Latest news with #KSatyagopal
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NGT takes cognisance of illegal beach buildings on Tamil Nadu's Karikattukuppam beach
CHENNAI: The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of illegal building constructions violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules at Old Karikattukuppam beach in Chengalpattu. The tribunal issued notices to departments concerned, seeking an action taken report by June 17. Based on a report by TNIE, the bench, comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal, sharply criticised the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) for failing to exercise its authority under the CRZ Notification and Environment Protection Act to curb these unauthorised constructions. Justice Sathyanarayana noted the NGT's Western Bench had ordered demolitions in a similar case. Satyagopal pointed out that the coastal management authority's current member secretary, AR Rahul Nadh, had previously served as Chengalpattu collector, where CRZ violations have persisted for years without meaningful action. In April, TNIE reported how land sharks were encroaching upon Chengalpattu's beaches, prompting the Mamallapuram Local Planning Authority to issue notices confirming CRZ violations. These notices mandated restoration of the site to its original state through demolition or alteration within 15 days of receipt. Non-compliance would lead to authorities undertaking demolition, with costs recovered from property owners, and the premises could be locked and sealed. The notices also required halting the use of the buildings within the same period.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NGT takes cognisance of illegal beach buildings on Tamil Nadu's c
CHENNAI: The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of illegal building constructions violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules at Old Karikattukuppam beach in Chengalpattu. The tribunal issued notices to departments concerned, seeking an action taken report by June 17. Based on a report by TNIE, the bench, comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal, sharply criticised the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) for failing to exercise its authority under the CRZ Notification and Environment Protection Act to curb these unauthorised constructions. Justice Sathyanarayana noted the NGT's Western Bench had ordered demolitions in a similar case. Satyagopal pointed out that the coastal management authority's current member secretary, AR Rahul Nadh, had previously served as Chengalpattu collector, where CRZ violations have persisted for years without meaningful action. In April, TNIE reported how land sharks were encroaching upon Chengalpattu's beaches, prompting the Mamallapuram Local Planning Authority to issue notices confirming CRZ violations. These notices mandated restoration of the site to its original state through demolition or alteration within 15 days of receipt. Non-compliance would lead to authorities undertaking demolition, with costs recovered from property owners, and the premises could be locked and sealed. The notices also required halting the use of the buildings within the same period.
New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Thermal plants can't change coal source sans green nod: NGT
CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has quashed key office memorandums (OMs) issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which had allowed thermal power plants to change their coal sources without obtaining a fresh environmental clearance. The bench, comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal, observed that OMs created de facto exemptions from statutory requirements and were issued without public consultation or scientific assessment. 'The OMs are issued without any scientific study or in fact assessment. The legal character of the OMs is administrative but their effect is legislative, creating de facto exemptions from legal mandates,' the bench stated. The tribunal found the exemptions inconsistent with Regulation 7(2) of the EIA Notification, 2006, which mandates prior environmental clearance if any change in raw material mix leads to increased pollution load. It warned that allowing unchecked transitions between coal sources, especially from imported to domestic coal or vice versa, could raise emission. The ministry defended the move as a procedural streamlining effort to promote domestic coal, but the NGT ruled that environmental concerns must not be compromised for operational flexibility.
