The National Green Tribunal (NGT) announced that it had imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (Gmada) due to its failure to comply with the directives issued by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) concerning a matter linked to its ambitious housing project in Mohali. Additionally, Gmada disclosed its decision to halt further construction activities and refrain from allowing new residents to occupy the premises.

The NGT pointed out that Gmada had not furnished a satisfactory response to the show-cause notice issued by the SEIAA regarding the failure to adhere to environmental clearance regulations at the Purab Premium Apartments (PPA) project in Sector 88, Mohali.

Furthermore, Gmada neglected to initiate the process for establishing a sewage treatment plant (STP) within the residential housing project. The SEIAA had instructed Gmada to seek consent to operate, as mandated by the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, within a seven-day period. However, the authority failed to procure such consent.

The SEIAA had also directed Gmada to comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, regarding the management and disposal of solid waste. These directives were issued subsequent to the previous hearing held at the National Green Tribunal.

The enforcement action followed a visit to the site by a joint committee comprising PPCB engineers Ravdeep Singh, G D Garg, SEIAA executive engineer Rantej Singh, Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain, and SDM Chandrajyoti Singh on November 1, 2023. During the visit, the committee members interacted with Rakesh Kumar, SDO of Gmada, as well as Parwinder Singh, complainant, Kuldeep Singh, S K Loona, and other residents of the colony. The team identified numerous discrepancies at the Purab Premium Apartments and instructed Gmada to rectify them and provide a report to the joint team. However, Gmada has failed to comply with these instructions to date.