. And the NGT had termed the project proponents intentional defaulters and constituted a Committee to make a survey of the ecologically sensitive area on the land between Bellandur and Agara lakes, in Bengaluru.