Conflicting orders on CLU, HC asks CS to make clear
Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, January 23
The appropriate hand of the Punjab Authorities doesn’t know what the left is doing, apparently. Practically 5 months after the change of land use granted to a cement manufacturing facility allegedly towards Sangrur’s sanctioned grasp plan got here underneath the judicial scanner, the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Courtroom was instructed that the state’s environmental wing had declined permission, however was granted by one other wing.
Paying attention to the 2 stands, a Division Bench of the excessive courtroom has now requested the state by the Chief Secretary to make clear the problem.
As a bunch of two petitions got here up for listening to earlier than the Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, the counsel for the petitioners submitted that the environmental wing had declined to grant permission for the related function to the respondent-cement manufacturing facility.
The counsel additional submitted that the permission had, nevertheless, been granted to the entity by one other wing. As such, reverse stands have been taken by completely different wings of the state. The Bench was additionally instructed that the choice to say no permission by the environmental wing was to prevail or take pleasure in priority over the permission granted to the economic unit involved.
Senior advocate Anand Chhibbar on the respondent-entity’s behalf, however, submitted that the priority was to be assigned to the permission granted. “Due to this fact, the State of Punjab, by its Chief Secretary, is directed to make clear, which among the many two rival departments, enjoys powers to grant the requisite permission,” the Bench added, whereas fixing February 17 because the deadline.
The excessive courtroom, on September 20, 2022, had stayed the laying down of “any infrastructure for the cement manufacturing facility”. The path got here after the Bench was instructed all efforts have been now being made for laying down the required infrastructure to make the manufacturing facility operational at a fast tempo.
This, senior advocate RS Bains with counsel Aarushi Garg submitted, was pursuant to the permission being granted for establishing of the cement manufacturing facility — a purple class trade in a purely agricultural zone.
The matter was dropped at the courtroom’s discover by a nonagenarian and 6 residents. Amongst different issues, they have been looking for instructions for quashing the permission for the CLU. Of their petition, Harbinder Singh Sekhon, 90, and different petitioners contended that the CLU dated December 13, 2021, granted by the Punjab Bureau of Funding Promotion (PBIP) to the respondent-cement manufacturing facility was patently unlawful and “incorrect in nature” because it was towards the sanctioned grasp plan.
In addition to this, it was additionally towards the rules laid down by the Punjab Air pollution Management Board. The petitioners within the different case have been represented by Arjun Pratap Atma Ram and Dhiraj Jindal.
The case
The state’s environmental wing had declined permission to a cement unit in Sangrur, but it surely was granted by the Punjab Bureau of Funding Promotion