The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered an interim stay on felling of trees by the Auroville Foundation.
It has also directed that status quo be maintained till December 17, in the interest of protecting the environment.
The application was filed by Navroz Kersasp Mody and Sandeep Vinod Sarah, residents of Auroville, against the ongoing illegal clearing of forests in Auroville by the Auroville Foundation for the construction of a ring road named ‘Crown Road’.
Impact assessment
The applicants submitted that no feasibility impact assessment study or even a detailed project report had been prepared for the chosen alignment for the construction of the proposed road.
The Foundation arbitrarily commissioned the project and earthmovers were employed in clearing forests, demolishing structures at great speed, the applicants said.
The case relates to Auroville Foundation developing a township on the basis of a master plan that was not approved by any authority.
The applicants, Navroz Kersasp Mody and Sandeep Vinod Sarah, residents of Auroville, moved the Tribunal stating that the Foundation had done some construction work alone, but now had proposed to cut a large number of trees under the guise of providing a ring road named ‘Crown Road’.
The applicants said if these trees were allowed to be cut without obtaining necessary permission, it would have a great impact on the environment.
The applicants moved the Tribunal seeking a direction to the Foundation to prepare a detailed development plan, including a mobility plan that was based on and respects the present day ground realities, to be approved as mandated in the master plan. It should implement the project based on such plan after necessary impact assessment and feasibility studies in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The applicants further submitted that though certain objections were raised before the authorities, no action was being taken. “Considering the urgency of the matter, we feel that an ex-parte interim order will have to be passed, as, if no interim order is passed then it is likely to cause greater damage to the environment,” the Bench said.
The Tamil Nadu government submitted that it had no interest in the matter and though part of the area was within Tamil Nadu, the area where activities were going on was exclusively in the possession of Auroville Foundation.
The Bench ordered notice to Auroville Foundation to file its response or objection to the allegations during the next hearing.
A copy of the application was also directed to be provided to the Department of Environment, Tamil Nadu, for its information and getting its stand on the matter.
Activists write to Stalin
Meanwhile, 12 individuals and activists, including Vasanthi Devi, former Chairperson, State Commission for Women, retired Justice D. Hariparanthaman, retired IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam, have written to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu and Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu urging them to take note of the developments in Auroville seriously and intervene with the Union government to ensure that decisions about Auroville are taken in consultation with the residents of Auroville and with the State government.
They pointed out that the Auroville Foundation controlled 2,500 acres in Tamil Nadu but did not have even one representative of the State or local government, or even the local elected representative.
The master plan of Auroville has to be in line with the overall development plans for the region and State and cannot be seen in isolation and in line with the infrastructural vision, aspirations of villages that is set amidst and the cultural ethos of Tamil Nadu. “The open threats, caught on video camera, issued by Tamil Nadu police to deport the very residents that make this township international are deplorable,” they said.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, residents of Auroville staged a silent protest as the Auroville Foundation resumed work the Crown (Right of Way) project.
