CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday issued a notice to Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited and formed an expert committee to probe alleged environmental pollution caused at the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary.
The green bench, comprising Justice K Ramakrishnan, Judicial Member, and Saibal Dasgupta, Expert Member, has directed the expert committee to look into the proposed expansion plan of Sun Pharma and its compliance under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, besides Air and Water Acts.
Officials from the Regional Office of the Union Environment Ministry, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and wildlife wing of the state forest department will be part of the committee, which has been mandated to submit the report before the next date of hearing scheduled on September 1.
The order was passed following a petition filed by Meenava Thanthai Nala Sangam based on The New Indian Express article dated June 14, which highlighted how the outer 2 km of Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, which the forest department proposed to denotify, was systematically being taken over by industries and real-estate sharks in violation of environmental norms leading to irreversible damage to the critical wetland ecosystem. Many agricultural wells and lakes were contaminated and abandoned by farmers in villages adjacent to Sun Pharma.
The petitioner said Sun Pharma acquired the land in the year 1999 and started its manufacturing activities in the year 2000 without obtaining prior environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 1994. The petitioner also charged TNPCB with not advising Sun Pharma to seek environmental clearance while issuing the Consent to Operate (CTO).
As per a circular issued by the Union Environment Ministry on January 15, 2008, the State Pollution Control Boards were advised not to grant/extend/revalidate NOC/CTE without advising the proponent to seek environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006 for projects listed in the EIA Notification, 1994 and now also listed under the EIA Notification, 2006 even if they have acquired the land before January 1994.
Sun Pharma has claimed that its manufacturing unit in Sathammai village in Maduranthakam, located 3.72 km from Vedanthangal lake, has all the requisite permissions to operate. The tribunal has asked the expert committee to check whether the environmental clearances and consent obtained by Sun Pharma were in compliance with the statutory norms.