Nod for wind turbines near homes, school to be probed

Credit: Aug 3, 2024, timesofindia.indiatimes.com ~~

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The Gujarat high court on Friday directed the chairman of the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) to inquiry into the permission granted and installation of windmills within 500 metres of a primary school and dwelling units in a Bhavnagar village.

A public interest litigation (PIL) has challenged the construction of wind turbines near a primary school and houses in a wind park developed by KP Energy Pvt Ltd in Sakhvadar, Khanderi, and Sartanpar villages of Talaja taluka in Bhavnagar.

The HC had ordered an inquiry in February.

The report revealed that one wind turbine had been constructed within the prohibited 500-metre zone of a primary school and another one near houses. The company argued that such construction is permissible within 500 metres of a public institution.

This led the bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi to take exception to the company’s contention. “It is not acceptable to us that a primary school can be included in the category of public institution to permit the developer to install a windmill within a 500-metre distance. In our opinion, the health, safety, and security of children studying in the primary school would be as necessary as in the case of dwelling units,” the court said.

After perusing the inspection report, the court observed that the district collector’s affidavit was silent on certain aspects, though the violation of the 2016 guidelines by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy about keeping distance in putting up windmills from human habitation was noted immediately after the court order during spot inspection.

The court has also said how GEDA, being the state’s nodal agency in granting permission for the installation of wind parks, granted permission for the construction of wind turbines near the school and houses in this particular case, and what measures have been taken to rectify the situation after the violation was reported.

The CJ remarked that different agencies involved in this were playing the game of see-saw and tried to take the court on a ride.

Source: Aug 3, 2024, timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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