| File Note: |
It is submitted that the project proponent has proposed to set up a warehouse project in the revue estates of Village Ramnagar, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala. The total land area of the project is 126 bigha 8 biswa 4 biswasi (10,78,130 sq ft) and with the proposed built up area of 6,46,998 sq.ft.
Accordingly, the Project Proponent has applied for obtaining Consent to Establish (NOC) under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981 under red category i.e. 1063 and above in the name and style of M/s KRMP Developers LLP, Village Ramnagar, Banur Tepla Road, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala.
The establishment has submitted that the project is to be established in an Area of 126 bigha 8 biswa 4 biswasi (10,78,130 sq ft) for which, the PP has obtained land use pattern from District Town and Country, Planning vide its memo no. 100 dated 15/01/2024, as per which, the site falls in the revenue estate of Village Ramnagar, Banur Tepla Road, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala. The site falls in agriculture zone as notified Master Plan of Rajpura. Hence, as per the unified zoning regulation 2018, the site is permissible for establishment of warehouse project.
The project proponent has deposited Rs. 84000/- as NOC fees vide online receipt no. 421486837 dated 05.07.2024 against the proposed value of the project @ 7297.0 lakhs, which is adequate for one year.
Accordingly, the unit was visited by the AEE of this office on 03.07.2024 and it was observed as under:
1. The establishment is a warehouse project and was found in under construction.
2. The site is situated on the Banur Tepla Road.
3. No Village / Phirni, Lal Lakir, MC limit and Residential area was observed within the 100 mtr radius of the site.
4. The project proponent has provided boundary wall around the premises.
5. The civil work has been completed upto 40% and the proposed shed is also constructed upto 50%.
6. The project proponent has also provided internal movement roads at the site.
7. The establishment has proposed to provide septic tank for treatment of its entire wastewater @ 4.8 KLD and the treated effluent will be discharge onto land for plantation.
8. The source of water supply is the own submersible pump.
9. The establishment has also provided 1 no. DG set of capacity 500 KVA, which is equipped with canopy and stack of adequate height.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change vide Notification no. F.No. 19-131/2019-IA-III (E 128798) dated 04.10.2022 has issued clarification regarding exemption of warehouses projects having built up area less than 1,50000 sqm. (Copy enclosed as Annexure-A)
The same has been clarified again by MoEF&CC vides its letter no. F.No. IA3-19/109/2023-IA.II dated 04.03.2024, which is reproduced as under. (Copy enclosed as Annexure-B)
"The matter was examined in the Ministry. It is to inform that the OM dated 04.10.2022 is self-explanatory and it may be inferred that the standalone industrial sheds (buildings/warehouses/sheds) having the built-up area less than 1,50,000 sqm are exempted from the requirement of prior Environmental Clearance under EIA notification, 2006 as amended subject to strict compliance of 'Guidelines for Buildings and Construction Projects to ensure Sustainable Environment Management' issued vide Ministry's OM dated 09.06.2015."
Now, MoEF&CC vide its office memorandum dated 30.04.2024 has circulated copy of orders dated 06.03.2024 passed by Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in WP (C) No. 3097 of 2016 in the matter titled One Earth One Life vs. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change & Anr., for compliance. Copy of the same is enclosed herewith. The matter was discussed during 293rd meeting of SEIAA held on 09.05.2024, wherein SEIAA observed that Hon'ble High Court of Kerala vide its order dated 06.03.2024 passed in WP (C) No. 3097 of 2016 has quashed MoEF&CC notification dated 22.12.2014 vide which industrial shed, school, college and hostel for educational institution have been exempted from the purview of EIA Notification, 2006, requiring prior Environment Clearance.
But, in this case the PP had already started the construction work of the proposed warehouse on 03.02.2024 after obtaining "In Principle Approval from the District Nodal Agency under subsection (3) of section 10 of the Punjab Right to Business Act, 2020 on 16th Jan. 2024 for a period of THREE YEARS AND SIX MONTHS as per THE PUNJAB RIGHT TO BUSINESS ACT, 2020 notified by Govt. of Punjab on 06.02.2020 to provide for ease of doing business for the newly incorporated Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises willing to setup new MSME unit.
The undertaking submitted by the project proponent in above regard is pasted below for ready reference. (Signed copy enclosed as Annexure-C)
I, Gaurav Aggarwal, partner, KRMP Developers LLP, having my office at 1st Floor, SCO-28, Zirakpur, Punjab-140603 do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as follows:
1. That our company has received In Principle Approval from the District Nodal Agency under subsection (3) of section 10 of the Punjab Right to Business Act, 2020.
Approval Date: 16th January 2024
Approval Duration: Three years and six months from the date of issuance
2. That the above approval includes various permissions required to initiate the warehouse construction project. Consequently, we commenced construction activities in January 2024.
3. That we would like to bring to your attention the new notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF) on 20.03.2024. According to this notification, projects with a built-up area of more than 20,000 square meters are required to obtain Environmental Clearance. However, this notification will be applicable from the date of its issuance and will not have retrospective effects. We commenced construction well before this date, after obtaining the necessary permissions from the state government.
4. That our project is exempted from obtaining Environmental Clearance as we started the construction activities well before the date of the new MOEF notification.
5. That given our project commenced prior to the issuance of the new MOEF notification, we respectfully request the Punjab Pollution Control Board to grant the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for our warehouse construction project at the earliest.
6. That enclosed herewith are proofs of various activities regarding the commencement of construction to substantiate our request.
I declare that the statements made above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Further, the project proponent has also submitted documentary evidence to verify that the construction work of the proposed project was started well before the date of notification dated 30.04.2024 of the MoEF, which is as under: (Copies enclosed Annexure-D)
Line of Activity of Construction
1. Start of project after acquiring the land: 14.08.2023
2. Receipt of Form IV from Invest Punjab: 16.01.2024
3. Application of construction loan & its disbursement: 31.01.2024
4. Civil construction work start: 03.02.2024
5. PEB work start: 01.04.2024
Further, a legal opinion has also been taken from Senior Law Officer of the Board in the case of similar warehouse unit regarding applicability of EIA notification dated 14.09.2006 to the projects which have started construction activity before MOEF notification dated 30.04.2024, same is reproduce as under:
"Upon examination it is observed that the office Memorandum dated 04.10.2022 issued by the MoEF&CC is self explanatory wherein complete facts have been provided. The word industrial shed mentioned in notification S.O. 3252 (E) dated 22.12.2014 implied buildings. Warehouse, shed (Whether RCC or other wise), which are used for housing machinery of industrial units and or storage of raw material and finished goods and industrial products including but not limited to industrial and factory made products, irrespective of the location and proximity of the industrial shed viz-a-viz any industry. Only the industrial shed having ≥ 1,50,000 sqr mtrs of built up area were required to obtain prior EC under item 8 (b) of the schedule appended to EIA notification 2006 irrespective of the type of industry / utility it houses and otherwise the industrial shed were exempted from the purview of EIA notification 2006.
2. However, the notification dated 22-12-2014 of the MOEFand CC has been quashed by the Hon'ble High Court of kerala Vide order dated 06.03.2024 passed in WP (C) No. 3097 of 2016 in the matter titled as one Earth one Life v/s The MOEF and CC. The MoEF&CC vide office memorandum dated 30.4.2024, has informed all the state Environment Impact Assessment Authorities about the quashing of the Notification, dated 22.12.2014 by the Hon'ble Court of Kerala.
3. In view of the above facts, the exemption available to the Projects in lieu of Notification dated 22.12.2014 of the MOEF and CC Came to end as on 30.4.2024 when the order dated 06-03-2024 of the High Court of Kerala (Quashing of notification 22.12.2014) has been brought to the notice of all the State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities across the Country, by the MOEF&CC vide Office Memorandum No. F.No. 3-85-2016-1A-III [E-81594] dated 30.04.2024.
4. The perusal of note and the record available on file "Confirms the fact that the Project Proponent in the present Case has obtained Certificate of In Principle Approval from the District Nodal Agency (Deputy Commissioner, Patiala) on 26.12.2023 under the provisions of the Punjab Right to Business Act 2020. The In Principle Approval Certificate is Valid for a period of three years and Six months from the date of its issuance i.e. from 26.12.2023 to 25.6.2027. During the Course of validity of the Certificate of In Principle Approval, the Project Proponent shall apply and obtain all applicable regular approval from the concerned departments through of the single window system of Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP).
5. The Project has accordingly been approved by the District Town Planner, Patiala vide Letter no. 2563, DTP (P)/RTB-1/dated 26.12.2023. Relevant approvals will be given by the departments in lieu of the Certificate of In Principal Approval dated 26.12.2023,
6. As on the date of Issuance of the Certificate of In Principle Approval on 26.12.2023, the Project was exempted from the purview of EIA Notification dated 14.09.2006, hence in my opinion, the project is not Required to obtain the Environmental clearance under the provisions of the EIA Notification dated 14.09.2006. Had the In Principle Approval given by the District Nodal Agency after 30.04.2024, then the Project would have been liable to obtain EC under the EIA Notification dated 14.09.2006.
7. In view of the above recorded facts, I am of the opinion that the Board may grant Consent to Establish (NOC) from Pollution angle under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to the Project Proponent with Suitable Conditions, if the guidelines of PPCB are being fulfilled"". (Copy enclosed as Annexure E)
Therefore, due to above said facts and legal opinion given by SLO of the Board, the project proponent does not require to obtain prior Environment Clearance under EIA Notification dated 14.09.2006 as the project proponent has already started its construction work on 03.02.2024, when the MoEF&CC notification dated 04.10.2022 was applicable/operative. If, the project proponent had not started the construction of warehouse before 30.04.2024 (i.e. issuance of MoEF notification dated 30.04.2024), then the project proponent was required to obtain prior Environment Clearance and for that reason this is also not a violation case of EIA notification dated 14.09.2006.
Further, as per the report of District Town Planner, Patiala and observations made by the visiting officer on 03.07.2024, the site of the warehouse is found complying with the general siting guidelines, hence, the site is suitable for establishment of warehouse project.
The proponent has also submitted a copy of building plan approved by the Competent Person under Factories Act, 1948.
In view of the above mentioned facts, it is recommended that consent to establish (NOC) under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 may be granted for one year for discharge of domestic effluent @ 4.8 KLD onto land for plantation/irrigation with suitable conditions and following special conditions: .
i. The promoter shall not generate and discharge any kind of trade effluent and shall discharge only domestic effluent onto land for plantation.
ii. The project proponent shall not dispose off its wastewater into any borewell / nallah / choe or any unauthorized mode of disposal at any time.
iii. The promoter shall not import or store any kind of hazardous waste.
iv. The promoter shall not allow any washing or servicing activity of commercial vehicles in the premises of the warehouse.
v. The project proponent shall not undertake any industrial or manufacturing activity within the premises, except storage of goods.
vi. The project proponent will comply with the any orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India / High Courts regarding applicability of EIA notification dated 14.09.2006 as issued from time to time.
vii. The warehouse project shall be limited to storage of industrial raw material and finished products only. |
