26 March 2018

SUPREME COURT PROVIDES DIRECTION | RESOLVES DUMPING OF CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS ISSUE IN MUMBAI

 Redevelopment projects in Mumbai were stalled following the directions of the Bombay High Court (BHC) pursuant to its order dated 26 February 2016. BHC had passed its order after noting that more than half of the solid waste generated in the city of Bombay were dumped contrary to the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules. Since, there was no alternative to the dumping grounds in Deonar and Mulund, the BHC had asked the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) not to issue any fresh permissions for new projects. The Supreme Court in its recent order has lifted this ban imposed by the BHC for a period of six months subject to certain strict conditions.

This update briefly summarizes the relevant conditions laid down by the Supreme Court which are as follows:

1. BMC shall permit a developer to carry on construction on their sites by imposing the condition in the IOD or any such similar permission, that the construction debris generated from this particular site, shall be transported and deposited at specific sites inspected and approved by the BMC.
2. All construction waste would be deposited at any of the 10 sites identified by BMC while the small generators of construction waste will have the debris collected by municipal agencies, which will then deposit the same at the identified landfill sites or use it for construction of roads etc.
3. The landfill site shall be governed by the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 (New Rules). In particular, the landfill sites shall be the ``Sanitary Landfill Sites`` as defined in the Solid Waste Management Rules.
4. BMC shall not permit any construction whether in respect of pre-existing IOD or fresh IOD unless it has first located a landfill site and has obtained NOC /consent of the landowner that such debris may be deposited at that particular site. BMC shall incorporate in the IOD the condition that the construction is being permitted only if such construction debris is so deposited.
5. In so far as the small generators of construction waste are concerned they shall dispose construction waste as per Debris-On Call Scheme i.e. authorized agencies shall collect the debris which shall be unloaded at designated disposal sites. However, large generators of construction waste shall dispose the construction waste at designated sites as mentioned at the time of grant of IOD.
6. In the event for any reason whatsoever the consent given by the disposal site owner/authority is revoked and/or in the event the time limit during which the disposal site was available has expired, the relevant construction activity will be stopped after issuance of a Show Cause Notice and till such time the Waste Management Plan/Debris Management Plan has been appropriately amended to provide a new disposal site for dumping of C & D Waste which is approved by BMC.
7. The applicant for development permissions must give a Bank Guarantee to the tune of Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs depending upon the size of the project and mode of development, which bank guarantee shall remain in force solely for the purpose of ensuring compliance of the Waste Management Plan/Debris Management Plan approved by BMC from time to time, till the grant/issuance of the Occupation Certificate.
8. The Monitoring Committee shall be entitled to inspect the record of BMC pertaining to the grant of IODs and shall also be entitled to visit and inspect the landfill sites. The Monitoring Committee shall be entitled to bring to the notice of BMC any breach in the permission or in the conditions of IOD. Further BMC shall pass a speaking order on such objections within a period of one month.
9. In view of the above, BMC shall submit a detailed report to the SC after the expiry of 6 months.
10. Supreme Court has made it clear that the present arrangement will operate only for 6 months. 
    
    
    MHCO COMMENT:
    These Supreme Courts directions are expected to give a boost to the redevelopment activity in the Mumbai suburbs which had been paralyzed for the last 2 years. This order is anticipated to give relief to approximately 700 projects, which have been stuck due to the BHC Order that had banned all construction activity in February 2016.
    
    The views expressed in this update are personal and should not be construed as any legal advice. Please contact us directly on +91 22 40565252 or legalupdates@mhcolaw.com for any assistance