Fines worth Rs 1.56 crore imposed on polluters, L&T and govt contractor among penalised

So far, the Noida Authority has issued penalties worth Rs 48 lakh on offenders in line with the guidelines of the GRAP (Representative image)

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Saturday slapped fines worth Rs 1.56 crore on those violating GRAP III norms across Noida and Greater Noida, with those penalised for pollution including construction major L&T and a government contractor, officials said.

A major fine of Rs 50 lakh each was imposed on private group housing projects Renox in Greater Noida Sector 10 and Roseberry in Noida Sector 43 and Dreamtech Electronics in Greater Noida, according to an official statement. Penalties of Rs 50,000 each were slapped in 11 other cases of violation of anti-pollution guidelines including those by L&T and a contractor of the Noida Authority, the statement added.

"In view of the seriousness of pollution in the district, in order to take effective action, I myself inspected the situation at various under-construction sites along with officials of the police and the administration. Today, penalties totaling Rs 1.56 crore were imposed," District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma posted on X in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M on Saturday said his department is enforcing compliance of GRAP III guidelines and non-essential construction has been banned, stressing that penal action is being taken against those violating the anti-pollution norms.

So far, the Noida Authority has issued penalties worth Rs 48 lakh on offenders in line with the guidelines of the GRAP, implemented by the Centre's anti-pollution body Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR.

The authority is taking various measures to control dust in Noida, Lokesh said, accompanied by DM Verma as both the officers participated in the launch of the first-of-its-kind workshop of the traditional South Indian medical system "Varmam", organised by the Vision Mission Foundation.

"We have already started a campaign to clean main roads, arterial and sub-arterial roads. A schedule has been fixed for it and senior managers have been told to complete the cleaning work as per the schedule. All anti-smog guns and sprinklers with the Noida Authority are continuously working," Lokesh told.