National Green Tribunal
Gauri Maulekhi vs Ministry Of Environment Forest And ... on 22 April, 2022
Author: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Bench: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Item No. 05 (Court No. 1)
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
(By Video Conferencing)
Original Application No. 40/2022
(With report dated 21.04.2022)
Gauri Maulekhi Applicant
Versus
Union of India & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 22.04.2022
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE PROF. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. VIJAY KULKARNI, EXPERT MEMBER
Applicant: Ms. Esha Dutta, Advocate
Respondent(s): Ms. Avnish Ahlawat, Advocate for DAMB
Mr. Narender Pal Singh, Advocate for DPCC
ORDER
1. This application seeks compliance of earlier order of this Tribunal dated 19.05.2021 in Appeal No. 11/2021, Gauri Maulekhi v. MoEF&CC & Anr. By the said order, validity of EC granted by the MoEF&CC for development of Modern Poultry & Egg Market with built up area of 96,629.057 sqm. at B-1 Pocket, adjacent to NH-24 Ghazipur, New Delhi by M/s Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) was examined in the light of orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and Delhi High Court. The Tribunal observed that no Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had been conducted with regard to the slaughtering activities. Accordingly, it was directed that the impugned EC may be revisited and may not be 1 given effect to till an appropriate EIA is conducted. The operative part of the order is reproduced below:-
"1......xxx........................................xxx.................................xxx
2. Principal objection of the appellant against the impugned EC is that the slaughtering of animals and processing of meat cannot be at the same place where marketing is done. In support of this submission, reference has been made to the reports of the sub- Committee dated 05.08.2019 and 04.11.2020 which inspected the site. The sub-Committee was constituted in pursuance of directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Laxmi Narain Modi v. UOI, (2014) 2 SCC 417 (dated 23.8.2012) and (2013) 10 SCC 227 (dated 27.8.2013) to oversee slaughtering of animals consistent with the environmental norms and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules 2000. The recommendations of the said Committees are as follows:-
Dated 05.08.2019 "The Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board may ensure that the traders are only indulging in the trade for which they are being provided the premises i. e. sale of livestock (live poultry & fish). Activities such as illegal slaughter must be prohibited at the premises of the market and must be carried out only in licensed slaughterhouse."
04.11.2020 "The Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board may ensure that the traders are only indulging in the trade for which they are being provided the premises i.e. sale of livestock (live poultry). Activities such as illegal slaughter must be prohibited at the premises of the market and must be carried out only in licensed slaughter house. Violators should be prosecuted in accordance with law."
3. Further, the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 17.02.2017 in Common Cause, A Regd. Society v. Union of India & Ors. W.P. (C) No. 330/2001 directed publication of compendium prepared by the Central Government about standards to be followed for disposal of animal waste and slaughtering.
4. The appellant has also referred to order of the Delhi High Court dated 24.09.2018 in W.P. (C) No. 1214/2018 Gauri Mulekhi vs. Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board, as follows:-
"(...) we have no other option, but to direct that in the area in question namely the Ghazipur Murga Mandi, no slaughtering of birds would be permitted henceforth. The respondents are granted liberty to work out a system to bring into place or establish a proper market in the area after complying with all statutory requirements, particularly the environment and 2 pollution level and on consideration of the same, we would consider the question of permitting operation at slaughterhouse for poultry in the area in question. Till then, we direct that only sale of live birds can be done in the area in question." (Emphasis Supplied)
5. It is further submitted that activity of slaughtering and sell of meat at the same place violates provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 and Regulations of Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. It is pointed out that the project has been considered simply as 'construction project' even though the impugned EC itself mentions that there will be slaughtering which is clear from para 4(a) as follows:-
"viii. About 0.28 TPD of municipal solid waste will be generated in the project. The biodegradable waste (0.14 TPD) will be processed in Organic Waste Converter (OWC) and the non-biodegradable waste (0.14 TPD) will be handed over to authorized local vendor. Solid waste generated from cutting, removal of feathers, legs and neck (approx. 4000 × 4 = 1, 60000kg × 35=560kg) and organic solid waste from domestic (140kg) will power biogas/bio- manure plant (15 TPD) based on NISARGRUNA TECHNOLOGY (BARC TECHNOLOGY)."
6. Last submission is that there is no environment impact assessment of the slaughtering activity, as the evaluation is only of construction activity. The suitability of the site in question, adjacent to Gazipur dump site and impact on hygiene and public health has also not been assessed. The project was required to be appraised as an integral one and not confined to construction alone. Moreover, above Court orders were required to be duly considered.
7. From the impugned order and the proceedings before the EAC, the above issues do not appear to have been addressed. EAC is under obligation to do so in view of judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Hanuman Luxman v. UOI, (2019) 15 SCC 401. Thus, without further adjudication, the grant of EC needs to be revisited. We order accordingly. Till fresh consideration in the light of the above, the impugned EC may not be given effect."
2. In the present application, grievance is that inspite of order of this Tribunal, no EIA has been conducted but the Project Proponent (PP) is proceeding with the construction illegally. Averments in the application are as follows:-
"....xxxx....................................xxxx.....................................xxxx 3
15. As mandated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the aforesaid Judgments, an inspection had been conducted by the said Sub- Committee in the premises of Ghazipur Murga Mandi on 23.09.2021. That it has come to the attention of the Applicant that illegal construction work is being carried out by ACIL under the aegis of the Respondent No.3, purportedly to construct a Poultry slaughterhouse. It further came to light that ACIL had no requisite Environmental Clearances. A copy of the Inspection Report dated 23.09.2021 conducted by State Slaughter House Monitoring Sub- Committee is attached herewith as AnnexureA-5.
16. Despite the aforesaid Order dated 19.05.2021 and the mandate of this Hon'ble Tribunal, ACIL, a construction company, under the guidance of the Respondent No.3, has been indulging in illegal construction work to make an unauthorized Poultry Slaughterhouse without obtaining requisite EC/ permissions .It is a matter of record that the import of the Order dated 19.05.2021 had been that till fresh consideration in light of the issues highlighted therein, the EC could not have been effected and consequently no construction could have been carried out.
17. It is relevant to point out that such a lawless scenario is in existence despite the fact that the Respondent No.1 had been apprised/ requested as far back as May 2021 to ensure compliance of the Order dated 19.05.202 passed by this Hon'ble National Green Tribunal however the same has been to no avail.
18. Consequently, the Applicant had been constrained to send out a Representation to the Respondent Nos. 1 and 4 dated 29.10.2021 [bearing Ref. No.2910/2021] pointing out that the illegal construction work carried out was being carried out by ACIL in Ghazipur Murga Mandi, under the aegis of the Respondent No.3, in the absence of any Environmental Clearance and other requisite permissions, in utter contempt of the Order dated 19.05.2021 passed by this Hon'ble Tribunal. The copy of the Representation to the Respondent Nos.1 and 4 dated 29.10.2021 [bearing Ref. No.2910/2021] is attached herewith as AnnexureA-6."
3. Vide order dated 16.02.2022, the Tribunal issued notice to the PP -
Respondent No. 3, DAMB and the statutory regulator, Respondent No. 4, DPCC and restrained the Respondent No. 3 from going ahead with construction without any requisite operational EC/Consent and directed Respondent No. 4 to enforce this direction.
44. In pursuance of above, the DPCC has filed its response on 21.04.2022 inter-alia stating as follows:
"6. That, a letter was received from DAMB on 08.02.2022 regarding allowing construction activity including operation of RMC Plant and grant of Consent to Establish to Poultry Market, Ghazipur on the basis of re-visit conducted by subcommittee of Expert Appraisal (Infra-2) of MoEF&CC, GOI. In its letter, DAMB attached the copy of visit Report of EAC sub-committee for Re-Examination of Environmental Clearance issued vide letter number 21-91/2020-IA- III dated 05.01.2021 for 'Development of Modern Poultry & Egg Market', copy enclosed as Annexure-3.
7. That, subsequently after receiving of letter dated 08.02.2022 from DAMB, DPCC issued a letters on 17.02.2022 & 22.03.2022 to the MoEF&CC regarding clearance of Revalidation of Environmental Clearance for construction of Modem Poultry Market, Ghazipur, Delhi, so that DPCC may initiate the process of granting CTE & CTO. However, reply from MoEF&CC in this regard is awaited. Copies of the letters dated 17.02.2022 & 22.03.2022 are enclosed herewith as Annexure --4 and 5 respectively.
8. That, DPCC officials have inspected the site on 16.03.2022. During the inspection, no construction activity was observed at the site.
9. That in compliance of the order of this Hon'ble Tribunal dated 16.02.2022, DPCC has sent email on 21.3.2022 to DM (East) and DAMB to comply with the directions in letter and spirit.
10. That further, DPCC has issued a letter to DM (East) on 23.03.2022 for taking appropriate action to ensure compliance of the directions of this Hon'ble Tribunal. Copy of the letter dated 23.03.2022 is enclosed herewith as Annexure-6. In response to the said letter dated 23.03.2022, the office of the DM (East) on 13.04.2022 has informed that the site was inspected by their office and found no construction at Modem Poultry & Egg Market was going on. Copy of the letter dated 13.04.2022 is enclosed herewith as Annexure-7."
5. As against above, the stand taken by the PP - DAMB is that the order of this Tribunal dated 19.5.2021 stands complied as the earlier EC has been revisited. Status report of MoEF&CC has been annexed as Annexure A/3 as follows:-
"5. That in compliance of an order dated 19.05.2021 regarding revisiting the EC dated 05.01.2021, in view of this the answering respondent i.e. MoEF&CC has placed the proposal before the EAC (Infra-2) in its 72nd, 75th, 76th, 78th 5 meeting held on 16.09.2021, 27-28.10.2021, 16.11.2021 and 14-15.12.2021 respectively. The deliberation made during the above mentioned meetings are as follows:
A. 72nd EAC meeting held on 16.09.2021: During the Meeting, the EAC noted that the said project was examined by the Committee in its 57th Meeting held on 25th November, 2020 and granted EC on 05.01.2021. In the aforesaid meeting, the EAC members agreed that the project was appraised only from the view point of a construction project for a market and not a slaughter house. Further, the committee was of the opinion that the EC granted to the project should be withdrawn and fresh application may be submitted by the PP by considering slaughtering activity as well. A copy of Minutes of Meeting is annexed as Annexure-3.
B. 75th EAC meeting held on 27.10.2021 and 28.10.2021: That in continuation of the earlier meeting on 16.09.2021, the EAC (Infra-2) recommended to form a sub-committee consisting of EAC members (Dr. Dipankar Saha, Dr. H.C. Sharatchandra and Dr. V.S. Naidu) along with one representative each from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to carry out site visit and re-examine the EC issued to the project by considering slaughtering activity, before arriving at a decision. A copy of Minutes of Meeting is annexed as Annexure-4.
C. 76th EAC meeting held on 16.11.2021: During the meeting, it was proposed to conduct the site visit by the sub-committee on 25-26.11.2021 (A copy of Minutes of Meeting is annexed as Annexure-5) on the major issues raised in the appeal i.e. i. Slaughtering of animals and processing of meat cannot be at the same place where marketing in done.
ii. The project has not been appraised as an integral one considering the environment impact assessment of slaughtering activity.
In view of this, as decided by the EAC the sub- committee visited the project in question at B-1 Pocket, adjacent to NH-24 Ghazipur, New Delhi on 25.11.2021. During the site visit the committee has made a certain observations:
i) The project site is located in the existing poultry and egg market. However, the construction site was barricaded and separated from the existing facility and maintained in good condition.
ii) The project consists of the following main components:6
a. Livestock Market Block-Trading of live poultry (under construction) b. Processing Unit-Slaughtering (dressing) of poultry (under construction) c. ETP unit-650 KLD capacity (operational since 2013) d. Waste to Energy plant-15 TPD capacity (operational since 2020) iii.The committee observed that the slaughtering activity would be carried out only in the procession unit, which is housed in a separate block. Also, only traders licensed by FSSAI for the said activity would be permitted to carry out the slaughtering. As on date, 55 shops are involved in trade of poultry and about 84 shops are licensed for slaughtering activity. The proposed project after completion will be able to accommodate about 100-120 vendors.
Thus, the centralized facility will improve the environment conditions in the future.
iv) The proposed marked would provide a modern state of the art facility with adequate provision for waste management in compliance to the directions of Hon'ble Delhi High Court Order dated 24.09.2018 in W.P.(C) No. 1214/2018, stated as follows:
"the respondents are granted liberty to work out a system to bring into place or establishing a proper market in the area after complying with all the statutory, requirements, particularly the environment and pollution level, and on consideration of the same we would consider the question of permitting operation at slaughter house for poultry in the area in question."
Discussion on the site visit findings:
i) The EAC sub-committee noted that the slaughtering/ processing of poultry is proposed to be carried out in processing building, which is well separated from the building proposed for marketing trade of live poultry.
ii) The ETP of 625 KLD capacity and WTE plant of 15 TPD capacities were found to be operational at site and were found to be satisfactory. The committee was also of the opinion that in environmental aspects of the project have been considered by the EAC in its 75th meeting held on 25th November, 2020 and specific conditions pertaining to environment management were recommended in the EC issued on 05.01.2021.7
iii) The committee also noted that the said project was appraised for EC under item 8(a) of the EIA notification, 2006 and its subsequent amendments which pertains to building and construction projects with build-up area > 20,000 sqm and <1,50,000 sqm. It was noted that, there is no separate provision under EIA notification, 2006 and its amendments for slaughtering activity. As per the provisions of said notification, the project does not require an EIA report and accordingly the project was appraised on the basis of submitted Form-I, Form-1A and Conceptual Plan.
Recommendation based on the site visit:
Based on the observations made during the site visit and clarifications provided by the project proponent and consultant, the committee was of the opinion that the project is in compliance to the major issues raised in the Hon'ble NGT order dated 19.05.2021 in appeal no. 11/2021. The committee was also of the opinion that the proposed modern poultry and egg market is an integral facility which would greatly improve the existing marked in terms of environment management as well as hygiene and aesthetic condition of the area. As such, committee recommended that the EC granted to the project vide letter no. 21-91/2020-IA-II dated 05.01.2021 has taken into consideration the environmental aspects of animal waste management. A copy of the site visit is annexed as Annexure-6.
D. 78th EAC meeting held on 14-15.12.2021: During the meeting EAC (Infra-2) discussed the report of the site visit conducted by the duly constituted EAC sub-committee during 25-26th November, 2021 to the project location of the Modern Poultry & Egg Market at Ghazipur, Delhi. After detailed discussions held on all issues, the committee expressed concurrence with the findings in the site visit report and recommended it for submission to the Ministry. A copy of Minutes of Meeting is annexed as Annexure-7.
6. It is pertinent to mention that in compliance of order passed by the Hon'ble Tribunal and observations made by the sub committee, it is humbly submitted that the project in question was appraised for EC under item 8(a) of the EIA notification, 2006 and its subsequent amendments which pertains to building construction projects with build-up area > 20,000 sqm and <1,50,000 sqm, as there is no separate provision under EIA notification, 2006 and its amendments for slaughtering activity. Hence, as per the provisions of said notification, the project does not require an EIA report and accordingly the project was appraised on the basis of submitted Form-I, Form-1A and Conceptual Plan.
Further, as per the sub-committee report, it is also submitted that the proposed modern poultry and egg marked is an integrated facility, which would greatly improve the existing market in terms of environmental management as well as hygiene and aesthetic condition of the proposed location.
8In addition, it is submitted that the environmental aspects of animal waste management was also considered by the committee while granting EC to the PP on 05.01.2021."
6. PP has also relied upon deliberation of EAC dated 25-26, November, 2021. Recommendations of the EAC is as follows:-
"5. Recommendation Based on the observations made during the site visit and clarifications provided by the project proponent and consultant, the committee was of the opinion that the project is in compliance to the major issues raised in the Hon'ble NGT order dated 19.05.2021 in appeal no. 11/2021. The committee was also of the opinion that the proposed modern poultry and egg market in terms of environment management as well as hygiene and aesthetic condition of the area. As such, the committee recommended that the EC granted to the project vide letter no. 21-91/2020-IA-III dated 05.01.2021 has taken into consideration the environmental aspects of animal waste management."
7. From the above, it is seen that according to the PP, the EC has been granted after complying with the directions of this Tribunal. It is further stated that the PP has not proceeded further in absence of requisite CTE/CTO which has to be granted by the DPCC, only after EC is produced. Learned Counsel for the Applicant however submits that the EC is not available and if PP proceeds further, the Applicant will be without remedy to take remedies.
8. In view of the stand of the PP and the DPCC that the PP cannot proceed without producing the EC and without requisite CTE and CTO, we are of the opinion that as far as this application is concerned, no further order is required. However, the Applicant is free to take remedies against the EC or consents, if granted. It is made clear that DPCC is at liberty to independently consider the issue of consents, as per law.
9The application is disposed of.
Adarsh Kumar Goel, CP Dinesh Kumar Singh, JM Prof. A. Senthil Vel, EM Dr. Vijay Kulkarni, EM April 22, 2022 Original Application No. 40/2022 A 10