No consent certificate needed: KSPCB chief
However, the KSPCB in its defence said that they did not issue any instructions to Bescom to cut power.
Bengaluru: After facing criticism from apartment owners, who lashed out at the state pollution control board for violating the union environment ministry's guidelines that prohibit the requirement of consent certificate to set up waste processing units for buildings less than 1,50,000 sqft, KSPCB Chairman Lakshman called for a meeting and clarified that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change guidelines of 2016 have to be implemented in the state through a formal notification from the Urban Development Department.
The meeting was attended by KSPCB officers from regional centres and representatives from the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) and Vaishnavi Rathnam apartment.
Vaishnavi Rathnam apartment was issued a show-cause notice for its failure to obtain the consent certificate from KSPCB for setting up the unit. The notice warned that power supply to the apartment would be disconnected if the consent certificate is not obtained. However, the KSPCB in its defence said that they did not issue any instructions to Bescom to cut power.
“We are not sure how Bescom came up with an official letter citing KSPCB instructions to disconnect power to the apartment," the chairman said. However, he said that a letter from KSPCB has already been sent to Bescom to restore power supply to the apartment.
The BAF will now engage with the Urban Development Department to sort out the issue of consent mechanism.