Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday rejected a review petition filed by the Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI), seeking to lift the ban on new construction projects in the city. The ban was imposed on these new projects owing to inadequate waste disposal facilities and no possibility for BMC to establish new solid waste management within the stipulated time frame.
A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Chandrakant Bhadang dismissed the review petition filed by MCHI seeking to vacate the stay, observing that as per affidavit filed by the municipal corporation, BMC was nowhere close to complying with the court order for providing waste disposal facilities in keeping with pollution norms in the city.
The high court in its February 2016 order had imposed a ban, beginning March 1, on new construction projects in Mumbai. The ban was imposed as the BMC was unable to set up waste disposal facilities in the city, which was in compliance with pollution rules and Municipal Solid Waste Rules of 2000. The state and BMC assured the court that by 2019, they would ensure setting up of facilities to scientifically treat solid waste at dumping grounds. However, the court noted that so far, nothing had been done
on the two proposed dumping sites in Mulund and Taloja.
The court said that there was encroachment on one site and on the other, a dispute was underway between the state and central government so there was no possibility that BMC would meet the deadline. With these observations, the bench said that there was no case made out to modify the order banning new construction.
MCHI had moved the court saying builders were not heard before the ban. The court’s attention was drawn to the new Municipal Solid waste Rules enacted in 2016 that gave civic bodies more time to implement pollution control measures at waste disposal facilities.
It was also claimed that 1,000 metric tonnes of construction and debris waste generated daily was not dumped at either Deonar or Mulund dumping grounds.
