The two giant generators that power the Big Bazaar outlet in Metropolitan Building. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

The Big Bazaar outlet in Metropolitan Building is being powered illegally by two giant diesel generators, forcing the residents to live amidst noise and air pollution.

The mega mart, which opened in the Chowringhee mansion on May 20, is yet to get an electricity connection from CESC. The entire power demand of the 40,000-sq-ft mart — 550 KVA during peak hours, according to sources — is met by the generators.

According to government rules, one has to take the state pollution control board’s permission to run a generator of capacity 15 KVA or more. Big Bazaar — the “capacity of each of its generators is 725 KVA” — has not even applied for the permission.

When contacted by Metro, Sandip Marwar of Big Bazaar claimed “we have the requisite permission” to run the generators. But he later passed the buck to the developer, when asked to show a copy of the permission letter: “It is the developer’s responsibility to arrange for the permission.”

Biswadeep Gupta of Eden Realty, which has developed the store, admitted that the generators were being run without the board’s nod. “We have been taken for a ride by a consultant, who had promised to get us the necessary permission from the board. But today, we came to know that the application has not yet been submitted. We will apply for the consent shortly,” added Gupta.

“This is a gross violation of rules. I will look into the matter,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, the chief law officer in the environment department and member-secretary of the state-level noise monitoring committee.

Gupta said both generators are “noise-free” and emission-free”, a claim contested by the 20-odd families living in Metropolitan Building. “It’s a lie. One of the sets is fitted with some kind of a noise-proof system, but it’s the other that is mostly run late at night,” said a resident.

“The generators start operating around 8.30am and continue till midnight. On weekends, they run even longer. The sound is deafening and there is so much of toxic fume all around that we can’t open the windows,” said a resident. “They have been running the generators from long before the unveiling, while the interiors were being done.”

Another resident expressed the fear that the constant vibration caused by the generators will damage the 100-year-old structure that is already riddled with cracks. “Our initial hope that this was a temporary nuisance has been belied. It’s difficult to believe that such a huge store is run only on generators.”