CWG Village shouldn't have got green nod, says Jairam (Mall Today 08 January 2011)

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday expressed regret over the construction of the Commonwealth Games Village on the ecologically-sensitive Yamuna bank. He also added that the Akshardham Temple near the Village did not have environmental clearance.
File photo of Jairam Ramesh.
"The Games Village should not have been given clearance. It stands right on the riverbed," Ramesh said after launching the updated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2011.
The multi-crore Village was accorded clearance in 2007 by the Prime Minister, who held the charge of the environment ministry then. The clearance was upheld by the Supreme Court.
The temple, inaugurated in 2005, had courted controversy earlier, with activists approaching the SC over its location.
The temple had not obtained clearance as it was built before 2004, when the ministry's permission was not mandatory.
"We can't demolish the structures," Ramesh admitted.
But he said the ministry was exploring the concept of a River Regulation Zone notification to prevent future destruction of the riverbed.
Environment groups dubbed Ramesh's statement as a "publicity gimmick". "It is nothing more than a publicity stunt," said Manoj Misra, convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan. The group is campaigning for the protection of the riverbed in 'Gandhi giri' style by sending anticipatory thank you messages to senior government officials for removing constructions on the bank. "If the minister means what he says, let him order the demolition (of structures)," Misra said.
Earlier, while releasing the CRZ notification 2011, Ramesh had bluntly said the public must accept the reality of power plants, including nuclear projects, in coastal areas.
"We are yet to come up with a power plant that hangs in the air. Until we achieve that technology, projects have to be located in coastal or denuded areas," he said.
The CRZ 2011, an improvement on CRZ 1991, will not condone the violations made under the previous notification.