SANGRUR, May 2 -- The Punjab pollution control board (PPCB) has cancelled the consent to establish (NOC) granted to Shree Punjab Cement Plant to establish a grinding unit over 47.82 acres of land in Deh Kalan village of Sangrur, following the Supreme Court's order. The board, in a letter, also directed Shree Punjab Cement to identify an alternative site for the project after obtaining all requisite approvals. The PPCB letter, a copy of which is with HT, follows a February 13 judgment by the apex court that quashed the project's land-use clearances. "In view of the above facts, the industry is hereby directed not to undertake any development or construction activity related to the project at village Deh Kalan, Tehsil & District Sangrur in reference to the consent to establish (NOC) dated 14.12.2021, which stands set aside by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and cancelled by the Punjab Pollution Control Board. The industry is advised to identify some other alternative suitable site for the establishment of the project after obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals and concurrences from the concerned departments, including mandatory consent to establish from the Punjab Pollution Control Board," the letter, dated April 28, said. The case was filed by a 93-year-old local resident, Harbinder Singh Sekhon and others. The top court, in its ruling, said that it was necessary to underscore, in clear terms, the constitutional balance that must govern questions of development and environmental protection. "Economic development and industrial growth are legitimate and important objectives of the state. However, in a constitutional framework founded on the rule of law, development is not an abstract or absolute goal. The Constitution does not permit a trade-off where civilian life and health are exposed to foreseeable harm on the assumption that economic benefit or industrial facilitation justifies such exposure. Articles 14 and 21 do not tolerate a regulatory calculus that treats environmental safety as negotiable," it stated. "Equally important is the recognition that environmental harm, once caused, is often irreversible or incapable of full remediation. Public health consequences, degradation of air quality and long-term ecological damage can't be undone by subsequent regulatory correction," the court added. The department of housing and urban development had also withdrawn the project's CLU on March 20....