The state construction agency,Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam,has applied for Prior Environmental Clearance after completing 80 per cent of the construction of the new Lucknow jail. The norm,however,is that any agency before beginning construction work for project covering over 20,000 square meters should get clearance from state-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forest. The construction work on the Rs 300 crore project spread over one lakh square metres area is going on in full swing. The complex will house three buildings District Jail,Nari Bandi Niketan and Model Jail. Plans are also afoot to hoist the national flag on the occasion of Independence Day and shift inmates of Nari Bandi Niketan and Model jail in the new building. The agency claimed that the new complex will be the biggest jail in Asia. The Nigam has also filed a detail report of the project explaining each and every point of the project like discharge of sewage water,tree plantation,provision for environmental safety,treatment or disposal of solid waste,liquid effluents and others. Apart from seeking clearance,the agency had also submitted Environmental Impact Assessment report an assessment of the possible impact that a proposed project may have on the environment considering natural,social and economic aspects. The director of the State Environment Department,Dr Yashpal Singh confirmed receiving the Nigams application for getting Prior Environment Clearance for the jail project. He added that they would ask the agency to bring photographs of the constructed building during a presentation. V K Bansal,General Manager of the Rajkiya Nirman Nigam,defended the action saying,The work completed so vfar has been according to the rules. We will soon get the prior environmental clearance. Recently,the Allahabad High Court had directed the state government to stop construction of the eight-lane Ganga Expressway from Noida to Ballia until prior environmental clearance was obtained in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and Environmental Protection Rules,1986 that provide for detailed procedures for obtaining clearance. If the construction agency fails to comply with the order and goes ahead with the construction,the environment department can send a report to the Ministry of Environment and Forest and seek action under Environment Protection Act,1986. GETTING PRIOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCESTEP 1:Before starting construction work,the agency files a report of its project to State-level Expert Appraisal Committee for getting Prior Environmental Clearance STEP 2:The agency is then called for presentation of the project before the committee comprising nine members nominated by Government of India. The nine members include retired or present experts from National Botanical Research Institute,Pollution Control Board,Industrial Toxicology Research Centre and others STEP 3:After the committee approves the project,the report is forwarded to three-member State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority. This committee goes through all details of the project again and after getting fully satisfied gives prior environmental clearance (The idea behind getting approval from the two committees is to cross-examine details of the project twice)
