Centre flouted environment clearance criteria: AAP
New Delhi, June 27: The AAP on Wednesday accused the Central government of flouting all the basic environmental clearance criteria for its redevelopment plans for south Delhi, and demanded scrapping or at least reconsideration of the project.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told the media that a public hearing on the project was also not done which is otherwise mandatory by law for such a big project.
Bharadwaj showed documents related to the project in which the date of the public hearing for the Redevelopment of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) Colony at Sarojini Nagar was "January 1, 1900, whereas the date of submission for the environment clearance was November 28, 2017".
Bharadwaj took a dig at the Central government for mentioning the date of the public hearing as January 1, 1900, saying it "must have been held in past life".
"The projects are only called residential accommodation but a major part of it will be for commercial use, which includes a trade centre and a parking space for 86,000 cars."
He said that the clearance for the projects was given by the Union Environment Ministry on June 12, despite the fact that the Central Ground Water Authority has written that the "ground water level of the area is over exploited".
"Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan is lying. It was his ministry that gave the clearance without looking into the traffic plan for the area and checking the impact of tree cutting on the air quality of the area which is already severe.
"There is no mention anywhere in the Environment Impact Assessment of the impact on the environment," said Bharadwaj.
In Sarojini Nagar, 11,000 trees were to be cut for the redevelopment project, whereas a total of 16,500 tree were to be cut for similar projects in south Delhi.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Devendra Fadnavis plays video of Islamic scholar at Pune rally, harps on 'vote jihad'
Pune, Nov 16: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis continued to raise the pitch on "vote jihad" by playing a video of Islamic scholar Sajjad Nomani at a poll rally in Pune's Bhosari area on Saturday.
It is being said that a person who votes for the BJP must be ostracised, Fadnavis claimed.
"If these people are trying to do vote jihad, if they are saying they will destabilise the government through vote jihad, then you will also have to do dharmayudh of votes," Fadnavis said.
"If these people dream that they will come to power with the help of votes from one community in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, then you will also have to come to the battlefield," he said in a swipe at the MVA.
