more-in Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will not issue new construction permits till it receives directions from the Supreme Court. The apex court had lifted a ban on new construction in the city after developers promised to streamline the dumping of debris for six months, and the deadline ended on September 16. Therefore, the BMC will submit a compliance report before the court and seek further directions. In 2016, the Bombay High Court had banned any new construction in Mumbai due to tonnes of debris being illegally dumped at the city’s landfills. But in March this year, the SC lifted the ban for six months, with riders. One of the main conditions was that no construction-related debris would be carried to the Deonar or Mulund dumping grounds. The other was the addition of a condition in construction permits that stated debris would be disposed of in a specified manner. Compliance report The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry filed a Special Leave Petition against the High Court order in the SC. A Division Bench of the SC, comprising Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao, while passing the temporary relief order, had directed the BMC to submit a compliance report at the end of six months. The BMC submitted before the SC that 10 sites had been identified and inspected by the HC-appointed monitoring committee, and the owners of those sites had granted no objection certificates for dumping debris there. The court suggested that the BMC add this as one of the conditions in the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD), the first construction permit. The court also directed the BMC to ensure regular inspection of the construction and the landfill site. Developers were supposed to dump debris at the designated spots only. In the six months following the lifting of the ban, the BMC received 319 proposals for IOD, of which 222 have been approved. It has completed site inspection for the Occupation Certificate (OC), or last construction permit, for 224 out of 300 sites. It has also issued 229 OCs in the six months, indicating the spurt in real estate after the construction ban was lifted. During this period, of the 160 construction sites that generated debris, the BMC noticed irregularities in dumping and issued show cause notices to 30 of them. The 10 dumping sites identified by the BMC earlier got an addition of five. Of the 15, 11 are filled to capacity. “We will apprise the court of all the measures taken in the past six months and also say that no debris is being dumped at our dumping grounds. The developers’ association has to come up with new dumping sites. Right now, the existing ones seem to be sufficient,” said Vishwas Shankarwar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Solid Waste Management. Mixed response Developers have expressed mixed reactions to the BMC’s decision to wait for the SC’s directions. While some say the move will help the city in the long run, others say it will create uncertainty in the market. “It is up to the BMC to address this issue in the interest of development in the island city. Although the ban had created a lot of curiosity among buyers, construction workers and developers, the SC’s initiative is remarkable as it will not only help enhance the standard of living but also help us live a greener life,” said Rohit Poddar, MD, Poddar Housing and Development Ltd. Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, said the BMC’s refusal to give approvals for new projects, “comes at a time when there is uncertainty owing to the SC directions for debris management in new projects approved over the past six months.” If the BMC’s affidavit is convincing, the SC might extend the relief period by six months, and the BMC will begin its approval process. “In the meantime, there will be some uncertainty in the market.” Rajesh Prajapati, PR committee chairman, CREDAI-Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), said, “We are confident of getting relief once the BMC shares data with the SC. However, stopping all new constructions in the city may be counter-productive for customers and will hit the corporation’s revenues.” Asked about the need for new debris dumping sites, he said CREDAI-MCHI is in the process of ‘finalising plans’ in the matter. “However, if the State and the corporation provide a pre-designated space for debris dumping, we shall share this information with all our developer members according to their requirements. We are positive that our members will comply with the specified rules. Our members have paid big sums as fees at various stages of approval and expect support from the State and the MCGM.” Dhaval Ajmera, director, Ajmera Group, is more direct. “Because of the lack of important clearances at the BMC’s end, project completion is getting delayed. Builders are losing money each day. There is need for a transition policy to accommodate developers who are at near closure of their projects,” he said.

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