Can issue new construction permits till Oct 23: BMC
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can now issue new construction permits till October 23, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday. The SC will also hear the case on construction ban in the city on October 23.
“The SC has given an extension till October 23 for issuing new building construction permit in the city,” said a press note issued by BMC on Wednesday.
The BMC had stopped issuing permission to new constructions from September 16 as the SC order providing a six-month-relief and lifting a two-year-moratorium on new constructions in the city imposed by the Bombay high court had ended. In 2016, the HC had banned any new construction in Mumbai owing to illegal dumping of debris in the city’s landfills.
Wednesday’s order has
brought relief for the real estate market ahead of Diwali. “The order is a welcome relief for the housing industry in Mumbai. Real estate developers and other stakeholders will get breathing space not only for identification of new dumping sites, but also for complying with the requirements stated by the SC,” said Rajesh Prajapati, P R Committee Chairman, CREDAI- the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI).
The SC had lifted the construction ban for six months in March with riders. One of the main conditions was that no construction-related debris would be carried to the Deonar or Mulund dumping grounds and it would be ensured that they are disposed in a specified manner. The SC’S March order had also mandated that builders will be permitted to start construction only after undertaking proper disposal of debris as part of the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) and submitting a bank guarantee of an amount between ₹5 lakh and ₹50 lakh. The onus of finding sites for dumping debris was on the developers.
Developers who now have a one-month breather, however, expressed concerns about find ing land parcels. “We are trying to identify land where we can dump construction debris. It is a difficult process as we don’t have lot of options,” said Prajapati.