[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been ordered to furnish a performance guarantee of Rs 1 crore and Gammon India Ltd and Hindustan Construction Company Ltd performance guarantees of Rs 2 crore each to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for repeatedly failing to follow environmental norms in the construction of the four-lane highway between Udhampur and Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir.
Directing all three bodies to furnish the amounts within two weeks, a panel of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) headed by Chairperson Justice A K Goel, Judicial Members Justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan and Expert Member Dr Nagin Ananda in their order on July 11, 2019 expressed regret that despite an earlier order of February 12, 2019 directing Gammond India Ltd and Hindustan Construction Company to pay interim compensation of Rs 1 crore each and to furnish a performance guarantee of the same amount to the CPCB, the two companies had defaulted in their payment and had been found by the state pollution control board to be environmentally non-compliant with improperly maintained dumping sites.
Warning that the performance guarantees would be forfeited if there was any further default in maintaining environmental norms, the NGT order said: “In view of repeated failures and the track record of deficiencies …, we require M/s Gammon India Ltd. as well as M/s Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. to furnish further performance guarantee in the sum of Rs 2 crores each to the satisfaction of the CPCB within two weeks. The NHAI may also furnish a performance guarantee in the sum of Rs 1 crore to the satisfaction of CPCB within two weeks.”
