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| Patnitop: Hotels violate pollution norms, ruin fragile environment | | Officials ignore HC order to file status report about illegal, unauthorized constructions at health resort | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 17: A complaint has been lodged against renowned hotels at Patnitop for violating the pollution norms and posing a threat to the fragile environment of the famous health resort.
According to the details available with Early Times the complainant has written to Member Secretary J&K Pollution Control Board, and alleged that a few renowned hotels at Patnitop are violating norms and action should be initiated against their owners for ruining environment of the area.
One of the hotels according to the complainant, Harcharan Singh, is using an under capacity Sewerage Treatment Plant (non-functional), which was installed against the norms and guidelines of the J&K Pollution Control Board.
He has alleged that as a result of the under capacity STP waste water and garbage are being thrown in the adjoining land and in the septic tank of adjoining hotel and in the area having green vegetation which has led to the entire area getting polluted and destroyed.
The complaint states that the hotel in question comprises of 50 rooms and has six floors whereas, the owner of the said hotel had the permission to construct only three floors.
He has alleged that the permission was also obtained through illegal means and even an FIR No.32/2016 in this regard was registered by the Vigilance Organization, J&K, Jammu against the said hotelier.
The complainant has alleged that the owner of the aforesaid hotel has utilized 100% of the plot area for construction of the building, due to which, there is no soakage pit or even any other source to somehow take care of the waste water coming out of the said hotel.
He has claimed that the officials of the Pollution Control Board had visited Patnitop area but they didn’t enter the hotel in question for the reasons best known to them.
The complainant has alleged that the officials of J&K Pollution Control Board, Udhampur are aware about all the defaulters/violators, who are violating the rules and norms laid down by the PCB with impunity but no action has been initiated against them till date.
The complainant has also mentioned names of few more renowned hotels at Patnitop in his complaint and has demanded stern action against their owners for violating pollution norms.
The complainant has alleged that many hotels having 50 rooms are running without a STP whereas according to the norms properties having more than 19 rooms should have the STP in place.
It’s in place to mention here a PIL was filed in Jammu and Kashmir High Court at Jammu i.e. PIL No:22/2018 titled "Harcharan Singh vs. State of J&K and others", where in an order dated 11.11.2020 was passed and direction had been issued to the Department of Environment and Forest to take action against the illegal and unauthorized constructions and to file the status report within a period of six weeks from the said order but nothing of the sort has been done so far, which is otherwise a clear cut contempt of the above said order passed by the J&K High Court. |
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