Permission to carry on the construction which has been prohibited due to the Mumbai dumping ground concerns

Background

On the 26th and 29th of February 2016, the High Court of Mumbai had ordered that development permissions/IOD shall not be granted for building proposals submitted from 1st March 2016. This order was passed to remediate the shortage of dumping space in Mumbai at Mulund and Deonar. The said directive is to hold until a waste treatment capacity for handling the waste received at these dumping grounds is aptly created as per the necessary regulatory standards.

Intent

• Provide an interim relief to the Housing Sector.
• Provide interim relief with reference to the financial loans obtained the developers and builders. Content

• The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, has identified 10 new sites to handle construction debris.
• New IODs/Construction Permissions shall be granted against the condition that the construction debris generated, shall be transported and deposited in specific site inspected and approved by the Municipal Corporation.
• The landfill site shall be governed by the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016
• The Municipal Corporation shall ensure that the criteria “for development of facilities at the sanitary land-fills” shall be applied to the landfill sites as specified in paragraph (B) of Schedule I to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016
• The Municipal Corporation shall not permit any construction whether in respect of pre-existing IOD or fresh IOD unless it has first located a landfill site (besides Deonar and Mulund) and has obtained ‘No Objection Certification’ or consent of the land owner that such debris may be deposited on that particular site. This IOD/permission will stand valid only so long as the identified land-fill sites are operational as per the above mentioned rules.
• A monitoring committee shall be setup to monitor compliance with the above.
• This order shall be valid for a period of six months from the date of the order.

Open Questions

• This interim relief will result in an increased quantum of the domestic waste produced in the city proportional to the square footage of the IODs/permissions granted during the six month relief period. The said order only captures conditions for handling construction debris. It does not connect the granting of the Occupation Certificate against the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation or the Developers to create capacity to handle domestic waste increased post the occupation of the said construction activity.