Calcutta High Court on Monday hurled the rule book at the Publishers and Booksellers Guild and all agencies involved in the preparatory work for Book Fair 2008 on Park Circus Maidan.

Holding the fair at the venue, observed the division bench, would violate the Environmental Protection Act 1986, Noise (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000, Air (Prevention and Control) Act 1981, and also Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution.

Metro decodes the dramatic development...

Environmental Protection Act 1986: The purpose of the act is to protect nature from air, water and sound pollution for the greater benefit of the citizens of India.

The act allows the court to restrain anyone or any establishment from causing harm to the environment and award punishment for violation.

The Book Fair on Park Circus Maidan — spread over 5.75 lakh square feet and 550 stalls — would be in violation of the basic tenets of the Environmental Act. It would mutilate the maidan, kick up a dust storm with an estimated footfall of over 12 lakh, add to the foul air with smoke emission from thousands of vehicles, cause noise pollution with microphones within shouting distance of educational institutions and medical centres.

“A significant spurt in both air and noise pollution would have been unavoidable during the fair,” said environment activist Subhas Dutta.

Noise (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000: The act aims to safeguard citizens from noise pollution, defined as sound above 65 decibel in commercial zones. In silence zones — hospitals, educational institutions and courts — no open-air loudspeakers are allowed.

Adjoining the proposed Book Fair site are Don Bosco Park Circus, Mahadevi Birla Girls High School and Lady Brabourne College, Chittaranjan and Islamia hospitals. The Book Fair would not have been held without blaring microphones and honking cars, violating all noise norms.

Air (Prevention and Control) Act 1981: The purpose of the act is to check air pollution and allow citizens to breathe easy.

According to an ongoing air pollution study by the state pollution control board (PCB) near Lady Brabourne College, both RPM (respirable particulate matter) and nitrogen oxide are “extremely high” in the area on any given weekday.

The Book Fair would have caused both the RPM and nitrogen oxide counts to shoot up due to overcrowding. Residents and students would have been hit hard.

Article 21 of the Constitution: This deals with the right of people to live in a pollution-free environment.

The court felt that this Article would have been violated because Book Fair 2008 would have harmed the environment in various ways if it was allowed at Park Circus.

“This is a significant observation, as it upholds the basic right of Calcuttans to live in a healthy environment,” said Dutta.

Article 14 of the Constitution: This refers to a citizen’s right to freedom of movement. Something that would be been severely hampered had the Book Fair been held at Park Circus.

“The Book Fair would have crippled traffic in an already congested area. This would have affected the movement of residents, schoolchildren and even emergency services,” said Kalyan Saha, the secretary of Darga Road Citizens’ Committee.

No wonder, top cops in Calcutta heaved a (silent) sigh of relief on Monday when the court said no to the Book Fair on Park Circus Maidan.

Where should the Book Fair be held? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com