Noida statues: ministry sends report to Maya

The Environment and Forests Ministry on Saturday sent a status report on violation of environmental norms at a statue complex being constructed by the Uttar Pradesh government near Atta Market in Noida. The report is based on inspection by a team from the ministry on Friday.

A team found that 6,000 trees had been razed for the construction and that the state government had given a go-ahead to the project without the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment. Post-probe,the ministry has prepared a report on the project,which reportedly costs more than Rs 180 crore.

“Our field visit has found that there have been violations connected to the Forest Conservation Act and Environmental Impact Assessment for the Noida complex,” Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday. “This is very unfortunate but we are not autocratic; we will work within a federal structure.

“We have sent the report to the UP government and we want their response — we want to hear what they have to say.”