More Green Hurdles for bigger projects fear builders
Maharashtra environment department’s January 30 circular has raised concerns among builders that they may have to face even more red tape and delay in procuring green clearances for large building projects.
The new circular stipulates that builders must now mandatorily get their projects approved by the BMC first and only then approach the environment department for clearance.
Currently, the developers have been submitting their plans to the BMC and environment department simultaneously. But, as per the new rule, the builders see a further delay in the approvals of the project as according to the developers, it takes an average 12-36 months for environmental clearances in the Mumbai metropolitan region. According to an estimate, project proposals for around 1,000 buildings are awaiting approvals in this region.
In the current scenario, it is mandatory that the state-level expert appraisal committees (SEACs) and state-level environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA) approve any construction with a built-up area of more than 20,000 sq m.
As per local architect, Manoj Daisaria “At present, environmental clearance and obtaining the preliminary permissions from the BMC are done at the same time by the developer, thus saving time. But the new circular will delay work by a further 6-9 months”.
The Environment secretary, Mr. R A Rajeev, who signed the circular is however of the other opinion. He said that the local planning authority does not primarily scrutinize the building plans placed for environment clearance. As per the circular, “Under the circumstances, it’s difficult to understand the proposed concessions in the building plans, which must be verified and certified by the competent authority. This is of utmost importance as these things are required in deciding the location of environmental infrastructure like sewage treatment plant, tree plantation space, pollution control mechanism in parking slots, etc. This is also required in calculating the gross pollution load of the project”.
Stating that many developers change their building plans several times, Rajeev further justified his decision. The circular said, “For every such amendment in building plans, the developer has to amend the prior environment clearance, and for this he has to approach the SEAC/SEIAA again and again. This delays construction projects and also piles up pendency before SEAC/SEIAA.”
Developer Sunil Mantri says, ”Environmental permissions take a long time anyway. Many a time the department insists not to start the project, causing great hardship to us as well as the consumer.”
BMC, Green, Manoj Daisaria, Mr. R A Rajeev, SEAC, SEIAA, state-level environment impact assessment authority, state-level expert appraisal committees, Sunil Mantri
