Ambedkar memorial built without green nod: CAG

Under the Environment Protection Act,the UPPCB has to issue a no-objection environmental certificate for special projects after clearance from the State-level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).

The report says that the board gave no-objection certificates for starting five construction projects without getting environment clearance from SEIAA. These projects were Indira Gandhi Pratishthan,the new jail at Mohanlalganj,Dr Rammanohar Lohia Law University,Dr Shakuntala Mishra Punarwas Vishwavidyala and Dr B R Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal.

The state government told CAG in August 2011 that it had later got environment clearance for four projects,except Dr B R Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal. The government said it had been informed by SEIAA that this particular project was not covered under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification,2006.

The CAG report said that the government’s claim was incorrect because it was necessary for the authorities concerned to get clearance from UPPCB for construction on an area less than 20,000 sq m. Dr B R Ambedkar Samajik Parivaratan Sthal was,according to information collected from the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam,built on an area of 8,836.14 sq m.

Further,the report said that the government did not make any comment regarding its decision to start construction work on this project without getting no-objection from UPPCB or SEIAA.

After the formation of the BSP government in May 2007,the then chief minister Mayawati had got most of the Ambedkar memorial,earlier known as Ambedkar park,demolished and large-scale reconstruction was undertaken. A stadium,built at a cost of Rs 100 crore near the park in 1997,was demolished and its land incorporated in the memorial.