‘Follow norms in building police HQ’

Patna: Environment and forest department has written a strong letter to the police headquarters complaining that its new building under construction on Bailey Road is not following certain parameters pertaining to environment. The department has requested the DGP to ensure adherence to the norms, otherwise it would be forced to stop the construction work.
A senior official of the environment and forest department told TOI that any building having the carpet area of more than 20,000 sq metre, either under construction or to be constructed, requires the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority’s clearance.
The letter further mentioned that the persons entrusted with the task of constructing the police headquarters building have failed to comply with the provisions laid down in the Environment Protection Act. Pollution conditions such as dust control and soundproof are not being adhered to, besides uncontrolled use of groundwater taking place and trees are not adequately being planted. A forest department official said the letter has been written in public interest. The department has asked the police headquarters to sort out the issue at a meeting with the authority’s chairman R C Sinha at the latter’s office on July 15.
A senior police official said the police headquarters has already informed the forest department officials that the new building is constructed by the Bihar state building construction department and that they have nothing to do with it.
The building construction department, on its part, has assigned the construction work to Ahluwalia Construction Company. It is, in fact, the task of the construction company and its engineers to abide by the environment protection rules. Forest department sources said they had also raised such objections when the construction work of the new museum and international conference hall had started.